The record-union., 1893-02-02
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DUltNA IL LIE ullA Il.
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to you when you come to the proposition
which the Constitution ofthe United States
forbids: Pass it; you can't harm us much.
because we are protected by the Constltu-
ton. Pass it and you can't enforce It. 1t
would become to us a matter OF lndlffer-
ence, but it is question OF the Legis-
lature and of this committee. because I'M
der the Fourteenth Amendment TO the
Constitution of the United States corpora
tions are persons, and no state can deny
to any person within its limits the equal
protection of the law, and that Is the
declaration ofthe Fourteenth Amendment
to the Constitution; and while you can
class railroads and class property you
can't class ownership; it is contrary 10
the law and it is iudelensible and inn
proper OF itself to deprive the owner OF a
road of an opportunity of selling or leas-
ing it.
1T has been shown that this bill has
not been drawn with that care with which
a constitutional amendment should be
drawn, but this is an extended subject,
and L am not going into the details of
these matters further than to call your
attention TO these, what / consider to be
the defects of the bill-the defects of this
law-and if there could be an answer to us
now, or if there could be given us an OPP
portunity to reply TO the answer, or at
least TO consider II, we would feel better
satisfied than we are, having to leave this
committee without hearing the answers
that might be made to these objections.
I'VE can see no answers. Perhaps 1t is
our fault, but it is our misfortune that
We will not have the opportunity OF be-
ing unenlightened. AS i have said, MIR.
Chairman, there have been so many
changes in this from the beginning that
IL shows very clearly, or ought TO, that
the attention to this matter has not been
given to ii that its importance demands.
Alter the pledge that have referred to,
under which some members of the Legis-
lature were elected, and some who signed
were not-after that pledge was given out
as being the plan and purpose OF the
Iraft1c Association, it was not but two
weeks until entirely another, a different
one from this, was also announced.
would like to call your attention, II you
Will pardon me, to show you this paper
by no means uniriendly to the Traffic
Association-and read an extract from it
given out to the public Tor the purpose of
informing them of the plan and purpose
OF the Legislative Committee.
1--WE find that there is in force in Kan
sas a schedule of railroad charges termed
the Kansas local distance tariff the
Kansas local distance tariff. Further, 1T
has been found to be'-this Kansas local
distance taritf-'it has been found to be
fair and sufficiently remuneratiVe to the
railroads in Kansas, and we believe it
can safely be adopted i'll this State as
substitute for the existing rates, to be in
force until others are lawfully adopted
Now, that is the plan of Kansas. When
you start rom San Francisco, when you
go north, you 60 up the canyon OF the
Sacramento Kivor aud over the Siskiyou
Mountains; when you 90 east, you have
to cross the Sierra NeVadaS; when you go
south, you pass over the Coast Range and
Iehachapi Mountains. There are no
mountains on the west, because there is
no land on the west. There is no direc-
ton you 90 from San Francisco but you
have TO go over grades, through tun-
nels and around curves. Yet the
statement is made to this com
mittee that the roads in California
can DO as cheaply operated and con-
constructed as the roads i'll Kansas. We
Will present the showing made on these
matters by MIR. Curtis, IN charge OF the
maintenance of the road, and by MIR.
Gray and Mr.. Smurr, who are in charge
Of the traffic and by Mr.. Lansing, Secre-
tary and Controller, i'll charge of the
finances. " e are glad of this opportu-
nifty OF showing you, so far as we may be
able, the effect OF this proposed law on
The road, its finances, earnings and operat-
ing expenses, and they Will be shown to
you. W hlle II is an easy matter to sheer at
figures presented by railroad men
] Will say that these statements are those
made to the directors OF the road; they
are from reports made the stockholders,
to their bOndholders, and they must be
exact, because they are more deeply in
terested than the persons engaged in
operating the road. We will show you
these things, ana show that railroads can
not be operated as cheaply in this State as
IN kansas. Further, you expected to
ind III that bill the Kansas distance tar
i'll, which they believed was fairly re-
muneratiVe TO the roads in one State
and thought it would be in California.
Senator Gesford, ii he has read the an
nouncement of the Traffic Association,
must now believe the bill here is based
on the Kansas distance tariff
Senator Gesiord-Ihat is correct.
Mr.. Martin Now the Kansas dis
lance tariff runs in limits of five miles.
This tariff, which it was thought would
be fairly remunerative to the roads in
California as well as Kansas. gives mer-
chandise in cents per 100 pounds, five
miles and under Is cents-Senator Earl
says Sin the proposed California dis
lance tariff. Mr.. Martin then called off
Il number of distances and the rate on the
official Kansas tariff, and comparing with
the proposed rates of MIR. Leeds, "Califor-
MIA distance tariff shows for ten miles 10
cents, as against Il cents; fifteen miles
Is cents, as against cents; twenty miles
20 cents, as against L cents; twenty-five
miles - cents, as against 10 cents; the
same relative decrease showing all the
way through, being conclusive evidence
that Mr.. Leeds figures were not as he
stated, the Kansas rates, but very much
lower"
Mr.. Martin explained that the Western
classification applied to the Kansas tariff
AS it was growing late, Mr.. Earl adj
journed the meeting, with the under
standing that Messrs. Smurr, Gray,
Lansing and Curtis would explain more
in detail Monday evening as to cost of
operations, rates, etc.