The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1894-05-04
Nh. BISHOPS ANTI--RAILR0AD
COMMISSION LETTER.

Pensacola News under date of April
23rd has hone.
In language strong and pointed he
commends the honesty, the integrity
and the fairness of the gentlemen
constituting the late railroad commits
sion. He says that in two separate
periods the roads defied the commits
sion and refused to obey the order re-
ducing their arbitraries on fruits and
vegetables by more than fifty per cent.
He tells, then, how they were brought
toterms by the employment Of lawyers
and invoking the aid of the courts.
Mr.. Bishop at that time was terribly
in earnest and enthusiastically stood
by the commission and says he
wrestled with officials and attorneys
of railroad companies on more than
one occasion and had good reason to
be satisfied with the results.
What more does he say? Even now,
after its adjustment for some years,
he admits that the beneficial fruits of
that commission are still felt by the
shippers of Florida.
And yet after this splendid common
dation OF the men constituting that
board, and the ACKNOWLEDGED benefits
of their labors, he says "a dark day
will come to the people of this state if
we are ever cursed with a railroad
commission animated by a DISPOSE
ton to Cypress the railroads.
When Mr.. Bishop was employing
counsel and invoking the aid of the
courts to make the railroads obey the
rates of freight fixed by the commits
sion, was he animated by a DISPOSE
ton to crush the railroads? And why
does he think that others are now an
mated by any such desire? What
would prompt the people of Flori-
da to such ali unwise measure?
But what more does Mr.. Bishop say?
sour principal causes of complaint are beyond
the reach of the legislature Of Florida y
Wy SO? Are wenot living under the
game constitution now that we were
then? Isn't the legislature invested
with the same power now that it was
then? Are not the railroads in bet
ter condition to lower freights now
than they were then?
You are personally aware, Mr.. Editor, says Mr..
Bishop, how earnestly deprecated the repeal of
the commission law. My feelings were so strong
that charged the leading champions of that
measure with being the paid attorneys Of the
railroad companies. Whether did them in
justice or not, it is proper for me to say that the
evil consequences which appreheuded have not
been realized In this locality, at all events, no
advantage was taken of the deliverance of the
from all restraints The rates estab-
lished by order of the commission are in force
to-day, and have some reasons for anticipating
that they viii still be further reduced as the
traffic becomes more reniunerative through in
creased production.
AT the very hour Mr.. Bishop was
writing this deliverance there were
assembling in the city of Orlando the
largest convention of orange and veg
etable growers that has ever assem-
bled in the state OF Florida. There
were three hundred delegates, repre-
senting perhaps three thousand grow
ers; they assembled after a long
and calm deliberation and were "anI-
mated by no disposition to Cypress the
and the unanimous voice
Of these intelligent men there assem-
bled was that the freight rates on or
anges and vegetables had to be low
cred or these industries must perish,
Or at least that portion of them repre-
sented by the smaller growers. And
yet while this was going on; while
this verdict was being dlspassionately
Mr. Bishop was writing to
the recognized organ of the railroads
Of the state, that no relief could be
expected within the reach of the leg
stature of Florida" after testifying to
the good that had been reached under
the first commission, and eulogizing
the fairness of the men who composed
that commission. Why was not Mr.
Bishop present with his brother grow
ers? Why was he not giving them
his encouragement and the Influence
Of his presence instead of writing to
this corporation organ that "a dark
day will come to the people of this
state if we are ever cursed with rail-
road commission animated by a dis
position to Cypress the railroads.
when no such disposition had been
animated by the growers or by
others. And again he splashes
more ice water ia the faces of
these men by saying that "those
Of us who lived in Florida from
fifteen to twenty years ago can remem-
Der a great deal about losses incurred
because ofthe poverty of transportation
companies, and we desire no return of
such experiences.
Why was lTr. Bishop when he was
a young grower and small grower, SO
intensely in faver of railroad COM
and is on record testifying to
its great value to the growers of the
state under the then existing laws,
which laws still exist, and now that he
has become the general manager of
the big grove of the Standard Oil
company, complacently saying that
our principal causes of complaint are
beyond the reach of the legislature Of
We repeat that for twenty years we
have read nothing that has given us
SO much that has cast such a
cloud oy -ne horoscope and hope of
the future Of our state and of our IN
stitutions.
These utterances of Mr.. Bishop
compared with his utterances of a few
xyaa 30 a ner, 81. ,,.,Isl -....S,s Ar.