The San Francisco call., 1895-10-17
THE FINAL BATTLE.

The final battle between the people oi
California and the Southern Pacific Com.
pany of Kentucky over the question of the
validity and utility of the Railroad Com
mission is on at last. There have been
many skirmishes during the past fifteen
years, leading up to the ultimate struggle
which has now taken form in the Federal
courts in an action wherein the railroad
company challenges the constitutionality
of the commission and the legality of its
recent acts. That this legal battle is one
of the most important which has ever oc-
Cured in California no one will doubt who
remembers the making of the new consti-
tuition and the labors of those who framed
it to embrace within its terms legal and
comprehensive plan for the regulation of
railroad schedules.
In view of the Importance of this issue
to the people of California, 1t is most un-
fortunate that the present commission
permitted the Southern Pacific Company
to make up the record upon which it feels
that it can afford to stand before the Fede
raj court. During the recent proceedings
of the commission its members were
warned of the subtle purposes of the raul
road company in the introduction of its
evidence as to the equity of its existing
rates. In spite of these warnings the COM
mission went blindly ahead with its task
of listening solely to the evidence of the
railroad company, and at the close of its
side of the case coolly proceeded to make
decision based thereon.
However blindIy or foolishly the COM
mission may have acted in this latter, the
fact remains that the battle royal is on, in
volving the whole issue as TO whether the
Railroad Commission has any utility as a
State institution. The railroad company
assails the commission itself upon one
ground and upon several other grounds
questions the validity of its recent action.
The ground upon which the legality of the
commission itself is assailed is that the
State constitution, in its sections declar-
ing that 'The rates of freights and fares
established by said commission shall
be deemed conclusively just and rea-
sonable," contravenes the language
Of the Federal constitution, which guaran
tees to persons and corporations alike that
their property rights shall not be invaded
without due process of law. That the rail-
road company itself esteems this point of
little merit may be judged from the fact
that it has devoted small space to its state
ment in its complaint. If the railroad
company in fact was given an opportunity
to be fairly and fully heard before the COM
mission upon the issue OF the equity of its
schedules, the fact that no appeal was pro-
vided from the decision of the commission
would by no means make it an illegal
body, nor cause the sections of the State
constitution which created it to be OBJ
noxious to the higher organic law.
This being so, the present issue before
the Federal court becomes solely one of
the legality and regularity of the recent
attempt of the Railroad Commission to
regulate the existing freight schedules of
the company. This involves three in
quiries, and they are: First-Did the Rail-
road Commission acquire jurisdiction over
the railroad company by giving it what is
known in legal parlance as sits day in
court? Second-If it did, can its conclu-
sions be reviewed? Third-If they can be
reviewed in this action, what evidence will
the Federal court consider in making that
review? VIII it take into account only
the record which the Railroad Commission
has permitted the railroad company to
make up? Or, will it go into the broad
and far-reaching inquiry as to the equity
of existing freight rates, regardless of the
record which the commission has let the
railroad make?
These questions are not to be answered
fippantly nor decided off-hand by the
State officials, whose business it is to con-
slider them deeply and defend their con-
clusions upon them honestly and fearlessly
in the interests of the people OF California
before the Federal courts. The Governor
OF California and its Attorney General
would do well to refrain from off-hand
opinions upon these problems until they
have given them that consideration which
the importance of the subject demands.
The whole energies of the State admins
tration should be devoted to the business
OF maintaining the Legality of the Railroad
Commission and the validity of its recent
action