The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-03-02
THE RAILROAD
HAS AN INNINGS.
It's ASSEMBLY FRIENDS
SHOW THEIR HANDS
AT LAST.
The CRUCIAL TEST ON THE BILL
TO ABOLISH STOPOVER
PRIVILEGES.
IT WAS a BATTLE ROYAL.
DODGE AND WADE THUNDER
ANATHEMAS AGAINST THE
MEASURE.

SACRAMENTO, March 1.-The railroad is
on top in the Assembly Concealment was
not attempted tonight. Cloaks and subter-
fuge were thrown aside. The friends of the
| Southern Pacific put themselves on record,
| and of the SO men at to-night's session of
the Assembly forty-one declared them
| selves on the side of the great corporation.
| Only eleven men were absent. OF these,
| Dwyer, Huber, Tibbitts and Tomblin are
known to have railroad tendencies. Most
of the others have not declared either way.
No matter how they go, however, the fact
remains that when Osborn few days ago
said, in burlesque, Almighty corporation,
thy will be done on earth as it is in hades," +"
he spoke much better than he knew
| The test came on the bill abolishing stop
over privileges on the Southern Pacific. It
was Assembly bill Ss2 introduced by
Speaker Lynch on February 18, 1895, by
| request, and referred to the Committee on
Corporations. This bill is as follows:
An act to amend section 4s9, and to repeal
section 400 of the Civil Code, in relation to
railroad rates of charges and railroad tickets
The people of the State of California, repre-
sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as
follows:
Section 1. Section 4s9 of the Civil Code is
hereby amended so as to read as follows:
Sec. 4S9. All railroad corporations must
publish their lawful rates of charges for freight
age and fares from one station to another on
their various lines OF road in this State, and
upon being rendered the lawful rate therefor
1t shall be the duty OF every railroad corpora
ton to perform the carriage of property or
persons for the rate of charge so published
Every railroad corporation must provide and
on being rendered the lawful fare therefor, fur
nish to every person desiring a passage upon it's
passenger-cars, a ticket which shall be evidence
of the right of purchaser to ride and to the
ordinary accommodations provided on its cars,
from the depot or station where the same is
purchased TO any other depot or station on the
line of its railroad. Every such ticket shall
entitle the holder thereof at any time within
six months after the purchase of such ticket,
to use the same for the trip therein mentioned,
and upon such trip the passenger may stop
over at any intermediate station. Any corpo-
ration violating any of the provisions of this
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall be punishable therefor. And in addi-
ton thereto every corporation violating any
OF the provisions of this section shall be liable
to the person aggrieved for the damage by him
sustained. This section shall not apply to
Communication excursion tickets issued and sold
by such railroad corporations at prices which
shall amount for single trip to less rate
than the lawful rates of fare between the sta
tions designated therein.
Sec. 2. Section four hundred and ninety OF
the Civil Code is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately
This bill repeals Section 490 of the Civil
Code. which gives a man who is refused
stop-over rights by the railroad damages
in $500.
n md 1Qf1t &c o1n %1 CO.
to render the railroad company guilty of
misdemeanor and liable to fine of $500
In this way the passenger who is injured
would get little or no recourse, and there
fore would have no excuse for prosecuting
a suit when the railroad violates the law.
since the only profit to~him would be
small fine, which the railroad company
could better afford to pay than he could
afford to give up his time.
An attempt was made to rush the bill
through to its secend reading. Previously
the generals of the House had succeeded
in gaining their points. This time they
did not work SO skillfully. The bill was
new one to most of the members They
had not considered it. So when it came
up for second reading they were rather
surprised to have Waymire of Alameda
request that consideration of it be post
poned a day.
"Mr. Speaker" put in Dodge of Ala
media. 81 move that action be indefinitely
postponed"
storm of objections was raised by the
friends of the bill, who had hoped to SNUG
gle it through its second reading. In the
tumdlt. Dodge tried in vain to be heard.
There was moments lull, and he cried
out: Gentlemen, 1 want to warn you.
To pass this bill would sound the death
knell of the Republican party in this State
of California" ("
But Dodges motion was voted down and
then began battle royal.
Cutter of Yuba led in the defense of the
bill. He declared it altered the codes in no
way. 1t still made the refusal of stop-over
privileges a misdemeanor. The only diff
ference was that instead of letting the in
dividual bringing suit profit thereby, the
penalty is given to the State. This, he
urged, was just and proper. DR.. Robinson
had come before the Committee on Cor
porations and had declared under oath that
while he originally had entered into the
suits to determine his right to stop-over
privileges, that he afterward carried them
on to make money.
He admitted to u.s." said Cutter, "that
he frequently demanded a stop-over privi-
lege when he really did not want it, but
just to get right to bring suit. He and
his son have now 10 suits, believe, which |
will make the railroad company liable to
them for $4,000. Now, / think that any
law that will allow thing of that sort is
wrong and should be changed"
II am sorry Dodge of Alameda said. |
'to see my friend from Yuba SO dense |
when he comes to look at this infamous |
measure. 1t is not only obnoxious but it |
infamous, since it is made to defeat a de- |
cision of the Supreme Court and will leave |
the people of this State entirely without |
stop-over privileges. This bill says no. I
body but the purchaser is to be allowed to |
ride. This shows its connection with the |
scalpers' bill. The two are of the same