St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-02
A WILD STATEMENT.
That Law Regulating Express
Corporations Was Suspended.

ihstt LaW Regulating Express
Corporations Was Suspended.
The members of the railroad COM
mission were quite little amused
over the nice story, with glazing head
lines, which appeared in morning
paper a day or two ago. 1t related to
the new law placing express companies
under the supervision of the commits
sion and making them amenable to all
the laws and regulations pertaining to
common carriers. In the article it was
stated that the law became effective
July l, yesterday, and that its opera
tons had been put off several times by
the commission in order to give the
companies more time to prepare their
tariffs.
AS a matter of fact nothing of the
kind has taken place. The law as
passed by the last legislature reads as
follows:
NO. 341-S. F. NO. GAL.
An act to regulate express companies,
declaring them to be common car
riers, and to make such companies
subject to the laws of this state regu-
lating common carriers.
Be it enacted by the legislature of the
state OF Minnesota:
Section l. That every person, firm,
corporation or association which shall
do the business of an express company
upon railroads in this state by the car
rying of any kind of property for COM
pensation is hereby declared to be a
common carrier, and subject to all the
laws of the state if Minnesota, regulat-
ing common carriers, and particularly
to the act approved March 7th, eighteen
hundred and eighty-seven, entitled IAN
act to regulate common carriers and
creating the railroad and warehouse
commission of the state Of Minnesota
and defining the duties of such commits
sion in relation to common carriers,
and of the various acts amendatory
thereof.
Sec. g The railroad and warehouse
commission of thestate of Minnesota are
hereby authorized, directed and empow-
cred to assume the same powers, duties
and responsibilities with reference to
express companies in this state that
they now exercise under the law with
reference to other common carriers by
railroad, with the same authority and
jurisdiction, and the same methods of
procedure as are by law provided for id
the case of such other common car
rierS.
Sec. 8. This act shall take effect and
be in force from and after it's passage.
Approved April 10, 1895.
It became therefore effective and of
full force as soon as the governor
had affixed his signature to the docu-
ment. The commission has no power
to put off its opera lions a single day,
and members of the board said yes
terday that to all intents and pur-
poses it had been operative ever since
it became law and any one having
complaint to file could have done
so long ago and can do so now.
Notices were sent to all the COM
panies doing business in this state in
which they were requested to file, as
soon as possible, their tariffs with the
railroad commission. This is no easy
task, and no doubt some of the COM
panies desired to first revise them be-
fore making the filing as required by
| law. Thus far no tariffs have been
filed with the commission, although
the local agents have verbally in
formed the board that this would be
done in time
But filing or no filing, the law stands
today upon the statute books of Min
nesota and to all intents and pur-
poses is in full force and was effective
/ April 19, the date on which it was ap-
| proved by Gov. Clough. There is no
power in the state to suspend it's OPP
| Grafton fol single day, and If the
express companies believe the law is
not warranted or constitutional they
must take the issue into the courts
| and then it will stand as "the law I'M
| til repealed by a subsequent legisla-
ture.
The big steamer City of st. Louis
runs on Sundays on Lake Minnetonka,
connecting with Great Northern trains
It will also be in service July 4th. s1.00
FOX the round trip from Twin Cities.