The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-02
A USELESS COMMISSION.

The decision of Judge McKenna, when
carefully considered by the people OF Cali
fornla, will be found to have placed the
Railroad Commission in the position OF a
legal, but otherwise useless and expensive
luxury. As such the duty of the next
Legislature is plain and unmistakable.
1t should submit a constitutional amend
ment to the people, either ebolishing the
commission entirely or so reforming us
functions as to make it serviceable to the
people of California:
The utter uselessness of the commission
has been made doubly apparent by Judge
McKenna's decision. 1t has been ~ ex-
istence as a department OF the State gov
eminent for the past sixteen years, during
which time there have been five different
sets.of Commissioners elected by the peo-
pie. If there has been anything OF real
service rendered to California by the Kali
road Commission during all these years it
has no. been discovered. There has never
been an election since the commission
was created in which the people of Cali
fornia have not expressed their disap-
proval of the outgoing board and mani
tested their hope of something better
from the incoming one.
These expressions at the time of the
State election in 1894 took the form of an
express effort to pledge aspirants for the
office of Railroad Commissioner to'a posi-
tive and definite reduction in freight
schedules. Upon their election every
member of the commission manifested an
apparent anxiety to redeem that pledge.
However earnest the purposes of the
commission may have been; the decisi on
of Judge McKenna has made them vain,
and has gone further in so limiting the
future purposes and efforts in like direc-
ton equally vain.
The Commissioners are declared to have
power TO hear complaints, to take testi-
monT and render thereon.a Judgment re-
ducing freights and fares, butNat the same
time the right has been accorded the rail
road ompanies to appeal from the judg-
ment OF the commission to- the Federal
courts, and there, upon new evidence and
upon an entirely different showing from
that presented to the commission, to seek
and in. all probability to obtain reversal
of it's decree. This it will be seen at once
ASAhONOo OrSA OAS sChS AA.OAO GUM
bIanee of power from the commission and
leaves it in a position where transporta-
ton com panies may snap their fingers at
its processes and orders and nullify its at
tempted action whenever it may chance to
be unsatisfactory to them.
In addition to being useless. body, the
Railroad Commission is Almost expensive
one. It costs the State of California in
the salaries of its members and of their
clerks and assistants not less than $4,000
q year. 1t is the plain duty of the next
Legislature either to put stop to this ex-
pense by abolishing the commission, or by
some reform in its powers and duties, to
get for the State an adequate return for
this large annual outlay. The decision of
Judge McKenna lays this imperative obi
CATION upon the next Legislature, and the
people Of California, who have just been
judlcially informed upon the subjec
should see to it that the Legislature per-
forms its duty in this regard.