Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-01-14

upon in all its phases the states OF California
Minneota and Nebraska The evolution of this
legislation in the states mentioned has resulted
In the district ownership of textbooks, each
child attending the public schools being pro-
vided with textbooks without money and with
out price. commend to the consideration of
the members OF the legislature the laws Of Min
nesota and Nebraska on this subject for careful
consideration.
Court Litigation.
The abuse of permitting long series OF ir-
relevant questions to be asked of juries suggests
that some limitation be placed upon this privi-
lege. recommend that by specific enactment
trial judges be authorized to specify the num-
Der Of questions that may be propounded to
the jury in any given legal proceeding by either
party.
The chairman of the county commitvee of
each Of the respective organizations should BE-
entitled to name the judges OF election who are
to be OF his political party. The printing OK the
ballots under our present system appears to be
more expensive than is absolutely necessary.
The Kansas City Stock Yards.
The Kansas City Live Stock Commission Co.
Is in the enjoyment of certain privileges which
have proved very lucrative Considerable COM
plant is made as to their charges and sometimes
as to their methods. I suggest that 100 per
cent. profit above the price in the Kansas City
market is sufficient on their sales of grain and
hay, and recommend an enactment to that eff
feet. The statutes should provide that the
live stock sanitary commission should have
such control of the stock yards owned by the
above named company as shall be necessary to
the enforcement of the laws you make.
Railroad Legislation.
The question of the regulation Of transporta-
ton companies has been one that has
manded the attention of the legislatures OF the
various states since railroads were first intro
duced. These corporations have received their
charter rights from the various states, and
these states naturally concluded that they had
the right to regulate and control the corpora
tionS that they thus had created. This view OF
the constantly combatted by the cor
porations, who claimed, as they were private
corporations, they were not subject to state leg
islation far their charges were concerned,
a view they have not yet abandoned.
When however, congress. IL years ago,
created that Subterfuge for justice
called the interstate commerce commission,
it enacted legislation that supposed by
the people to be for the purpose of securing
their rights and controlling these corporations.
After IL years of weary waiting, the people are
now told by this commission that the law under
which they were acting defective and had
been held by the court of last resort as inopera-
tive and unconstitutional Thus after 80 years.
of effort in this direction, find that practical
ly nothing has been done toward the control of
corporations. recommend that the legiSla-
ture pass maximum freight law that will be
fair to corporations and just to the people. !
believe also that the board of railroad COM
miSSionerS should be clearly vested
with the powers of court. and given
the power to adjust fares and freight within
the state of Kansas as they may deem just and
not exceeding the maxium rate. and that their
powers shall be made definite and certain, but
subject to appeal to the supreme court of the
state. In doing this, I think the legislature
should not proceed in any spirit of retaliation OF
revenge for the miSdeedS of the corporations in
the past but they should make their purpose
clear to these corporations that in the future
the interests of the citizens of this state &c
be taken into account as well as the welfare OF
tho mr. in iTnP
and losses in bad ones are to be equally shared
between them
Favors the Southern Market.
advise the people Of the state of Kansas tC
seek for Justice out of court. In doing So 1 car
only point to one route by which it can be OBJ
tanned, and that is for the states west of the
Mississippi river to build road of their own &c
tide-water by the shortest and most direc
route which will put them in position 60 com
mand the situation without getting into any
complication with the railroad companies o.
with the federal courts. We have at Calves
ton. now, harbor that can be entered safely
by the largest ships. The federal government
has expended IS 100000 in creating outlet In
Galveston bay and providing safe harbol
for terminal point. In order to get to
this harbor, there are no mountains to tunnel
and no large rivers to cross and engineering
difficulties in the way. 1t is practically plain
upon which a road cannot only be built, but car
be operated eheaply anywhere in the
world. AT the present value OF labor and ma
teria1, road can be built for from sc, 900 to $40,
600 a mile. and it would be unjust to the peo-
pie OF this generation to ask them to support a
railroad bonded at 900 a mile it would
have been to the people of a preceding genera
ton to haul their grain and merchandise on the
turnpike of that time after they had been par
alleled by railroads.
If the states of Texas and Nebraska would
join us in the building OF line to Galveston
the expense of building such road would be
merely nominal when compared with the vast
sums of money that would be saved to the citi-
ZenS of these states through the lowering OF
freight rates; in fact, the overcharge above
what is reasonable and fair grain upon tho
crop now existing in the state of Kansas, would
pay all the charges of completing such a road
were the state of Kansas to undertake it her
self. Such road, when completed would
place the people of this state in a position of
independence in the matter of transportation
so far as the railroad companies and the fed
eral courts were concerned, and do not believe
that such move would be injurious to the rail-
road companies in the long
The lowered rates of freight would attract q
great and constantly Increasing business by
drawing traffic in that direction, and the de-
creased rates at which the railroads would be
compelled to carry freight would be made up in
the volume of business The state of New
York, by completing the Erie canal and keep
ing the tolls at a low rate, has
caused the commerce of the country to
flow in that direction as to make it the great
commercial metropolis of the country. but this
did not retard the building of railroads which
do business In competition with it; in fact, the
finest railroad of the world, with four tracks
h1ri1t fnr hn M tina