Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1897-07-09
THE INNIyNCEION..

Northwestern railway company, the
Chicago, Milwaukee&S St. Paul railwa,
company, and the Chicago, Burlington &
EQuincy, with the assistance of lesser
corporations. have astacked the railroad
law passed by the last legislature anc
,have procured an injunction against tn;
railroad commissioners restraining them
tfrom putting into eject the schedules ol
maximum rates which the railroads oi
this state would be permitted TO charge
flor transportation Of passengers anc
freight
This is most Important event lin the
history of the people ct the state otSoutt
Dakota in their effort TO maintsin theil
sovereignty as people. For over twenty
years these three great giants have had
unlimited liberty in this state to fE any
charges they saw fit and exact from the
people any compensation they pleased
witn reference to their services ia the
trans portation of freight and passengers
The first two have had substantial
monopoly Of all the transportation busi
ness of the people, and right royalty have
they .exacted tribute from the people fol
theic seevices. AS each general election
came around the people demanded se.
lief feom the unjust charges and extor'
tlons OF these corporations.
The Legislature of the state was always
under the control of the Repu bllcan
party till the last one. Th. Republican
party has repeatedly promised the people
to give them railroad legislation and to
control the railway business so that
Justice might be done, and that injustice
would be prevented. But all in vain.
The platform promises were forgotten by
the legislature and no substantial legis.
lation resulted. The Peoples party,
based upon the idea that the government
should exist for the people and not the
people for the government; that the
railroad was the creature of the law and
of the state and that the state aud the
law should not be the creature of the
railroads, determined to grapple with
these great giants and demonstrated that
sovereignty still remains with the people
OF this state and Notwithstanding the
power OF these giants. they were not big
enough to longer throttle the power Of
the people.
At the state convention Of the Peoples
party at Huron they adopted into their
platform a plank promising the people
that If entrusted with power in the state
they would give the people the Iowa
railroad law. This party, together with
its assistants, the Democrats and the free
silver Republicans, were entrusted with
the power and in accordance with their
platform promise, the Peoples party
carried out this promise and
gave to the people of the state the Iowa
law and made it the law of this state. Ia
this law they fixed the maximum rate
which the railroads might charge for the
of passengers at three
cents mile, and they authorized the
board Of commissioners, elected by the
people to fix the schedule of maximum
rates beyond which the railroads would
not be permitted to 20 for the transpor-
tation Of freight. The Iowa law has
been in force in that state since 1887, and
its predecessor since 1876. The Iowa
people have been contending for their
against these three great
giants for the past twenty-one years and
in order that the people of the state Of
South Dakota may not be discouraged
and lose faith in their ability to vindicate
themselves and to control these giant
it will be interesting to review
the effors made by the people Of the state
Of Iowa and other states to control these
and the manner OF the fight
which they put upon them. In 1876 the
people of the states Of Iowa. Wisconsin
ana Illinois, suffering under the unjust
and extortionate charges of these rail.
roads enacted laws made possible by the
Granger movement in those states, fixing
the maximum charges beyond which the
railroads could not go. These same three
giants vindctively and dete:mnedly
attacked the law and contended that
there was no power in the legislature of
these states to fix their charges of COM
that their property was private
and like all private property the owner
has a right to say for what compensation
be would devote it's use for the benefit of
others. They denied the power of the
people Of these states and of their legls-
atures to in any manner limit their
They claimed that under the
of the United States they
we're protected in their property and
hat the right arrogated BY the state to
ix their charges in effect was a confica-
ion of their property.
The Iowa legislature fixed the maxi
mum charges on both passenger and
reight traffic. AS stated the railroads
esisted both in the state and federal
courts. The best lawyers IN the land
we're retained to fight the law and all the