The news & observer., 1897-01-29
THE PLAN TO ABOLISH THE r. r.
COMMISSION.

the side or tine FdIIEOduS. a4N ~Ao' ""N7 -
bill to repeal the act creating the Railroad
Commission ON the pretended ground that
it is a useless appendage of government
and it's abolition would save ten or eleven
/ thousand dollars annually. There may
/ be some who honestly favor it's repeal
ON the score of economy, but those leg1s-
tlators who are said to have the matter
in hand are not influenced by amy such
motive. The railroads fought its estab-
l:shment. would now fight legislation
making it more useful and would be glad:
to see it abolished altogether
1t is natural that the Republicans
should want to abolish it. At the session
of 1887, when there was a fight to Sc
cure its enactment, Jeter g. Pr4tohaEd
led the opposition, declaring in a meeting
of the Railroad Commission committse
THAT the State had not more right 10 reg5u-
late the freight and passenger charges ON
railroads than to say how much AN editor
should charge for his newspaper orr
farmer for his corn. Almost without !an
exception, the Republicans voted against
the Commission when 1T was established,
and as a rule they have always beee in
North Carolina used by the railroads to
do their will. There are Republicans,
however, in this Legislature who are:said
to be tired of wearing the corporation
yoke, and intend to throw it off ard be
free men.
There has, perhaps, been no seyerer
critic of the Railroad Commission: than
this paper 1t has not come up TO the
measure of the expectations of those who
organized it. The rates for freight and
passengers have not been reduced: to as
low a rate as the conditions would just
ify. In one instance, when as a result
of hot competition between two systems
the freight rates We're being greatly re
duced to the people, the Commission
blundered seriously by taking a asand TO
restore higher rates. This was no part
of the work of the Conmission,| as we
understand it. But, while critici2ing the
Commission, we have been ever mindful
that it has many times paid for i{s exist
ence and its abolition would be little
short of calamity.
As to the cost, one matter will show
that it has not been a burden to:the tax
-. ,.,,,- krc Ct,,,, :,.e,so,, ,,r -,s 1,,t 4a1
tax-lists for every county, toTn and
township, and sends the same tD>the tax
collector Had the counties themselves
been compelled to make out this list, even
admitting that it would be accurately
done, the expense would have been more
than the entire expense of the Railroad
Commission except the printing. Pre-
yious to the establishment of the Com
mission the assessment of railroad prop
erty was made by board composed Of
the chairnen of the boards: of county
commissioners Through which the roads
run. 1t was not done by experts paid by
/ the State and necessarily :lhe commits
saoners had to rely upon the representa-
tions of the Representatives of the roads,
and this was, of course. MORE favorable
to the roads than to the State We are
of that number who believe chat the roads
are not now taxed to their value, but
the Commission has year bs year increas-
ed the taxable value, until $it is now $685.
100000, as against S12,00e,000 when the
Commission was organized.
As to the value of the Commission, the
best statements are to be found in the
reports of the two Governors of the
State who have been in office during its
life. In his message TO the Legislature,
the late Governor Holt: who had been
president of the North Carolina Railroad
and a large stockholder, and whose prac-
tical knowledge of railroading was ev-
erywhere recognized, sa5d:
Whatever may have been, at the time
of the passage of the :act, the different
views as TO it's ACCESSIBILITY, there is now
but one opinion that its wise and conser-
yatiye enforcement of the law has ac-
complished great good, and at the same
time maintained q most friendly relation
with the corporations
''In brief way / will call your atten-
ton to what it has accomplished, as
shown by the reports. / find all proper
complaints for abuses for oyercharges of
| freights, under theiS jurisdiction, have
been adjusted; better depot facilities have
| been established at many points, and ut
other points depots have been ordered TO
| be erected; freight rates have been re-
| duced at saving to the shippers of about
| two hundred and fifty thousand dollars
| ($250,0O) per AMMAN; passenger rates
about two hundred and twenty thousand
| dollars ($220,0O0) per annum; express
| business has been simpLfed, and rates
reduced; telegraph business has been
| simplified, and rates reduced about fifty
| (50) per cent. My attention was called
| by the Commission to the fact that
steamboats, plying within the waters OF
| North Carolina had never been listed for
| taxation, and that, in the act creating
4 Ii ~ al hoe