The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-09-10

| man, any grain man, any shipper, any
miller or any merchant his experience
! for the last few years. You farmers
/ know that all of you haven't sufficient
| grain room to take care of your grain
when it is threshed, and that it is alb
SOlutely necessary to do your threShing
| when the machine is in your neighbor-
| hood, and il, when threshing, you have
no opportunity to sell it and send it
| away, you must be the sufferer. And
| yet, under the law, railroads should be
bound to furnish cars within reason
able time or be held accountable for the
damages. They are supposed to be a
public benefit and that is why they are
allowed to condemn land, take your
farms if necessary in the public inter-
est, by the payment of proper damages,
to be used for railroad purposes. You
vote them aid, you expect them to be
prepared to do the business for which
they are chartered. Other states have
laws governing and controlling them,
but Kansas has always allowed them
to run things to suit themselves, and
outside of the attempt of the PopuliSts
and Democrats there has been no effort
to put upon the statute books a law
that made any pretension to looking
after your interests. 1t was unfortunate
for the people that the supreme court,
by two out of the three judges then
constituting the court, should declare
that the law passed by the PopuliSts and
Democrats went too far and was there
fore unconstitutional. The Populfsts
something, which is more than can be
said of the Republicans. In the early
days when this country had not been
settled up and the farming and ranch
industries developed, there was some
reason for railroad companies charging
a greater rate in Kansas than in other
states, but it has reached the point that
even the railroads have not provided
enough equipment to do the business in
this state, and the reason for greater
rates no longer exists. Roads are built
cheaper in Kansas than in other states
surrounding us. Aid is always given in
building roads and the rates in this
state are higher than in any surround
ing state except perhaps Colorado,
where by reason of the mountains and
rivers, the topography of the country it
costs an enormous sum to build ROADS.
And now we. have been told recently
by the vice president of one of our
greatest companies that the laws now
upon our statute books were good
Texas or other laws. And we are met
by the extraordinary statement by Mr..
Hoch, in his opening speech, that THE
Republican party has given the state
one of the best railroad laws on any
statute book, and that freight rates are
higher in most states than in Kansas"
And now you people who have been
spending your time and money working
for equitable freight rates and for pro-
per railroad legislation, understand
what little relief may be expected in
case of his election.
Our Railroad Law.
I shall not take much time in discuss
ing the railroad commissioner law now
upon our statute book, but I want to
call your attention to one or two fea-
lures which are a fair sample of the
balance of it. Before any one can sue
a railroad company for failure to fur
nish cars, he must file a claim before
the railroad commissioners, must have
a trial there, and if they finally con-
clude he has a meritorious claim they
give him certificate which simply al
lows him to bring suit in the courts,