The Elbert County tribune., 1905-05-04
BILL KILLED BY VETO
THE RAILROAD MEASURE FAILS
Governor Mcdonald vetoes House Bill
17s+BeIieves Colorado & South
ern Measure Would Tend to Estab.
Ijsh Monopoly.


v Denver, April Ex-Governor Jesse
F. Mcdonald yesterday vetoed House
Bill IT'S, generally known as the Colo
RADIO & Southern railroad extension
measure.
In his message to the secretary OF
state announcing his veto of the bill,
the governor says:
Il herewith transmit to the honor
able secretary of state House Bill No.
IT'S, without my approval, for the fol-
lowing reasons:
Il have had this act under careful
consideration for some time, endeavor-
ing solely to decide what was for the
best interests of the people of the
whole state of Colorado.
1.-The title TO this act is An act Au-
thorizing Railroad Companies to Ac-
quire and Hold or Guarantee the Cap
ital Stock or Obligations of Other Rail
road or Transportation Companies. and
to Purchase or Lease and Operate
Other Lines of Road, and Providing
Modes OF Payment, or of securing
Payment, and to Authorize Railroad
Companies to Sell or Lease Their
Property
THE title is appropriate, and the
bill, by its terms, undertakes to legis-
late SO that any railroad company may
acquire and hold the capital stock of
any other railroad or transportation
company, or may purchase or lease
and operate other lines of road.
Section 2 of the bill declares that
the Act shall not be construed to per-
init any railroad company to purchase
or lease any parallel and competing
line situated within this state but
does not in any way attempt to limit
the construction of the act TO prevent
a parallel and competing, or a parallel
or competing line from acquiring and
holding all the stock and obligations
of a parallel and competing line or
lines of railroad.
Holding the stock and bonds of one
railroad by another, means that the
holding company controls the road
whose stock 1t holds, although the le-
gal title remains in another company.
IF a railroad may hold the stock OF
another railroad or transportation
company, it may hold the stock of
many. or of all railroad and transpor
tation companies in the state. By one
railroad holding the stock of other
railroad and transportation companies,
without any limitations whatever, COM
petition can be stifed and a monopoly
created which will be great menace
to the people of the state.
The railroad companies in the state
have been built up and have grown to
their present efficient and prosperous
condition in a sparsely populated dis
trict under the present laws. This bill
seems to take away all limitations so
far as legislation is concerned upon
the power to create a monopoly or
trust in the railroad and transportation
companies of the state. No advantage
adequate to the risk of legalizing such
a monopoly seems to be offered to the
people by this bill. and under the cir
cumstances l believe that to grant to
railroad and transportation companies
greater facilities to create monopoly
at this time, would be unwise and vi
cious legislation and would be taking
a step in the wrong direction. as the
demands of the people and business in
terests of the state do not seem to re-
quire such a departure.
Il therefore file said bill in the Office
of the secretary of state of Colorado
without executive approval.
JESSE F. MCDONALD,
Governor.
dated at Denver, Colo, April 2S,
1905, at 4 d. m"