Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-06-14
The Railroad Inquiry.


The fight between the Railroad
Commission and the lawyers repre-
senting the several companies, prom
Uses to be battle royal, from the
preliminaries made for thorough
investigation of the foundation for
the corrupt methods of this grinding
monopoly. The sessions of the Com
mission to determine the value of all
railroad property within the State
were held in the Senate Chamber,
Chairman Fairchild presiding. The
objections filed by the railroads have
been summarized as follows:
"That the State Railroad Commission
has no legal existence because the 1905
act is unconstitutional, because it ex-
empted interurban electric roads; that
the commission law of 1907 il unconsti-
tutiOnal because it prevents courts from
passing upon the acts of the commits
sion; prevents trial by jury, purports to
impose excessive fines and penalties,
gives the commission power to fix maxi
mum rates, which power is exclusive in
the Legislature; gives the commission
judicial powers which belong exclusively
to the courts gives the commission
power to regulate interstate commerce,
which belongs exclusively to Congress /;
giving the commission power to take
property without due process of law;
that sections of the 1907 law are void
because amending sections of the void
law OF 1905; and finally that the COM
mission is not legally constituted body,
the appointment of its members never
having been confirmed by by the Senate
and that Jesse s. Jones could not consti.
tutionally be a member of the commits
sion because he was a member of the
State Senate which enacted the COM
mission law OF 1907.
Assistant Attorney General Falk-
nor made the point that as the office
of Railroad Commission had not been
created last session, nor it's emolu-
ments increased, that the constitu-
tional inhibition does not apply, and
Chairman Fairchild announced that
all objections had been overruled and
exceptions allowed.
The value placed by Mr.. Lysons
on railroad rights-of-way examined
and testified to by him were as fol-
lows:
Northern Pacific Railway company
west of the Cascades, including ter
mfnal properties In Tacoma and
po sss Tasn:snd s s q
Columbia River & Northern Rail.
Ilwaco Railway & Navigation Co. 2s.oSoSS
Northern Pacific rights-of-way in
Pierce county alone are valued at
81, 740, 957 "a by Mr.. Lysons.
According to advance figures COM
piled by the Commission, the Great
Northern right-of-way, docks, real
estate and commercial properties in
Seattle make total of little less
than $20,000,000, and that the Ia
coma Eastern right-of-way outside of
Tacoma is worth $31, 681.75, and ter
minals and right-of-way within the
city limits $249,O18.25, making to-
tai of $3.50, 700.
Yesterday morning. D. H. Near
thur and Jason M. Averill were on
the stand, and in the afternoon the
star witness of the State, H. P. Gil
lette, made q report of his findings
as regards the original cost of the
Northern Pacific and appraisements
of that road and the Great Northern.
The statemtnts for the commission
are about all in. and an adjournment
has been taken to enable the roads
to submit their side of the question,
when doubtless some intimation will
be afforded of the next step in this
game of cross-purposes.