Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-15
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held by Interstate Commerce Commits
sioner Franklin X. Lane into the sub
1ect of secret rebates granted by tn
Southern Pacific company it had beel
shown that that company In severa
hundred Instances had granted to ship
pers secret rebates or preferential rate
lower than the regular advertised rate
of the company.
The traffic officials of the compan,
who were called before the commits
sioner seem to have very freely ad
mitted the giving of rebates and tn,
granting of special rates, but sough
to relieve themselves from responsible
ity for violation of the Interstate com.
merce laws by the claim that In ever,
instance the rebates or special rate:
were given upon intrastate business
that is, business transacted within the
limits of the state of California--fol
which the company was therefore not
responsible to the national laws.
OF course the representatives of the
railroad company in making this ad-
mission were proceeding upon the as
sumption that the political bureau of
that company had SO carefully con-
trolled the law making power of the
state of California that no laws exist
whereby their company could be held
accountable for the injustice of grant
ing reduced rates to favored shippers
upon business transacted within the
bounds of this state.
1t would appear, however, from a
careful reading of the constitution of
the state of California. adopted by the
constitutional convention of 1879 and
now in force, that these witnesses may
have been somewhat deceived in their
evident dependence upon the efficiency
of the work of the political bureau of
their company. The constitutional con-
vention OF 1879 was probably the only
state body of legislative character free
from the control of the Southern Pacific
company which has ever existed in the
state of California since the political
bureau of that company was estab-
lished.
1t is matter of history that this
was called as a result of
strong popular protest against the
political dominance and injustice of the
Southern Pacific company, and the con-
vention, in the constitution which 1t
and which was afterward
ratified by the people of the state, en-
deavored by the creation of state
board of railroad commissioners and in
other ways to provide against the in
Fiction by the Southern Pacific COM
pany upon the people of the state of
the wrongs which had marked its career
previous to that time.
With this end in view, sections 21
and % of article IL of the constitution
were adopted, and they read as fol-
lows:
Section 81. No discrimination. In
charges or facilities for transporta-
tion shall be made by any railroad or
other transportation company between
places or persons, or in the facilities
for the transportation of the same
of freight or passengers within
this state, or coming from or going to
any other state. Persons and property
over any railroad, or by
any other transportation company or
shall be delivered at any
station, landing CT port at charges not
exceeding the charges for the trans
portation of persons and property of
the same class, in the same direction,
to any more distant station, port or
Excursion and communication
tickets may be issued at special rates.
"Sec. %. The state shall be divided
into three districts as nearly equal in
population as possible, in each of
which one railroad commissioner shall
be elected by the qualified electors
thereof at the regular gubernatbrial
elections, whose salary shall be fixed
by law and whose term of office shall
be four years, commencing on the first
Monday after the first day of January
next succeeding their election. Said
commissioners shall be qualified cleo
tOrS OIL LUlS SldlO SiliO VI eAN SAASSAASS
from which they are elected, and shall
not be interested in any railroad cor
poration or transportation company as
creditor, agent, attorney or
employe, and the act of majority of
said commissioners shall be deemed the
act of said commission. Said COM
missioners shall have the power, and
1T shall be their duty, to establish
rates of charges for the transPorta-
tion of passengers and freight by
railroad or other transportation COM
panies, and publish the same from
time to time, with such changes as
they may make, to examine the books
records and papers of all railroad and
other transportation companies, and
for this purpose they shall have power
to issue subpoenas and all other neces-
sary process to hear and determine
against RAILROAD and other
companies, to send for
persons and papers, to administer
oaths, take testimony and punish for
contempt of their orders and processes
in the same manner and to the same