Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-24
POWERS AND DUTIES
OF COMMISSIONERS

VHE HERALD desires TO give tne
state board of railroad commits
sioners the benefit of every possible
presumption that they propose to do
their duty in prosecuting the Southern
Pacific company FOR it's confessed VIOLA
tion Of the law of the state prohibiting
the granting of rebates and special
rates by common carriers. Yet it feels
it its duty to remind the commissioners
that nearly two months have elapsed
since these violations of the law became
a matter of public knowledge and, so
far as the public is advised, no effective
step has been taken looking to the
enforcement Of the violated law.
1t is true that on the 18th instant the
dispatches from San Francisco con-
tained the information that the COM
missioners on the day before had passed
a resolution introduced by Commits
commerce commission for a copy of the
testimony taken before Commissioner
Lane in the city of San Francisco on
October 8, a month and ten days before
the action taken by the commissioners.
In these dispatches Commissioner
Irwin is quoted as saying: "If we were
to begin an investigation on our own
account, as we have been advised to do
by many of the newspapers in the state,
we would Immediately find ourselves
entangled in a mesh, and the punish
ment of the railroads would be delayed
for such a long time that the salutary
effect would be LOST
The Herald fails to see upon what
the statement of Commissioner Irwin is
based, and it also fails to see the neces-
upon which Commissioner Irwin was
said by the dis. atches to have been
engaged previous to his introducing
and moving the adoption of this reso-
luton in the board.
If ever board or tribunal had plenary
powers to inquire into and ascertain
facts upon which to base its action for
the enforcement of the law committed
to its hands, the state board of railroad
commissioners of the state of Califor-
MIA has that power.
Section p, article II, of the
constitution of the state, which
creates the board of railroad COM
missioners, also provides:
"Said commissioners shall have
the power and it shall be their
duty to examine the books,
records and papers of all railroad
and other transportation COM
panies, and for this purpose they
shall have power to issue subpoe-
mas and all other necessary pro-
cesses; to hear and determine
complaints against railroad and
other transportation 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 extent as
courts of record" !"
Thus by the terms of this law the
commissioners are not only given as
full power as was possessed and used
by Interstate Commerce Commissioner
Franklin K. Lane in dragging into pub
Lie view the records of the Southern
Pacific company, which showed that
company to have been guilty of grant
ing rebates and special rates, but their
power exceeds that of the interstate
commerce commissioner for this rea-
son: the members of the interstate
commerce commission of the United
States have no power to inquire into
the granting of rebates and special
rates on intra-state business, ex-
cept as the granting of such rates
may affect interstate business, while
the state board of railroad COM
missioners has all power, and it is
their duty in mandatory terms to
INQUIRE into every phase of intra-state
shipments That is what that board
is created for, and under the power
conferred upon 1t by the law above
quoted it can, at any time it so de-
sires, compel the Southern Pacific COM
pany to produce before it every page
of it's records bearing upon intra-state
shipments, and can summon every OIL
Ger, agent or employe of that company
in the state of California to testify as
to such records.
And if the officers and employees of
the corporation should prove recalci-
trant or unwilling witnesses, it can
under the power given it to punish for
contempt, imprison any or all of them
until they find it to their advantage to
furnish the information required by the
commission.
In the use of the powers above given
it to punish for contempt, the state
board of railroad commissioners have at
their service the whole executive power
of the city and county of San Fran