Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-15

Judge or jury, recover exemplary udHl-
ages. Said commission shall report tc
the governor annually their proceed.
ings and such other facts as may be
| deemed important. Nothing in this
section shall prevent individuals from
recovering damages against any Of
such companies. The legislature may
in addition to any penalties herein pre-
scribed, enforce this article by for
feiture of charter or otherwise, and
may confer such further powers on the
commissioners as shall be necessary to
enable them to perform the duties en-
joined on them in this and the forego-
ing section. The legislature shall have
power, by a two-thirds vote of all the
members elected to each house, to re-
move any one or moro of said commits
sioners from Office for dereliction of
duty. or corruption, or incompetency;
and whenever. from any cause, a
vacancy in office shall occur in said
commission the governor shall fill the
same by the appointment of qualified
person thereto, who shall hold office
for the residue of the unexpired term.
and until his successor shall have been
elected and qualified"
It will be noted that section Fl de-
clares the intention of the constitutional
convention to prevent just such dis
elimination in charges for transporta-
ton as were recently confessed to by
the officials of the Southern Pacific
company. Section % not only en-
deavors to establish machinery for the
prevention and redress of wrongs OF
this sort but it also contains what Is
very rare thing in constitutional law
a provision making certain acts a crime
and providing specifically and fully the
penalty for that crime and the method
of inflicting the same, instead OF leav-
Ing The matter of declaring the PEN
lature, as is usually done.
1t will be noted that section % pro-
vides: "Said commissioners shall have
the power, and 1t shall be their duty,
to establish rates of charges for the
TRANSPORTATION of passengers ana
freight by railroad and other trans-
portation companies and publish the
same from time to time with such
changes as they may make. i.
Any railroad corporation or transport
tation company which shall fail or
refuse to conform to such rates as
shall be established by such commits
sioners shall be fined not ex-
ceedinE $4,000 for each ofRense, and
every officer, agent or enploye
who shall in uny manner violate the
provisions of this section shall be
fined not exceeding $4,000 or be Inn
prisoped In the county jail not exceed
ing one year."
1t will be seen that the foregoing
provisions not only denounce the CIV
ing of any rate, either greater or less,
other than the rates established by the
railroad commissioners, as crime, but
they also provide a punishment in the
nature of a fine for the corporation
granting such rates and punishment
in the nature of a fine and imprison-
ment for the official of that corpora
ton who shall have engaged it in such
violation.
That the makers of the constitution
considered the definition of the crime
and the establishment of its punish
ment as complete is shown by the other
provisions of section %. as follows:
1.-THE legislature may, in addition to
any penalties herein prescribed, enforce
this article by forfeiture, of charter or
otherwise, and may confer such other
powers on the commissioners as shall
be necessary to enable them to perform
the duties enjoined on them in this and
the foregoing section"
OF course the political bureau of the
Southern Pacific company has seen to
it that no subsequent legislature has
ever attempted to prescribe any further
penalties for the violation of the pro-
visions of this article, but there APP
pears to be no question that the pro-
visions, as they stand, in plain and
unmistakable language denounce the
granting of any rates other than those
prescribed by the railroad commits
sioners as crime and prescribe the
penalty therefor.
Section % further gives the railroad
commissioners of the state the power
to enforce their decisions and correct
abuses through the medium of the
courts, and all that would appear
necessary for the commissioners to do
to enforce to the fullest extent the
penal provisions of section 22 above
quoted, is to apply to the superior
courts of the state to take cognizance
of the crime established by the consti-
tuition and administer the fine provided
as punishment for the same.
The only remaining question, of
course, is whether or not the commits
sioners have ever exercised the duty
imposed upon them by the positive
terms of section % to establish rates
of charges for the transportation of
passengers and freight by railroad or
other transportation companies, and
publish the same from time to time"
1t is assumed, however, that there has