The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1908-01-23
RATE CASE COMPROMISE
Governor Glenn Also Recommends
the Enactment of a State prOhibi-
ton Law at this Special Session.
To the Honorable, the General As
sembly of North Carolina.


ces is it a pleasant duty to convene
the General Assembly in extra SEES
sion; still the Constitution, Article
III, section 8, provides that "The
Governor shall have power on extra
ordinary occasions, by and with the
advice of the Council of State, to
the General Assembly in ex-
ira session by his proclamation, stat
ing therein the purpose or purposes
for which they are thus convened"
To me it seems plain that such an
extraordinary occasion has arisen,and
so, by and with the consent of the
Council of State, 1 have felt it my
duty to call you together to consider
the question of an adjustment of the
passenger and freight rates charged
by the various railroads doing bust
ness as common carriers in the State.
In order that you may have
a proper understanding of the
present conditions of affairs, it
will be necessary to revert to
the past and give a brief his
tory of all matters appertaining to
the rate controversy from the time
of your last session up to the terms
offered by me as Governor and ac-
cepted by the railroads, subject, Of
course, to your approval and ratif-
cation.
, In my message to your honorable
body at your regular session I used
the language: 81 would urge upon
the General Assembly to carefully ex-
anime the whole matter of railroads,
and, while doing everything the law
allows in protecting the people
against unjust determinations, heavy
rates and unnecessary hardships, at
the same time to treat the railroads
with perfect fairness and give them
every legal right which belongs to
them. Railroads are the great arter-
les Of commerce, and have been the
means of building up our resurces as
no other factor, and, therefore, should
be looked upon, not as hostile, but
as one of the States most helpful
agencies" l then recommended a
fiat rate of 2 II cents per mile for
passenger fare and a mileage book of
2 cents; also. that railroads be re-
quired to remedy delays of their
trains have a limit set to hours of
service of their employees, keep their
road-beds in good condition and pay
their fair proportion of all taxes, and
then should be protected against in
justice, such as is often practiced on
them by t~respassers and unjust liti-
cation. With what suggestions I
could offer, and with the sworn re-
port of the railroads before you,
after a full and able discussion of
the bill in both houses, no joint con-
clusion could be reached, and a con-
ference committee had to be ordered.
This committee reported a fiat rate
of 2 IA cents per mile, which report
was ratified and became the law of
the State. After the law was enacted
I tried to induce the railroads to
acquiesce until a fair test would de-
mOnstrate whether the new rate was
c~Onfiscatory, or, or account of in
creased travel, was . remunerative.
Some of the railroads at once agreed
to put the law into operation, but
others refused, and, prior to July 1,
1907, when the law became opera
tive, went before a Circuit Judge of
the United States for the Eastern
District of North Carolina and OBJ
tanned a temporary injunction against
the Corporation Commission and At
torney-General, %forbidding them from
putting the law into effect. At the
preliminary hearing, without finding
the rate confscatory, and not needing
the plea made to the jurisdiction Of
the court, the Circuit Judge continu-
ed the injunction to the final hearing,
and ordered the Standing Master to
take evidence and make a report as
to whether the rate fixed was confs-
catory of the property of the rail-
roads.
On July L, 1907, certain railroads
refusing to recognize the rate fixed,
a Superior Court Judge instructed
the grand jury to indict their agents
for selling tickets at a higher rate
than that fixed by the statute. Feel
ing it my o duty to uphold the
law passed by your honorable body,
regardless of the amount fixed, I ad-
dressed a letter to all State Judges,
asking them "to properly charge the
grand juries and to direct the Solicit
tors to send bills against the agents
and employees of the railroads, OF
their higher officials, thus openly
acting in defiance of law" In tina;
letter I recommended that onlJ
enough indictments be made to test
the validity of the law in all phases
and not ~needlessly to harass the rail
roads.
Several railroad agents were indiet.
ed, convicted and sentenced, wher
the United States Court, not waiting
for the defendants to appeal in the
orderly way to the higher courts
again ~interfered, and by writ of ha.
beas corpus discharged the defend
ants from the custody of the State
officers. For a while a conflict be
tween the Federal and State authori
ties seemed imminent, but GOODNESS
on both sides was exercised, and i
was agreed that the railroads SHOULD
rn6nOnHo4 IL