Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-07-02
the farmers must feed and otherwise fur
MUNICIPAL CONTROL.

the farmers must feed and otherwise fur
nish.
MUNICIPAL CONTROL.
Another utterance in the platform
declaration from which I have quoted
should have attention here. viz:
such public utility corporations as are
purely local in their operation, should
! be left to the control of the munich
palities in which they are located"
| / unhesitatingly commend the above.
Local self-government is the bedrock OF
our rights and the paternalism manifest
in some portions of our present law en-
larging the powers of the railroad COM
mission should be eliminated.
RAILROAD COMMISSION.
| 1 respectfully call your attention to the
amendment, or addition, to the railroad
commission law, approved August p, 1907,
regulating the issuance of stocks and
bonds by common carrier corporations.
The theory upon which the above amend
nAnt was founded is. on the surface, quite
'tenable, but an examination by you Will
show that the result will be the practical
stay of railroad building in Georgia save
OF branch or short lines.
| The platform upon which the present
administration of Georgia was chosen,
contains the following declaration:
/ I'VE are opposed to unnecessary offices
which levy additional taxes on the people;
anu We ASK lnc lc6lSldlutG " SNdA CAV
! fully Georgias pay roll to the end that
all sinecures be cut off. We especially
favor a reduction in the membership of
the railroad commission from five to
three, and the abolition of the Office of
special attorney to the same"
II is impossible for me to find any
ground upon which 1 can stand to argue
against the foregoing. We should not for
an instant consider the establishment or
maintenance of unnecessary offices which
levy additional taxes upon the people.
If we have such offices now, they should
be cut of and the burdens of the people
lessened to the extent Of such needless
expense.
AS to the railroad commission, the act
enlarging It's powers. approved August 2,
1 1907, created four absolutely unnecessary
offices which levy additional taxes upon
! the people," namely:
Two extra commissioners, sala-
ries aggregating $50. .....$ 5000
Attorney to the commission,
salary .................... 1900
Rate expert, salary ............ 5000
$1O,5Oo
Add increased compensation to
the chairman. ............... 1900
! IOt3l .......-..- .S1A'VVV
The original law establishing the
railroad commission provided for three
commissioners. Their salaries were
fixed at twenty-five hundred dollars
each. The act charging the powers
of the railroad commission retained the
| three commissioners with salaries ag-
/ gregating seven thousand five hundred
dollars, and added twelve thousand dol
lars to this payroll.
1t will be noted that besides more
than doubling the salary account Of
members of the board, there has been
added a rate expert. whose salary, pay
able by the people, has been fixed at
| $4,000.
1 Under the long maintained compost
| ton Of the commission, one Of the
members was required to be of expo
rience in the law and one ''of expert
| ence in the railway business" whereas,
under the amended law, each commits
sioner shall be elected without refer
ence to his experience in law or rail-
way business" The present board is
composed of four lawyers and one
! farmer. and 1t has demonstrated the
lack of wisdom in the change OF the
law by necessity OF employing a rate
expert at the expense to the state OF
/ $4,000 per annum.
We would find parallel to this ex-
traordinary board II the members OF
the sunreme court of Georgia were
composed of good. industrious carpen-
ters and farmers, each appointed
! without reference to his experience IN
law" VINO should employ a legal eX-
pert to keep the law straight in their
| hearings and written decisions.
Or. another parallel would be, the
appointment Of a preacher who never
! lived outside the city, as commissioner
of agriculture.
| On this subject it is pertinent to
state that the official organ of the
Farmers Union of Georgia advocates
and 1 think with reason, the establish
ment of the Office Of county commits
| sioner Of agriculture. or the establish
ment Of an agricultural department IN
some form in each county 1t copies,
with seeming approval. law Of the
state of Mississippi. establishing such
a department in the counties of that
state. From this law I note that the
county commissioner Of agriculture
| shall be a person we'll versed in sci
entifc and practical agriculture"
The requirement that one Of the
railroad commissioners shall pc
of experience in the railway
business should be restored
In the law; or experience has
shown that probably the better words
would be experience in rate making
and other matters of railway business"
thereby increasing the efficiency Of the
commission.
The sinecures provided in the amenn-
ed railroad commission law are too
patent to Justify discussion, hence 1
submit the subject to you with merely
these crucial questions:
What has the railroad commission
/ Of FIVE members, with a special attorn-
new and a rate expert done, which
railroad commission Of three members
composed as under the law could not
have done, II clothed with the same
mowers now existing?
II three commissioners leach with
qualifications formerly required, and
each clothed with the same powers
now conferred upon FIVE commissioners
could have done during the past two
wears and can do in future the same
things done and to be done by the
FIVE commissioners, the attorney for
the commission and the rate expert,
why should the taxpayers Of Georgia
be burdened with the unnecessary sala-
ries now paid to the two surplus COM
,,ts.gopars and the two other gentle