Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-18

l
| Piscataquis and ArOostook, there was
more than an unrest; there was a de-
inand from the people of those coun-
ties, from the shippers, from the mer-
chants and the traders that something
should be done. complaint after COM
plant, until the thing became unbear-
able, and when came to this Legisla-
ture 1 listened to the demands of my
people that something should be done
and early in the session 1 introduced
into this Legislature what is now Sen
| ate Document No. 40.
Now, I took the law as it was today
and simply put into that law the neces-
sary machinery for the purpose of car
rying it into effect. In the first sec
| ton, instead of the common carriers
| making the rates, l sale dr. at the rail-
| road commissioners of J line should
make, establish, revise anG regulate all
| fares, classitications, tolls, tariffs,
| rates and charges, with this object
that the railroad commissioners OF
| Maine who are well paid and whose
duties are not onerous at he present
/ time, should have somc',iNg TO do.
and something to do t. sltisfy the
| demand Ct the people. 7 mt further
than that, because stop, ia, mere would
not mean anything an .u3 could not
| work them We !ur'lIer, and said
| that for the pul mss OF making and re-
; vising these ii." a,lo. schedules OF
passengers an freight, that the rail-
road commissioners Of Maine should
! once q year hold one bile meeting
or more in each county of this State,
after having given at least II days
notice in the papers of that county,
and at that hearing they should hear
all complaints that anybody wished to
make against the common carrier and
the way they were conducting their
| business, and that the evidence should
lie taken in writing. and having heard
the defence, having heard the COM
| mon carriers side of it, when that was
all done they should regulate and
| revise the rates. I went further than
that; 1 provided for that court, how
many should constitute a quorum, and
that they should have the right to make
regulations for that court. and that they
should have the authority to summon
and hear witnesses. and that they should
1850 have the authority to ask the COM
mon carriers to bring in their books. and
liIii liley Snoulu examine llleIll ana also
their schedules and their rates. and that
they might investigate the same as the
s,ate assessors investigate the matter of
assessments in this Safe. I went further
| than that; l save that commission the
authority to summon witnesses and to
T. nish them if they did not attend, and
fixed it so that the witnesses giving evil
d. ,re against common carrier should
unr afterwards say that he could not
| nstify because it might implicate him in
crime. l went further than that; 1 said
that this hearing and the examination by
he board of railroad commissioners, that
they shall establish these freight rates
and these classticatons, and that they
| should then put them in form and they
| hould be printed by the common carriers
and that copies should be posted in every
place or station where they shipped
freight or passengers so that it should
| he showed to the public, so that the
people could see what the rates were
from point to point in this State, and
| the claSSiticationS Of their tolls and
charges, and that they would not alter or
change those rates and tolls and classifi-
cations, having once been made public
without the consent of the board of rail-
road commissioners.
Now, gentlemen, I submit to you that
this is a fair bill 1t simply states that
our railroad commissioners should have
the right and it should be their duty to
Investigate what never has been investi-
Sated in this State, and establishing the
rates and fares Of these public service
corporations. That bill was advertised
the meetings were advertised before the
railroad committee, and the members of
the House will call to mind that when I
presented this bill | had it referred to the
committee on judiciary for the reason
that / then stated to tt5- House, that it
Involved proceedings of = mmission in
which rules were establish, i, and I want
ii a committee of lawyers to give you a
Hill so that legally its machinery would
IL all right so that it could be enforced
in our courts, and my only objection to
its going to the railroad committee was
lcf lawyers, it seemed to 80. could not
meet the question. but >rit -aw what
vas strange. that the r,'lfo j committee
of this House opposed e. i-1 violently
Opposed 1t, and of course The House under
We'll. that Nts Hit rigi 1t was adver-
tiscd. as sa ,I and at the hearing there
was present representing the railroads
attorneys for every railro / in this State,
Including all the electric coads, and every
little branch was represented, and they
Ian were there and they all made speech
IS and they all talked against it and
said: LET us alone: we have always fixed
our fares, and our regulations, and our
tolls and tariffs, and we want to be let
alone: we are honest: why do you want to
investigate us? Let us alone. II this
HIN becomes a law it will ruin the rail-
roads of this State: we cannot pay our
dividends and we will go into the hands
of a receiver; and let the railroad com
mssioners look into our schedules and
Regulate them" and talked such nonsense
as that to the railroad committee. And
nut before that committee letters, news
lpapers from my county and rom Piscat-
aquis county. and put before that COM
nittee evidence of men complaining here
why the committee would not investigate
those things. There was great demand