The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-05-29
SECTION Q. ARTICLE TX.

y
gate, to a constitut onal convention .
and when the convention was in ses-
sion. the prejudice against corpora
lions In general and railroads in par
ticular was intensest Blatant dem.
agogues. all over the country. sought I.
Office on one single plank in a plat (
form-and that was antagonism to
railroads. The aspiring politician tol F..
the people that II they would elect .
him. he would take something that
belonged to the railroads and give it TO
the people.
Under such circumstances. II Is easy
TO understand how it happened that all
sorts of foolish legislation against
railroads was proposed and some of
il enacted into law. Members OF con
stitutional conventions who had an
eye fixed on seat in the United
States senate. or on the gubernatorial
chair, not only went the limit in leg
islatlon adverse to railroads, but even
put in the constitution what should
have been put in statute law and
what should have been put in the
waste basket.
Even il Section Q. of Article lX. OF
the Oklahoma constitution. is good
law. its place is in the statute law OF
| the state. Even II It was good law AT
the time it was manufactured, the
/ lawmakers should have been fair and
| honest enough to have added a proyiso
| to the effect that the section should
/ not apply to any railroad in process
b OF construction.
Section .. of Article IN, says in
effect that no railroad company or
ganizcd under the laws OF this state
shall consolidate with or sell or lease
itself TO any railroai company organ
ization under the laws of any other
state
At the time the constitutional con
vcntiOu was in session, the Oklahoma
Central local railroad being built by
home people, was in process of con
struction. and If this hard and fast
rule was ever good law and necessary,
certainly it should have provided that
ii should not apply To any railroad in
process OF construction IN the state.
Without such provis on it was eX
post facto in its nature, retroactive
in fact imposing a penalty on a com
pany that had made its plans and was
spending its money to build railroad
ana could not turn back.
And. today, this one railroad is pay
ing the penalty In solitary confine-
ment. il is serving its sentence. For
building an Oklahoma railroad in Ok.
lahoma. the owners are paying the
penalty that was inflicted. not because
1t violated any existing law, but be-
cause the greatest law.making body
OF state violated one of its existing
rights. Railroad construction by Okla
homans, in Oklahoma, was made a
crime, after the promoters and build
ors of the Oklahoma Central had gone
too far TO turn back. and today they
are paying the penalty
. Let's pardon them. By pardonias
them, We advertise to the world that
We are an honest people. even just and
equitagle in our dealings with raJ
roads. Let's vote this amendment and
show to the world that our state does
not make railroad construction, in OK.
lahoma, crime with a severe penalty
attached. Let's vote the amendment,
guaranteeing that never again will Se
penaize the investment OF capital ~
new railroads in our state.
Those opposing the amendment have
ceased TO contend that the repeal of
the section. per se is not demanded
in all good conscience and reason,
but they argue that the amendment
proposed contains, "jokers,' that in
fact there is sohething the matte.
with the amendment besides what
ails It,"
We do not believe H. The amend
ment says that lit shall not be con
strued as limiting the power OF the
the state TO regulate the bus
mess OF the foreign corporation In the
state and shall not relieve such for