The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-07-31
WHEREIN THE COMMISSION HAS
FAILED IN ITS DUTY


ing comment on condition that is all
too apparent:
eve may be wrong, but it seems to
us that an active, determined railway
commission-the state acting with
the interstate in season and out of
season-could have secured more IA
yorable rates for the shippers by this
time. The Florida shipper pays pro-
pOrtionately higher rate than the
shipper in any other state in the I'm
ion. There is something wrong some
where"
The Banner is eminently correct.
If the railroad commission had taken
hold of rate adjustments as it should
have there would be no need for the
growers of Florida to band them
selves together in an organization for
the employment of rate and other ex-
perts to work out their problems for
them. When the railroad commission
was created and men were elected
to compose the board the people rest
ed on their oars and waited for re-
suits.
1t would be unjust to assert that
the commission has accomplished
nothing, and the Reporter-Star would
levy no such criticism. The COM
mission has done this and that, as the
record will show. 1t has ordered new
passenger stations erected, and after
a long fight, continuing for some
seven years, it finally secured the en-
forcement of what appears upon the
face to be a three cent passenger fare.
Moreover, the commission has done
something in the way of equalizing
rates. Yet in spite of what it has done
the commission is open to criticism
that there is much of vital import
ance to the shipping interests of the
state that it hasn't done. For this
reason the growers are called upon
to maintain an expensive organiza-
ton to seek out their wrongs and sus-
tain their contentious that they are
Disseminated against by the carriers.
AS this is written we are well aware
that the commission attitude is that
the board occupies judicial sphere
and is not supposed to play the part
of prosecuting attorney and court at
the same time; that it stands ready
to survey and pass upon all questions
of rate inequalities that are brought
before it. The truth of this cannot be
denied, but the commission has sought
additional authority from nearly
every. legislature since it's creation
and this has been granted, until it
has built up a bureau of expensive
attaches and has legal authority to
perform incalculable service to the
people if it's activities were simply
directed along such lines. But the re-
suit of granting this broad scope of
authority has been productive of
some incongrous results, towit:
This commission has a special at
torney who receives a salary of $4,-
500 a year. The attorney general is
or should be, the head of the depart
ment of justice in the safe, and that
official receives $4,000 a year. The
justices of the supreme court are paid
only $4,000 a year, though by legisla-
tive jugglery they are permitted to
exc out their salaries from an allow
ance for clerk hire which is not used
for that purpose, until the sum reach
es approximately $4,000 year for
each. 1t is anomalous if not unfair
that special attorney, who ranks
beneath the attoerny general, should
receive greater salary and be solely
subject to the. commission. The COM
mission claimed, however, that the
railroads had the best attorneys to
be found and paid them good salaries
in order to cope with high class talent
the commission should be given au-
thority to employ an attorney equal
ly talented. The request was granted
torneyship has existed, and it would
be interesting to the people to learn
what signal victory the commission
has gained in contest with the rail-
roads by reason of it's existance. In
other words, what have the people
gotten for their money?
In addition to the special attorney
the commission employs a civil en-
gineer and rate expert besides the
regular secretary and the stenograph-
er, and when it went into the fight
to secure enforcement of the three
cent rate it employed a special firm
of auditors and the work done in this
connection cost, if we remember cor
rectly. some $4,000.
The railroad commission has grown
| into a costly bureau constantly reach.