Year: 1876

SACRAMENTO, March nth, 1876.


/ regret exceedingly my last letter,
through the failure Of the mails, due
doubtless to to the bad weather, not that
aught | can write is so valuable, but be-
cause the times are pregnant with weighty
matters and even the brief reference made
thereto in these letters may serve to
awaken the attention they demand.


THE ARCHER BILL.


That famous bill which has agitated
the whole State for three weeks past, is
dead. Ii was rushed with unseemly haste
through the Assembly and received nearly
a unanimous vote-the votes of men who
admit they knew little or nothing Of it,
and absolutely nothing Of the grave and
weiQhty matters involved in this whole
freights and fares question. They voted
for the bill for two reasons; to throw the
burden of examination upon that graver
body, the Senate, and in response to what
is alleged to be the demand of the people.
1t is sufficient to say for the bill that it
was fair counterpart with its notorious
predecessor the Freeman bill, was utterly
destructive of short roads, and was unjust
and itself discriminating in allowing a
short road to charge three times as much
nearly, as a long road for a like distance
on its road, simply because it was or is
longer. To illustrate just once. If you
owned road twenty-five miles long, the
bill allowed you 10 cents per mile for fare
or 50 so for the 25 miles. II | owned a
road $50 miles long, right beside yours, l
on 25 miles of my road, or 81 for doing
the same service for which you get 81 50.
The same prevailed as to freights. This
exposes the animus of the bill, to fetter
the great lines, not to properly value and
adjust the railroad transportation prob
lem, which the people desire to see ad-
justed with honor to themselves and equity
to the Railroad companies. Well, yes
terday the Senate Committee on Corpora
tions reported, after laborious but hasty
examination and the taking of much per-
tinent testimony, and arguments, by A.
A. Cohen against the railroads, and ex-
Governor Stanford for them. The report
of the Committee kills Archer's bill, and
recommends that Lindsey's bill in the
Senate, which is copy Of Archer's, be
buried in the same grave. The Commit
tee endorse Senator O'Connor's Railroad
Commissioner bill providing for Rail
road Commissioner, and introduce amend
ments to it OF n regulative character.
These amendments


AMOUNT TO THIS:


The adoption of the freight classification
of the Central Pacific Railroad as it stood
January lst, 1876; the adoption of the
rates OF all railroads in the State in force
January 1st, 1876, with the provision that
no higher rates shall be charged. This,
you will observe is an enunciation of the
right and power Of the State to regulate
and yet is not revolutionary measure.
The attempt to upset schedules and class
ilications which are the result of the in
flexible laws Of trade, is not made, but
the same laws are left to work out, as in
the past time their legitimate ends. The
O'Connor bill also provides for Commits
sioners to enforce the law, prevent extor-
ton, gather all facts of railroading and
dissipate the prevalent ignorance regard
ing the science Of railroading and trans
portatlon.


The report Of the Senate Committee is
unanimous, and is fearful robuke to the
thoughtless Assemblymen who rushed
the Archer bill through. The Committee
coolly and dispassionately tear that fear
full measure to shreds. They show that
it fixed arbitrary rates on all roads with
out any consideration whatever of the
different cost Of roads, of the differing
costs of operation, or the differing sources
and amount of patronage. That-for in
stance-the Archer bill requires one road
to do $50 miles of service, to earn the
same money that one doing % or so nj les
of service would earn. Such fearful
inequality the Committee declare would
be revolutionary and opposed to all the
principles Of right and justice. The re-
port is full of truth and fair statements
about which the people have long been
misled and every man in the State should
read and ponder it. If we are to remain
and be free and happy people, we can
do so only by being just and wise peo-
pie. Ignorance on so grave subject as
that Of transportation can not prevail and
bring good fruit to the people. Let light
be shed on that subject, and we need have
no fear of the people doing anything to
retard progress or infringe rights. That
tho report will be adopted by the Senate
seems n foregone conclusion and can only
be prevented by the stubborn action of
the fanatics, who, determined to rule or
ruin will, like the dog in the manger,
allow none to eat, if they cannot chew
fodder themselves. The action of the
Senate Committee is great triumph for
Mr.. Murphy, of Del Norte, in the As
sembly, who almost alone has fought for
his commissioner bill," and which is
the basis Of the O'Connor Commissioner
bill-that is, they are similar in detail
and alike in principle, though l know not
which was drawn first.


EDUCATIONAL.


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