KM 



RAILROADS. 



" A state of feeling was developed through th eommu- 1 to its application to a limited local field, is indicated by 

 nitr which only wanted organisation to become all powerful, the fact that the principle U|H>II which it was organ- 

 II found this organisation in the Grange.. (SeeURAKOKlts.) jjed has been successlully applied in other u - 



" That the movement against the railroads thould com*, 

 was inevitable. That it took this particular iuMrnim-nt to 

 make itself felt was iu some sense au accident. U lien the 

 first Granges were formed, the pur|Kea of the organiza- 

 tion were, first, to render farmers' homes attractive, aud, 

 second, to make farming more productive. As a means to 

 this second end they sought to diminish the expenses; and 

 on* of the mm* important elements of ex|>ense was the cost 

 of getting goods to market. It was thus that they became 

 interested, as an organization, in questions of transportation 

 and of railroad control. Their firnt utterances on this mat- 

 ter were moderate; it was but gradually that they became 

 the instrument of popular agitation. | . . ._ ..^ f 



" The first tangible results were reached in Illinois. The ] aW8 establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges 

 constitutional convention of 1870 made an important decla- r i.- , - / i / , . 



and has been followed by satisfactory results in the 

 State of New York, witn itw concentration of great 

 and diverse railroad and commercial interests. 



The Illinois commission has been the leading expo- 

 nent of the other theory of regulation through a 

 commission. _ It was inaugurated by the adoption of 

 the constitution of 1870, now in force, which declared 

 railways to be public highways, and free to all persons 

 for the transportation of their persons and property 

 thereon, under such regulations as may be prescribed 

 by law. The General Assembly is required to pass 



ration concerning State control of rates, on the basis of 

 which a law was passed in 1871, establishing a system of 

 maxima. This law was pronounced unconstitutional liy 

 Judge Lawrence. The result was that he immediately after- 

 ward failed of re-election, solely on this ground. The de- 

 feat of Judge Lawrence showed the true significance of the 

 farmers' movement. They were concerned in securing what 

 they felt to be their rights, and they were unwilling that 

 any constitutional barriers should be made to defeat the 

 popular will. They had reached the point where they re- 

 garded many of the forms of law OH mere technicalities. 

 They were dangerously near the point where revolutions 

 begin. 



" But they did not pass the point The law of 1873 avoided 

 the issue raised by Judge Lawrence against that of 1871. 

 Instead of directly fixing maxima, it provided that rates 

 must be reasonable, and then further provided for a com- 

 mission to fix reasonable rates. Similar laws were passed 

 by Iowa and Minnesota almost immediately afterward. The 

 Legislature of Wisconsin went even farther, fixing by the 

 so-called Potter Law the rates on different classes of roads 

 at figures which proved quite unremunerative. The rail- 

 roads made vain attempts to contest these regulations in 

 the courts. They were defeated again and again, aud finally, 

 in 1877, the Supreme Court of the United States su*tuined 

 thecnnstitutionality of the Granger laws. 



" Itut n more powerful force than the authority of the court 

 was working against the Granger system of regulation. The 

 laws of trade could notle violated with impunity. The ef- 

 fects were most sharply felt in Wisconsin. 1 he law reducing 

 railroad rates to the oasis which competitive )>int4 enjoyed 

 left nothing to i>ay fixed charges. In the second year of its 

 operation no \Viroii*in road paid a dividend; only four 

 paid interest on their bonds. Railroad construction had 

 come to a standstill. Even the facilities on existing roads 

 could not be kept up. Foreign capital refused to invest in 

 Wisconsin ; the development of the State wan sharply 

 checked ; the very men who had most favored the law found 

 themselves heavy losers. These points were plain to every 

 one. They formed the theme of the governor's message at 

 the beginning of 1878. The very men who passed the law 

 in 1874 hurriedly repealed it after two years' trial. In 

 other States the laws either were repealed, ns in lows, 



for the transportation of passengers and freight ; to 

 correct abuses and prevent unjust discrimination and 

 extortion ; and to enforce such laws by adequate pen- 

 alties to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of 

 forfeiture of the property and franchise of the railways. 

 The consolidation of railroad companies owning paral- 

 lel or competing lines is prohibited, and sixty days' 

 public notice of all proposed consolidations is re- 

 quired. 



The railroad legislation of the Southern States has 

 in the main followed the general features of the (imr- 

 ti.i system, which is similar to that of Illinois. The 

 constitution gives the General Assembly power to regu- 

 late railroad freight and passenger tariffs, prevent un- 

 just discriminations, and require reasonable rates, and 

 it is made its duty to pass laws for these purposes 

 and to enforce the same by adequate penalties. The 

 General Assembly is prohibited from authorizing any 

 corporation to buy shares or stock in any ntlu-r 

 corporation in the State or elsewhere, or to make any 

 contract or agreement with any such corporation which 

 may have the effect to defeat or lessen competition 

 in their respective l.n-in. sses, or to encourage monop- 

 oly : and all such contracts arc declared illegal and 

 void. Railroad companies are prohibited from giving 

 or paying any rebate, or bonus in the nature thereof, 

 directly or indirectly ; or doing any act to deceive the 

 public as to the real rates received. Such payments 

 ore declared illegal and void, and the General Assem- 

 bly is required to enforce these prohibitions by suit- 

 able penalties. 



California is the only State which has adopted 

 the commission system as a part of the organic law 

 of the State. The constitution of 187'J is extremely 

 rigid in its provisions for the regulation of railroads. 

 It declares all railroad, canal, and transportation 

 companies common carriers and subject to legislative 

 control, and requires railroads to receive and transport 



in ^ __ , 



or were sparingly and cautiously enforced. I!y the time ,, at . n other's passengers, tonnage, and curs without' de- 

 the Supreme Court published the Granger decisions, the ]. 1V nnA ,lisrrinminFnn 

 ught had been settled, not by constitutional limitation* but 

 by industrial ones." 



The first of the State commissions to attract pub- 

 lic attention was that of Ohio, which was established 

 in 1867, Gen. George B. Writrht beini* the first in- 

 cumbent of the office. Gen. Wright being a practical 

 railroad man t his investigations and reports on matters 

 of practical importance and public interest received 

 considerable attention from all interested in the prob- 

 lem of governmental supervision or control of rail- 

 roads. 



The Massachusetts railroad commission was estab- 

 lished in 18(59, and furnishes the most conspicuous in- 

 "f the purely advisory commission, depending 

 upon investigation, the justice of its conclusions, and 

 the force of public opinion for the enforcement of 

 its recommendations ; and by reason of its successful 

 working under a novel plan and of the ability of its 



lay and discrimination. 



The following statement shows the States having 

 commissions and the year in which commissions were 

 first established in each State, arranged in the order 

 of their establishment : 



State. Date. 



New IIani|hire 1844 



Connecticut 1853 



Vermont 1856 



Maine 1858 



Ohio 1867 



Massachusetts 1869 



Illinois 1871 



Rhode Wand 1872 



Michigan 1873 



Wisconsin.. 



1874 



Stnte. Dste. 



Virginia 1878 



Iowa 187(J 



South Carolina 1878 



Georgia 1879 



Kentucky 18fO 



Alabama 1881 



New York 1882 



Kansas 1883 



Mississippi 18X4 



Nebraska 1885 



Colorado IHfS 



Dakota 1S4S 



Minnesota 1874 



Missouri 1875 



California 1876 



Intcrtlnlf Cmnnifrrf Cnmmix*ifi.-'-T\\\f eommis- 



CMOlberahip it has always made its influence \vMelv sion, the first t ribun.il organized in connection with (he 



Jl.l. C:.. . I l: 1 ;._ I L I i" *r . ' i i i .1 J ?. i . 1 



Since its establishment its career has been 

 wat'-hed. and its sun-ess is now undisputed. That it 

 baa not been due solely to fortuitous circumstances, or 



National government, ami clothed with advisory and 

 other power* to regulate the traffic of railroads, liegan 

 its official labors April 5, 18K7. The assumption of 



