126 THE GRANGER MOVEMENT 



alteration by the legislature. 1 In spite of the fact that the 

 governor's veto at this time was merely suspensive and could 

 be over-ridden by a majority vote of both houses, the legislature 

 docilely laid aside the radical bill and enacted a law which was 

 in accord with suggestions made by the governor. 2 This " Act 

 concerning railroad rates " of i869, 3 which was the first measure 

 on the statute books of Illinois that attempted to interfere with 

 the right of railway companies to fix the charges for their services, 

 was quite inadequate as a solution of the problem of railway 

 regulation and failed entirely to satisfy the growing demand 

 for effective measures. It contained provisions declaring that 

 railroads should be limited to " just, reasonable, and uniform 

 rates," and that they should receive " a reasonable and uniform 

 toll or compensation, according to the service actually rendered " ; 

 but the popular pro rata principle was specifically rejected by a 

 section providing that these declarations should not be taken 

 to mean that rates must be the same on all roads, or for different 

 classes of freight, or for shipments in opposite directions. Phrased 

 thus guardedly and with no adequate provision for enforcement, 

 the act became a mere encumbrance on the statute books. 

 There is no evidence that the railroad companies paid any 

 attention to it, or that any attempts were made to enforce it. 4 



THE CONSTITUTION OF 1870 



The people of the state, and especially the farmers, were not 

 long in discovering that the legislature had given them a stone 

 when they had asked for bread, and the pages of the Prairie 

 Farmer and other newspapers soon contained numerous articles, 

 editorials, and letters discussing railroad abuses and the rail- 



1 Senate Journal, 1869, i. 44, 186-192, 208-210, 322, 397, 471-474; House 

 Journal, 1869, i. 225, 227, 283, 300, 342-350, 463; Moses, Illinois, ii. 778. 



2 Senate Journal, 1869, i. 404, 506, 566, 856, ii. 9-14, 97, 406, 446, 644; House 

 Journal, 1869, ii. 561, 589, iii. 193, 223, 251. 



3 Illinois, Public Laws, 1869, pp. 309-312. 



4 Cf. Hammond, in Gordon, Illinois Railway Legislation, 17; Newton, Railway 

 Legislation in Illinois (Ms.), 75. During this period some of the agitation for state 

 control found vent in restrictive provisions in charters to new railway companies. 

 Ibid. ch. x. 



