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without results, nobody could blame the Board, and so long as not blamed it would be measurably successful. I believed that by judicious, fair, and impartial treatment of the transportation companies, much could be accomplished, and, if not all we might wish, it would still be better than the loss of everything by the law's delays. The advantage of treating with the companies, instead of resorting to the Courts, may be seen from the result of the suit brought to restrain. the Board from regulating the coast lines of steamships. That action was brought in December, 1880, in the United States Circuit Court, and was soon after argued and submitted, and no decision has yet been rendered. When rendered, an appeal to the United States Supreme Court will involve one or two years more delay. Acting under this belief, I sought at once to acquaint myself with the disposition of the chief transportation company of the State towards the Board, and whether its purpose was to resist all reductions, or whether it was willing to make concessions to the industries of the State. I found that great and hitherto all-powerful corporation disposed to enter upon the question of reduction of freights apparently in good faith, if they could feel assured of being met with like good faith by the Board. They did not want to be tricked into making concessions which the Board would use only as a basis for still greater and arbitrary reductions. I saw no reason why I should not, as a public officer, treat these corporations with fairness, and negotiate terms for the people if I could-falling back upon our powers whenever compelled to resort to them-and I saw no reason why I should not avail myself of every opportunity afforded me by resort to the companies' records at their offices, and by intercourse with their employés, in order the better to understand the complex duties of my office. In this view I was sustained by one member of the Board only, the other apparently preferring to accomplish nothing except by absolute non-intercourse and by arbitrary exercise of power.

The Board visited nearly all the shipping points in the State; held public meetings, to which all persons were invited; the wants of shippers were inquired into and their importance considered. Meanwhile every opportunity offered by the companies to disclose the extent to which they would concede the terms asked by the people was taken advantage of, and a body of facts thus collected enabled a majority of the Board to prepare a schedule of reduced freights, which, however, little known to or appreciated by the people, I have the satisfaction of knowing has saved and will hereafter save to the producers very large sums of money. This schedule, after considerable hesitation and some reluctance, was consented to by the chief railway company, and was put in operation without resort to the Courts, on June 1, 1881. It embraced the principal products of the State, to wit: Wheat, corn, barley, oats, rye, flour and mill stuffs, cattle, sheep, hogs, and wool. Any one who will take the trouble to consult this schedule, or will compare his shipping receipts for 1880, with those of 1881 (after June), will see that he has a net gain, through the interference of this Board, of from twenty-five to thirty-three per cent. If he will compute the saving to the people of the State, he will see that it amounts to several hundred thousand dollars per annum, and this advantage will increase every year. I desire also to say, that in nearly every instance the reduction was entirely satisfactory to the people who came before us, and was as great as was demanded by them. This schedule went into force

without the assent or coöperation of the minority member of the Board, who still adhered to his purpose of doing nothing to which the transportation companies would assent.

Parallel with our investigations upon this branch of our duties, we were also gathering facts and acquainting ourselves with the more difficult question of a general freight tariff on goods shipped to the interior, and upon the question of fares. Upon the general classification of freights we were met and beset by the most complex difficulties, and I regret that so little substantial good was accomplished in that direction.

Upon the matter of the reduction of fares we had the same friendly assurances from the companies most interested that we had received as to freights on products of the soil, but we were besought not to press action upon them concurrently with freight reductions, because of the disastrous effect it might have upon their struggle to complete their through line to the Atlantic seaboard. This latter great enterprise I had come to regard as the most important source of relief to the chief industry of the State ever yet undertaken. We had long been completely at the mercy of the ocean vessels, and by combinations of tonnage our farmers were practically working for speculators, and were absolutely helpless. The cheapening of freights to the Bay of San Francisco only added to the gains of tonnage buyers. The Liverpool market had no controlling influence on prices here, but they were regulated by ocean charges. We saw the western farmers making money while we were cultivating the soil and shipping our vastly superior wheat at a loss. I saw no relief except through the controlling power of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and being assured that by this route wheat could be laid down in Liverpool for a rate. never afterward to exceed fifteen dollars per ton as against twentytwo and twenty-five dollars per ton, which we had been paying by ocean. I felt it an imperative obligation upon me to abstain from any official action which might seriously cripple this means of relief and destroy a possible saving to the State of from $3,000,000 to $7,000,000 annually in the near future. It seemed to me suicidal to needlessly impede the progress of this important outlet.

After, however, the southern route was assured, and the non-action of our Board was no longer important, I renewed my efforts to have the companies revise and reduce fares, and I was informed that it would be done. In nearly every portion of the State they established a practical reduction by introducing reduced round trip tickets and putting on second class cars; still this did not seem to me to quite meet their duty to the public or their promises, and at length, despairing of securing the reduction without the exercise of the power of the Board, I introduced a resolution fixing the maximum of four cents per mile.

The efforts I have made to secure the passage of the resolution are fresh and need not be recalled. I had no doubt that I could count now upon the coöperation of the minority member, who had all along affected to want to do what this resolution proposed. He became the candidate of one of the political parties of the State for Governor and was elected. All his previous pledges, and every sense of duty, seemed to me to require that he should remain on this Board until some action was taken as to fares. Numerous and high precedents were at hand for his continuing to exercise the powers of Railroad Commissioner up to the time of his induction into office as

Governor; there was no possible or conceivable impropriety in it whatever; the people had a right to expect this of him; he, however, made haste to resign, and at the last I stood alone to record my vote for a reduction of fares.

In taking leave of my office as Railroad Commissioner, I do so with a consciousness of having endeavored to serve the people faithfully as far as I could from my standpoint. Freights have been very materially reduced, and fares also to a large extent. I fully realize that much more remains to be done, but, looking back, I am still convinced that, had the Board forced the issue into the Courts, we would be to-day where we were three years ago, and our producing classes would have suffered immeasurably more than they have by the course pursued. However permanent and substantial have been these benefits to the public, I cannot hope, at this time, for a fair judgment from a people who have so recently elevated to a high place the one member of the Board who has refused to take part in the only measures of relief proposed, and who, at the last, turned away from performing a signal act of duty plainly incumbent upon him. If I was mistaken in my judgment as to how best to perform my duties, I can, in all faith, submit the rectitude of my conduct to the scrutiny of the world.

J. S. CONE.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

Interest-When
Payable.

Amount of
Interest
Annually.

Sinking Funds
Annually.

Total Interest
and Sinking
Funds Annually.

STATEMENT No. 1.

Of Annual Bonded and Sinking Fund Liabilities of the Central Pacific Railroad Company.

[blocks in formation]

By State

$105,000 00

$50,000 00

$50,000 00

January and July 6 January and July

[blocks in formation]

January and July.

50,000 00

60,000 00

432,680 00

6 January and July

82,980 00

6

January and July

239,820 00

6

January and July

239,940 00

6

January and July

239,940 00

50,000 00

1,229,300 00

H July, 1868.

3,999,000 July, 1898.

6

January and July

239,940 00

I July, 1868.

3,511,000 July, 1899.

6

January and July

210,660 00

Western Pacific.

A

July, 1869.

2,735,000 July, 1879.

6

January and July

*164,100 00

United States Aid.

B

July, 1864.

27,855,680 July, 1898.

6

*1,671,340 80

California and Oregon Mortgage...

A

July, 1868.

6,000,000 July, 1888.

6

January and July

Central Pacific, California & Oregon

B

July, 1872

San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda-
San Joaquin Valley Railroad.

July, 1872.

2,080,000 July, 1892.
687,000 July, 1890.

6

January and July

360,000 00
124,800 00

8

January and July

54,960 00

100,000 00

25,000 00
1,050,000 00

} 100,000 00

189,100 00
2,721,340 80

584,800 00
154,960 00

Land Grant

Income Bonds

October, 1870_
October, 1878-
May, 1878.

Totals..

6,080,000 October, 1900. 6
6,660,000 October, 1900- 6
3,285,000 May, 1888.
$82,565,680

April and October

364,800 00

8

April and October -
May and November.

399,600 00

50,000 00

414,800 00

262,800 00

328,500 00

399,600 00
591,300 00

$4,955,380 80 $1,853,500 00

$6,758,880 80

CHARACTER OF BONDS.

* Includes the interest due the United States Government on the bonds issued in aid of the construction of said road. Until further legislation, a portion of the interest only is paid, equaling twenty-five per cent of the net earnings of that portion of the road which received Government aid in bonds and lands. decrease.

The amount varies as the net earnings increase or

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