State, through or into which the line of the railroad corporation sued for violating this act may extend. And such railroad and warehouse commissioners are hereby authorized, when the facts of the case presented to them shall, in their judgment, warrant the commencement of such action, to employ counsel to assist the attorney-general in conducting such suits on behalf of the State. No suits commenced by said commissioners shall be dismissed, except said railroad and warehouse commissioners and the attorney-general shall consent thereto. Sec. 8. The railroad and warehouse commissioners are hereby directed to make, for each of the railroad corporations doing business in this State, as soon as practicable, a schedule of reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight and cars on each of said railroads; and said schedule shall, in all suits brought against any such railroad corporations, wherein is in any way involved the charges of any such railroad corporation, for the transportation of any passenger or freight or cars, or unjust discrimination in relation thereto, be deemed and taken, in all courts of this State, as prima facie evidence that the rates therein fixed are reasonable maximum rates of charges for the transportation of passengers and freight and cars upon the railroads for which said schedules may have been respectively prepared. Said commissioners shall, from time to time, and so often as circumstances may require, change and revise said schedules. When such schedules shall have been made or revised, as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of said commissioners to cause publication thereof to be made for three successive weeks, in some public newspaper in the city of Springfield, in this State; Provided, that the schedules thus prepared shall not be taken as prima facie evidence, as herein provided, until schedules shall have been prepared and published as aforesaid, for all the railroad companies now organized under the laws of this State, and until the 15th day of January, A. D. 1874, or until ten days after the meeting of the next session of the general assembly, provided a session of the general asseinbly shall be held previous to the 15th of day of January aforesaid. All such schedules, purporting to be printed and established as aforesaid, shall be received and held, in all such suits, as prima facie the schedules of said commissioners, without further proof than the production of the paper in which they were published, together with the certificate of the publisher of said paper that the schedule therein contained, is a true copy of the schedule furnished for publication by WORKING OF THE NEW LAW. 309 said commissioners, and that it has been published the above specified time; and any such paper, purporting to have been published at said city, and to be a public newspaper, shall be presumed to have been so published at the date thereof, and to be a public newspaper. Sec. 9. In all cases under the provisions of this act, the rules of evidence shall be the same as in other civil actions, except as hereinbefore otherwise provided. All fines recovered under the provisions of this act shall be paid into the county treasurer of the county in which the suit is tried, by the person collecting the same, in the manner now provided by law, to be used for county purposes. The remedies hereby given shall be regarded as cumulative to the remedies now given by law against railroad corporations; and this act shall not be construed as repealing any statute giving such remedies. Suits commenced under the provisions of this act shall have precedence over all other business, except criminal business. Sec. 10. The term "railroad corporation," contained in this act, shall be deemed and taken to mean all corporations, companies, or individuals now owning or operating, or which may hereafter own or operate, any railroad, in whole or in part, in this State; and the provisions of this act shall apply to all persons, firms, and companies, and to all associations of persons, whether incorporated or otherwise, that shall do business as common carriers upon any of the lines of railways in this State (street railways excepted), the same as to railroad corporations hereinbefore mentioned. Sec. 11. An act entitled "An act to prevent unjust discriminations and extortions in the rates to be charged by the different railroads in this State for the transportation of freight on said roads," approved April 7, A. D. 1871, is hereby repealed; but such repeal shall not affect nor repeal any penalty incurred, or right accrued, under said act prior to the time this act takes effect, nor any proceedings or prosecutions to enforce such rights or penalties. WORKING OF THE NEW LAW. The new Railroad Law has been thoroughly and conscientiously carried out by the Commissioners, as far as settling schedules of freight and passenger charges is concerned. It soon became apparent, however, that State legislation could not give other than very partial relief to the producing class; the through lines re-adjusted their rates, so as to oblige other States to make up what was withheld from them in Illinois. The 44th Congress will have to face this question, beset as it is, with difficulties. And if that Congress dare to trifle with this subject to truckle to the monopolists-to waste its time in whitewashing thieves and land-sharks, instead of looking after the interests of the people, its master, a ball will be set in motion which will stop - where? The Illinois State Fair of 1873, at Peoria, was taken advantage of, to hold a conference between the Central Committee of the State Farmer's Association and the Railroad Commissioners. The schedule of tariffs, etc., was explained by the Commissioners, and questions propounded by the Committee, to whom the answers given were satisfactory. The Commissioners had every confidence in the law, as far as it went, though they considered it susceptible of improve ment. In the course of their investigations, it appeared that the Commissioners had carefully examined the tariffs for the leading roads for a series of years. Finding that as business increased, the rates of transportation had steadily advanced, they had fairly and candidly considered the interests of the roads, and endeavored to establish such rates as would do them no injustice, and which would stand. Railway officials had been courteously treated, though they had generally ignored the Board, frequently submitting intricate questions through inferior officers and agents. The rates adopted were by comparison with the old company rates, and were simply intended as a maximum, leaving the railway companies to fix lower rates if they wished. The law permitted no unjust discriminations, either of special lines or individuals. It was important that it should be understood that the Commissioners' tariffs were in force now, and that railway com WORKING OF THE NEW LAW. 311 panies were liable to fine for non-compliance. In every case of violation of the act, the offending company would be rigorously prosecuted. The Commissioners had a fund of $35,000 for paying expenses of test cases. They and their counsel expressed themselves satisfied with the law, and did not consider that it could be materially improved by amendments, and thought the enforcement of the law would accomplish the ends for which it was devised. They believed the railway companies throughout the country were combined to secure the repeal of the law, and that, to do so, they would use every agency at their command. It behooved the people of the State, especially clubs and societies, to act promptly and decisively, instructing their representatives to sustain the law as it stands, and the Commissioners in its enforcement. CHAPTER XXVI. THE ILLINOIS JUDICIAL ELECTIONS. THE FIRST CHARGE ALONG THE LINE. The judicial elections in Illinois, in the summer of 1873, have the distinction of being the occasion on which the Farmers' Movement first showed its strength. There had been plenty of speeches made, resolutions passed, and memorials drafted, and the several bodies were in a tolerably well organized shape. Farmers had become aware that the only remedy for their grievances was a radical one-the use of the ballot-box. The first opportunity for a display of their power came in June, 1873, when the time came around for the election of Judges for the local courts, and two Justices for the Supreme Bench. One of the retiring Justices was Chief Justice Lawrence, a gentleman of unblemished name, and a jurist of very high attainments. It was before Judge Lawrence that the appeal from the ruling of Judge Tipton, in the McLean County test case, was heard, and it was by him that the decision. that the Illinois railroad law was unconstitutional was rendered. The attorneys of the Fifth Judicial District, where the election was to take place, memoralized Judge Lawrence to allow himself to be put in nomination for re-election, to which he consented. The farmers felt themselves slighted : |