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ing, by their report of March nineteenth, eighteen | hundred and seventy-nine, stated that, in their opinion, "justice requires at his [the President's] hands such action as may be necessary to annul and set aside the findings and sentence of the court-martial in the case of Major-General FitzJohn Porter, and to restore him to the positions of which that sentence deprived him, such restoration to take effect from the date of dismissal from the service;" and

Whereas the President, on the fourth day of May, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, remitted so much of the sentence of said court-martial remaining unexecuted as "forever disqualified the said Fitz-John Porter from holding any office of trust or profit under the Government of the United States:" Therefore, that justice may be done the said Fitz-John Porter, and to carry into effect the recommendation of said board,

Be it enacted, etc., That the President be, and

he is hereby, authorized to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Fitz-John Porter, late a major-general of the United States volunteers and a brevet brigadier-general and colonel of the Army, to the position of Colonel in the Army of the United States, of the same grade and rank held by him at the time of his dismissal from the Army by sentence of court-martial promulgated January twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and, in his discretion, to place him on the retired-list of the army as of that grade, the retired-list being thereby increased in number to that extent; and all laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are suspended for this purpose only: Provided, That said Fitz-John Porter shall receive no pay, compensation, or allowance whatsoever prior to his appointment under this

act.

But no votes were taken.

XXI.

THE REGULATION OF INTER-STATE COMMERCE.

In House-Forty-Sixth Congress, Third Session. 1881, January 5-This bill (H. R. 4748) which was reported by Mr. REAGAN, from the Committee on Commerce, February 26, 1880, was debated:

A bill to establish a Board of Commissioners of Inter-State Commerce, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted, etc., That a Board of Commissioners of Inter-State Commerce is hereby established as a bureau of the Interior Department, to consist of three commissioners, who shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall, as soon as may be after the passage of this act, appoint said three commissioners, who shall hold their offices for the terms of two, four, and six years, from the first day of July next thereafter, respectively, as designated in their commissions; and a commissioner shall be appointed as aforesaid before the first day of July in each second year, thereafter, to continue in office for the term of six years from that day, and in the same manner any of said commissioners may be removed; and if a vacancy shall occur at any time by resignation, removal, or otherwise, a commissioner shall be appointed, as aforesaid, to fill such vacancy for the residue of the term. The action of a majority of said board shall be the action of the board.

SEC. 2. The annual salary of said commissioners shall be five thousand dollars each, payaable quarterly. Said board shall have a clerk, whose duty it shall be to keep a full and faithful record of the proceedings of said board, and otherwise to assist the members thereof in the performance of their duties, and who shall receive an annual salary of two thousand five hundred dollars; and also one accountant, at an annual salary of two thousand five hundred

dollars, each payable monthly. Said clerk and accountant shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, who may also furnish the board of commissioners such additional clerical, engineering, expert, or other service as they may request and he shall deem proper. All actual and necessary traveling and other expenses incurred by said commissioners or their employees, under their orders, shall be allowed them, for which itemized vouchers shall be rendered.

SEC. 3. That said board shall exercise a supervision over that portion of the business of all railroads which passes from one State or Territory into or through one or more other States or Territories, or to or from any foreign country, and over the transportation of all property by railroad from one State or Territory into or through one or more other States or Territories, or to or from any foreign country, whether such property be carried by one railroad or by several railroads running in connection with each other, and whether such commerce be carried on railroads lying wholly within one State or more. But such supervision shall be limited to questions of commerce between the States, and the methods of operating railroads by railroad corporations, as affecting said commerce; and shall not, except within the limits of Territories, or in the case of crossing navigable waters, extend to any other portion of the business of said railroad companies.

SEC. 4. Said board shall prescribe a railroad year, and a system of reports covering said year, to be rendered by all railroad companies hereinbefore described; examine the books and accounts of said companies in any manner affecting the said commerce between the States, at such times as may be deemed by them necessary; see that all United States laws relating to said companies are enforced, furnish such information to the several departments of the government, or the

government directors of any of said railroads, in regard to the tariff of fares and freight on such business, or the accounts as aforesaid of said railroads, as may be required of them or as they may deem expedient, and make annual reports of their doings to the Secretary of the Interior on or before the first day of November of each year, and otherwise endeavor to procure the data necessary to the gradual enactment of an intelligent system of national legislation regulating inter-State railroad commerce.

SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of said board to investigate all complaints which may be forwarded to it of any unreasonable charges, or of discrimination in the charges, made for its services as a common carrier in commerce between the States by any railroad corporation or corporations; and if such charges are approved and forwarded by any incorporated board of trade or chamber of commerce, or any State or city government, the investigation, if so desired by the parties forwarding the complaint upon which it is founded, shall be made by one or more commissioners on the spot where such cause of complaint originated, or wherever else it may be found most convenient: and the results of all such investigation, and the findings of the commissioners thereon, shall be reported in writing to the parties thereto, and included in the next annual report of the board.

SEC. 6. That whenever it shall appear to said board that any railroad corporation or other organization or person has failed in any matter appertaining to commerce between the States, to perform its or their duty as a common carrier, or has violated its or their duty as such, or that any change is necessary or expedient in the manner in which it or they conduct its or their business as such common carrier between the States, in order to promote the public interests, they shall give notice thereof in writing to said corporation, organization, or person, with a statement of such changes as they adjudge to be proper; and if such corporation, organization, or person refuse or neglect to comply with their recommendations, they shall make a statement of the facts in relation thereto, including the reasons assigned for such refusal or neglect by the party making the same, in their next annual report, and of such action or legislation as they recommend in consequence thereof.

SEC. 7. That whenever in the judgment of said board it shall appear that any corporation, organization, or person owning or operating any railroad or other means of transportation, has violated any law of the United States relating to said railroad organization or person, or has in any respect or particular neglected to comply with the terms of any such law, or that any person or corporation or organization has violated or neglected to comply with the terms of this act, they shall give notice thereof in writing to such person, organization, or corporation; and if the violation or neglect is continued after said notice, they shall forthwith present the facts to the Attorney-General of the United States, who shall take such proceedings thereon as he shall deem necessary and expedient.

SEC. 8. That said board of commissioners, in

any investigation conducted by or before them, shall have power to summon witnesses and to direct the production of books, papers, contracts, and reports relating to any subject-matter of complaint, or alleged violation of the provisions of this act; and in case any person so summoned shall fail, or refuse to appear, or to produce any books, papers, contracts, or reports which may be called for as aforesaid, the attendance of such witnesses, and the production of such books, papers, contracts, and reports, in so far as they relate to the questions and business referred to in section four, may, on application of said board, be compelled by or before any United States commissioner, as in civil cases depending in district or circuit courts of the United States, in the manner provided in chapter seventeen, of title thirteen, of the Revised Statutes of the United States; and such investigations, as aforesaid, in which the commissioners may direct the production of books, papers, contracts, and reports, shall be conducted, when practicable, at the place where the general office of the corporation owning said books, papers, contracts, or reports may be situate.

SEC. 9. That no company or companies, railroad corporation or corporations, organization or organizations, person or persons, so engaged as aforesaid in operating a line or lines of railroad, shall charge, collect, demand, or receive more than a fair and reasonable rate of toll or compensation for the transportation of freight or property of any kind or description, or for the use and transportation of any railroad car upon its track, to be carried from one State or Territory to another State or Territory, or to or from any foreign country, in so far as the transportation of such freight and property, or the use and transportation of such railroad car shall relate to commerce between the States; and for each and every violation of this act, by charging, collecting, demanding, or receiving more than such reasonable rate, the company or companies, railroad corporation or corporations, organization or organizations, person or persons, so offending shall be jointly and severally liable for extortion, and subject to the forfeitures and penalties hereinafter provided.

SEC. 10. That no railroad corporation, organization, or person, whether engaged alone or associated with others in the transportation of property between the States by railroad, steamboat, canal-boat, or other water-craft, within the purview of this act, shall, directly or in directly, charge to or receive from any person or persons any greater or less rate or amount of freight charge or compensation than is by them charged to or received from any other person for the same facilities, and for like and contemporaneous service under similar circumstances and conditions in the carrying, storing, or handling of the same on or over the same line of transportation, and all such railroad corporations and persons, so engaged as aforesaid, shall furnish, as nearly as may be, and as may be reasonably within their power, and without discrimination, the same facilities for the carriage, storage, and handling of all property of like character carried by it, him, or them as aforesaid;

and shall, as near as reasonably may be, perform with equal expedition the same kind of services connected with the contemporaneous transportation thereof as aforesaid. No break of bulk or interruption, nor any contract or understanding, shall be made to prevent the carriage of any property from being and being treated as one continuous carriage, in the meaning of this act, from the place of shipment to the place of destination, unless such stoppage, interruption, contract or understanding was made in good faith for some practical and necessary purpose, without any intent to avoid or interrupt such continuous carriage, or to evade any of the provisions of this act.

SEC. II. That no person or persons engaged in the transportation of property between the States or otherwise, as aforesaid, shall directly or indirectly allow any person any rebate, drawback, or other advantage in any form upon shipments made or services rendered, as aforesaid, by him or them, which under like conditions and for the same contemporaneous service is not allowed to all other persons, nor shall any person or persons for whom such service is done accept or receive such rebate, or drawback, or other advantage in any form; and the penalties provided in this act shall apply to the receiver of such rebate, drawback, or other advantage, as well as to the party paying the same.

SEC. 12. That said board of commissioners shall inquire into that method of railroad management or combination known as pooling, and state the result of their inquiry in their first annual report, and whether, in their judgment, any, and if so what, legislation is expedient in relation thereto.

SEC. 13. No person or persons engaged in the carriage, storage, or handling of property, as mentioned in the tenth and eleventh sections of this act, shall enter into any combination or agreement, the object of which is to prevent, by changes of schedule, carriage in different cars, breaking of different car-loads into less than carloads, or by any other means, the carriage of such property from being continuous from the place of shipment to the place of destination, whether carried on one or several railroads.

States where the corporation or corporations, person or persons, causing such damage can be be found, or may have an agent or place of business; and the corporation or corporations, organization or organizations, person or persons so of fending shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit and pay for each offense a penalty of not less than one thousand dollars, to be recovered by the United States by action, on information of the Commissioners of Inter-State Commerce, or otherwise, in any district or circuit court of the United States, one-half of such penalty, when collected, to be paid to the party damaged by such violation of law, and bringing action thereon, or commencing proceedings by complaint to said commissioners. No action as aforesaid shall be sustained unless brought within one year after the cause of such action shall accrue.

SEC. 16. That nothing in this act shall apply to the carriage, storage, or handling of property less than an ordinary car-load, or wholly within one State or Territory, and not contracted to be carried beyond such State or Territory, or property carried for the United States, or to the transportation of articles free, or at reduced rates, for State or municipal governments, or for charitable, educational, or scientific purposes, or to or from public fairs and expositions for exhibition thereat.

SEC. 17. That in the construction of this act the words "railroad" or "railroads" shall be construed to mean a railroad or all railroads engaged in transporting property from one State or Territory into or through one or more other States or Territories, or into or from any foreign country, whether the same be operated by the corporations owning them or by other corporations, or otherwise, and no others. The phrases "railroad corporation" and "railroad company" shall be held to be synonymous, and to signify a corporation which either owns or operates a railroad as aforesaid. And the term " person or persons," wherever used in this act, shall be held to include corporations and joint-stock companies as well as individuals.

shall in any way be affected by the provisions of this act.

SEC. 18. That the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for the uses and purposes of this act for the fiscal year ending SEC. 14. That the provisions of this act shall June thirtieth, anno Domini eighteen hundred apply to all inter-State commerce and business and eighty-two, and the intervening time anterior as aforesaid, including the carriage, storage, and thereto; and it is expressly provided that no handling of all property on one actually or sub-pending litigation between railroad companies stantially continuous inter-State carriage, or part of such carriage, as provided for in the tenth and eleventh sections of this act, and the compensation therefor, whether such property be carried wholly on one railroad or partly on several railroads, or wholly on water, or partly on railroad and partly on water, and whether such services are performed or compensation paid or received by or to one person alone or in connection with another or other persons.

SEC. 15. That any corporation or corporations, person or persons, guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this act, shall forfeit and pay to the person or persons who may sustain damage thereby a sum equal to three times the amount of the damages so sustained, to be recovered by suit in any district or circuit court of the United

February 2-It being the regular order of business on the Speaker's table—

Mr. S. S. Cox raised the question of consideration; and the House refused to consider the bill-yeas 98, nays 150:

YEAS-Messrs. Acklen, Anderson, Atherton, Atkins, Bayne, Beltzhoover, Berry, Bisbee, Blackburn, Blount, Bouck, Boyd, Bragg, M. S. Brewer, Briggs, Brigham, Bright, Caldwell, Clardy, N. N. Clements, Clymer, Covert, Culberson, Daggett, Davidson, G. R. Davis, H. Davis, J. J. Davis, De La MATYR, Dibrell, Dick, Dickey, Errett, Felton, Forney, FORSYTHE, Geddes, GILLETTE, Godshalk, Hall, Hatch, Henderson, Herbert, Houk, House, Hurd,

Kenna, Le Fevre, LowE, Manning, Marsh, | Atherton, Atkins, Belmont, Berry, Blackburn,
B. F. Martin, E. L. Martin, McKenzie, Mc-
Mahon, McMillin, Mills, Mitchell, Muldrow,
MURCH, Myers, New, O'Connor, O'Reilly,
Pacheco, Philips, Phister, Price, Ray, Reagan,
Reed, 7. S. Richardson, D. L. RUSSELL, T.
Ryan, Samford, Shallenberger, J. W. Single-
ton, O. R. Singleton, Sparks, Speer, Springer,
Stevenson, Tillman, R. W. Townshend, 0.
Turner, T. Turner, WEAVER, Wellborn, H.
White, C. G. Williams, T. Williams, Willis,
Willits, Wilson, M. R. Wise, YOCUM, C. Young,
T. L. Young-98.

NAYS-Messrs. Aiken, N. W. Aldrich, W. Aldrich, Bachman, Bailey, Baker, Ballou, Beale, Bicknell, Bingham, Blake, Bland, Bliss, Bowman, Buckner, Butterworth, Cabell, Calkins, Camp, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, Chittenden, 7. B. Clark, Cobb, Coffroth, Colerick, Conger, Converse, Cowgill, S. S. Cox, Crapo, Cravens, Crowley, L. H. Davis, Deering, Deuster, Dunn, Dunnell, Dwight, Einstein, Ellis, Evins, Ferdon, Field, E. B. Finley, Fisher, Fort, Frost, Frye, Goode, Gunter, N. J. Hammond, Harmer, B. W. Harris, J. T. Harris, Haskell, Hawk, Hawley, Hayes, G. C. Hazelton, Henkle, W. D. Hill, Hiscock, Hooker, Horr, Hostetler, Hubbell, Humphrey, Hunton, G. W. JONES, Joyce, Ketcham, Killinger, Kimmel, King, Kitchin, Klotz, LADD, Lindsey, Loring, Lounsbery, Mason, McCook, McKinley, McLane, Miles, W. Miller, Money, Monroe, Morrison, Morse, Morton, Muller, Neal, Newberry, Nicholls, Norcross, O'Neill, Orth, Osmer, Overton, Phelps, Poehler, Pound, Prescott, W. W. Rice, Richmond, E. W. Robertson, G. D. Robinson, Ross, W. A. Russell, J. W. Ryon, Sawyer, Scales, Scoville, Shelley, Sherwin, Simonton, Slemons, A. H. Smith, W. E. Smith, Starin, W. L. Steele, J. W. Stone, Talbott, E. B. Taylor, Thomas, P. B. Thompson, jr., W. G. Thompson, A. Townsend, Tucker, Tyler, J. T. Updegraff, T. Updegraff, Urner, Valentine, Van Aernam, Vance, Van Voorhis, Voorhis, Waddill, Wait, Ward, Washburn, Wells, Whiteaker, W. A. Wood, WRIGHT, Yeates-150.

March 1-The House again refused to consider it-yeas 67, nays 144, (not voting 79). It was not again reached.

Inter-State Commerce. IN HOUSE.

FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION. 1882, June 5-Mr. REAGAN moved to suspend the rules and adopt this resolution:

Resolved, That the rules of the House be suspended and the Committee on Commerce be discharged from the further consideration of H. R. bill No. 1655, entitled "A bill to regulate inter-state commerce and prevent unjust discrimination by common carriers," and that it be set for consideration on Tuesday, 12th day of December, 1882, and that its consideration be continued from day to day until disposed of, not to interfere with the consideration of appropriation bills or bills for raising revenue.

Which was disagreed to-yeas 121, nays 78, (two-thirds being required):

YEAS-Messrs. Aiken, Anderson, Armfield,

Blanchard, Bland, Blount, Bragg, Browne, Buchanan, Buckner, J. C. Burrows, J. H. BURROWS, Caldwell, Calkins, Cassidy, Chapman, Clardy, Clark, J. C. Clements, Cobb, Cook, S. S. Cox, W. R. Cox, Cravens, Culberson, Davidson, L. H. Davis, Dawes, De Motte, Dibrell, Dingley, Dowd, Dunn, Dunnell, Dwight, Ermentrout, Errett, Evins, FORd, Forney, Garrison, Geddes, Godshalk, Gunter, Hall, Hardy, I. S. HASELTINE, Haskell, Hatch, Herbert, G. W. Hewitt, Hoge, Holman, House, Humphrey, G. W. JONES, J. K. Jones, Kenna, King, Klotz, Lacey, LADD, Latham, Le Fevre, Lewis, Lowe, Manning, Marsh, E. L. Martin, Matson, McMillin, S. H. Miller, Mills, Morey, Muldrow, Oates, Pacheco, Page, Payson, Peelle, Peirce, Phister, Reagan, T. M. RICE, J. S. Richardson, E. W. Robertson, W. E. Robin

son,

T. Ryan, Scales, Scranton, Simonton, Skinner, D. C. Smith, Sparks, Spaulding, Speer, Springer, P. B. Thompson, jr., Tillman, R. W. Townshend, H. G. Turner, O. Turner, T. Updegraff, Valentine, Vance, Van Horn, Walker, R. Warner, Watson, Wellborn, C. G. Williams, T. Williams, Willis, Willits, Wilson, G. D. Wise-121.

NAYS-Messrs. W. Aldrich, Barr, Bingham, Bisbee, J. H. Brewer, Briggs, Buck, Butterworth, Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, Crapo, Cullen, Cutts, Darrall, G. R. Davis, Deering, C. B. Farwell, S. S. Farwell, FULKERSON, George, Gibson, Hardenbergh, Harmer, Hawk, Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn, Herndon, A. S. Hewitt, Hiscock, Horr, Hubbell, Hubbs, P. Jones, Joyce, Kelley, Ketcham, McLane, Moore, Neal, Norcross, O'Neill, Parker, Phelps, Pound, Prescott, Ranney, Ray, W. W. Rice, Rich, D. P. Richardson, Ritchie, J. S. Robinson, Ross, W. A. Russell, Scoville, Shallenberger, J. W. Singleton, A. H. Smith, Spooner, G. W. Steele, E. F. Stone, Strait, Talbott, Thomas, W. G. Thompson, A. Townsend, Tyler, Urner, Van Aernam, Wadsworth, Ward, Washburn, Webber, West, J. D. White, T. L. Young-78.

1882, June 12-Mr. AMOS TOWNSEND reported, from the Committee on Commerce, the following bill:

Be it enacted, etc., That a Board of Commissioners of Inter-State Commerce is hereby established as a bureau of the Interior Department, to consist of three commissioners, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as soon as may be after the passage of this act. Said commissioners shall receive a salary of seven thousand five hundred dollars a year each, with their necessary traveling expenses, and shall hold their offices for five years.

SEC. 2. That said board shall exercise a supervision over that portion of the business of all railroads which passes from one State or Territory into or through one or more States or Territories, and over all commerce on the navigable waters of the United States, or to or from any foreign country; but such supervision shall be limited to questions of commerce between the States, and the methods of operating their roads by railroad corporations as affecting said commerce.

SEC. 3. That it shall be the duty of said board to investigate all complaints which may be forwarded to it of discrimination in the charges made for its services, or method of rendering its services, as a common carrier in commerce between the States, by any railroad corporation or water transportation companies; and if such charges are approved and forwarded by any incorporated board of trade or chamber of commerce, or any State, city, county, or parish government, the investigation, if so desired by the parties forwarding the complaint upon which it is founded, shall be made on the spot where such cause of complaint originated, or wherever else it may be found most convenient. Either of said commissioners, in any investigation conducted by said board, shall have power, in the name of the United States of America, to summon witnesses, to administer oaths, to take testimony, and to direct the production of books, papers, and contracts relating to any subjectmatter of complaint or investigation. And any judge of a United States district or circuit court, either in term-time or vacation, upon application of said board, is hereby authorized to compel the attendance of such witnesses, and the giving of testimony, and the production of books, papers, and contracts before said board, in the same manner and to the same extent as before said courts.

SEC. 4. That whenever an investigation is made on any complaint, a special report of such investigation, and the findings of the board thereon, shall also be made and forwarded to the parties making the complaint; and whenever it shall appear that any railroad corporation or other organization or person engaged in commerce between the States has violated or failed to perform his or its duties, or that any change is necessary or expedient in the manner in which said commerce is carried on by said common

carriers in order to promote the public interests, the said commissioners shall give public notice thereof to all parties concerned, and shall include such notice in their next annual report, together with specific recommendations of legislation necessary to make the same effective.

SEC. 5. That it shall be the duty of said board to investigate and report upon the general subject of the relations sustained by all common carriers to the agricultural, commercial, and industrial interests of the country, with special reference to the following subjects:

(a) The extent to which freight charges are determined by competition in commerce and in transportation, and the extent to which they are determined by the discretionary power exercised by railroad managers and owners of water-crafts; (b) Differential rates between competing points;

(c) The circumstances and conditions which mark the distinction between just and unjust discriminations in freight charges; and

(d) The influence exerted upon the commercial and industrial interests of the country by railroad confederations or pooling arrange

ments.

And the said board shall have power to call on all common carriers engaged in inter-State commerce for reports of their freight rates and charges, and shall report to Congress all cases of excessive freight rates, charges, or unjust discrimination in rates, by any such common carriers, which may come to their knowledge.

SEC. 6. That said board shall in all ways endeavor to procure the data necessary to the gradual enactment of an intelligent system of national legislation regulating inter-State commerce, and shall make an annual report of its doings to the Secretary of the Interior on or before the first day of November of each year.. No action was taken upon this bill.

XXII.

PRESIDENT ARTHUR'S SPECIAL MESSAGES, AND PROCLAMATION.

Recommending an Increase of the Pay of the Utah Commissioners, April 3, 1882.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith for the consideration of Congress a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, in which he sets forth the necessity which will exist for an appropriation for the payment of the commissioners* to be appointed under the recent act of Congress entitled "An act to amend section 5352 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, in reference to bigamy, and for other purposes," and also for the payment of the election officers to be appointed by said commissioners.

*The following are the commissioners: Alexander Ramsey, of Saint Paul, Minnesota; Algernon S. Paddock, of Beatrice, Nebraska; George L. Godfrey, of Iowa; Ambrose B. Carleton, of Terre Haute, Indiana; James B. Pettigrew, of Arkansas.

In this connection I submit to Congress that in view of the important and responsible duties. devolved upon the commissioners under this act, their compensation at $3,000 per annum as provided therein should be increased to a sum not less than $5,000 per annum.

Such increased compensation, in my judgment, would secure a higher order of ability in the persons to be selected, and tend more effectually to carry out the objects of the act.

CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

On the Mississippi River Improvement, April 17, 1882.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith a letter dated the 29th, ultimo, from the Secretary of War, inclosing copy of a communication from the Mississippi River Commission, in which the commission recom-

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