THIRD

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

RAILROAD COMMISSION

OF-

FLORIDA.

MARCH 1, 1890.

STANFORD LIBRARY

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA:
DACOSTA PRINTING AND PUBLISHING HOUSE,

1890.

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STANFORD

COMMISSIONERARY

REPORT OF RAILROAD COMMISSION,

OFFICE OF RAILROAD COMMISSION,
STATE OF FLORIDA,

TALLAHASSEE, FLA., March 1st, 1890.

His Excellency, Francis P. Fleming, Governor of Florida:
SIR-We have the honor to submit our third annual report.
In our previous annual reports, in addition to an enumera-
tion of the transactions of our office, and as somewhat incidental
thereto, we discussed at some length the general questions of the
relation of the railroads to the State and to the people, as well
as the proper functions and legitimate sphere of authority of
Railroad Commissions. In our opinion there is not, at this time,
any occasion for any discussion of these matters, and we shall
in this report refrain from any further reference to them.

AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW.

Since the date of our last report several important changes have been made in the law respecting the powers and duties of the Commission. One of these is contained in section 6 of the new Act. Section 5 of the former statute directed the Commissioners to make and fix reasonable and just rates of freight and passenger tariffs;" whereas section 6 of the present law directs the Commissioners to require each railroad company "to make a schedule of just and reasonable rates of charges for the transportation of freights, passengers and cars, on its railroad, and for all railroads under its control and management, which schedule, before being acted upon or put in operation by said railroads, shall be submitted to the Railroad Commissioners for their revision and adoption, and thereupon the Commissioners shall carefully investigate said schedules, and revise such schedules in such particulars as they may deem necessary so as to make all of said rates and charges to be just, fair and reasonable, and such schedules as revised and adopted by said Commissioners shall be the tariff of rates for freight, passengers and cars, by which such roads shall be governed respectively." Provided that the rules and regulations and schedules heretofore made by said Commissioners, in force at the date of the passage of the amended act, shall, unless changed or abrogated by the said Commissioners, be and remain in full force until the schedules herein provided for shall have been made, revised, adopted or allowed by the Commissioners.

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