APPENDIX. I. 1. The Advisory Commission Law of 1878. (Chapter 77, Acts of the Seventeenth General Assembly; AN ACT to repeal Chapter 68, Acts of the Fifteenth General Assembly, and provide for the establishment of a Board of Railroad Commissioners, and defining their duties and term of office. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Iowa, That Chapter 68 of the Acts of the Fifteenth General Assembly, excepting Sections 1, 2, and 7 thereof, be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following be enacted: SEC. 2. The Governor, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, shall, before the first day of April next, appoint three competent persons (one of whom shall be a civil engineer), who shall constitute a Board of Railroad Commissioners, and who shall hold their offices from the date of their respective appointment for the terms of one, two and three years, respectively, from the first day of April next. The Governor shall, in like manner, before the first day in April of each year thereafter, appoint a Commissioner, to continue in office for the term of three years from said day, and in case any vacancy occurs in the said board by resignation or otherwise, shall in the same manner appoint a Commissioner for the residue of the term, and may remove such Commissioners, and appoint others to fill their vacancy at any time, in the discretion of the Governor and Executive Council. No person owning any bonds, stock or property in any railroad company, or who is in the employment of, or who is in any way or manner pecuniarily interested in any railroad corporation, shall be eligible to the office of Railroad Commissioner. Said Commissioners shall be qualified electors of the State. The Commissioners shall, as nearly as practicable, be selected, one from the eastern, one from the central, and one from the western portions of the State. SEC. 3. Said Commissioners shall have the general supervision of all railroads in the State operated by steam, and shall inquire into any neglect or violation of the laws of this State by any railroad corporation doing business therein, or by the officers, agents or employees thereof, and shall also, from time to time, carefully examine and inspect the condition of each railroad in the State, and of its equipment, and the manner of its conduct and management, with reference to the public safety and convenience; and for the purpose of keeping the several railroad companies advised as to the safety of their bridges, shall make a semi-annual examination of the same, and report their condition to the said companies. And if any bridge shall be deemed unsafe by the Commissioners, they shall notify the railroad company immediately, and it shall be the duty of said railroad company to repair and put in good order, within ten days after receiving said notice, said bridge, and in default thereof said Commissioners are hereby authorized and empowered to stop and prevent said railroad company from running or passing its trains over said bridge while in its unsafe condition. Whenever in the judgment of the Railroad Commissioners it shall appear that any railroad corporation fails in any respect or particular to comply with the terms of its charter, or the laws of the State, or whenever in their judgment any repairs are necessary upon its road, or any addition to its rolling stock, or any addition to or change of its stations or station-houses, or any change in its rates of fare for transporting freight or passengers, or any change in the mode of operating its road and conducting its business, is reasonable and expedient in order to promote the security, convenience and accommodation of the public, said Railroad Commissioners shall inform such railroad corporation of the improvements and changes which they adjudge to be proper, by a notice thereof in writing, to be served by leaving a copy thereof, certified by the Commissioners' clerk, with any station agent, clerk, treasurer, or any director of said corporation, and a report of the proceedings shall be included in the annual report of the Commissioners to the Legislature. Nothing in this section shall be construed as relieving any railroad company from their present responsibility or liability for damage to person or property. SEC. 4. The said Railroad Commissioners shall on or before the first Monday in December in each year make a report to the Governor of their doings for the preceding year, containing such facts, statements and explanations as will disclose the working of the system of railroad transportation in this State, and its relation to the general business and prosperity of the citizens of the State, and such suggestions and recommendations in respect thereto as may to them seem appropriate. Said report shall also contain as to every railroad corporation doing business in this State First. The amount of its capital stock. Second. The amount of its preferred stock, if any, and the condition of its preferment. Third. The amount of its funded debt and the rate of interest. Fourth. The amount of its floating debt. Fifth. The cost and actual present cash value of its road and equipment, including permanent way, buildings and rolling stock, all real estate used exclusively in operating the road, and all fixtures and conveniences for transacting its business. Sixth. The estimated value of all other property owned by such corporation, with a schedule of the same, not including lands granted in aid of its construction. Seventh. The number of acres originally granted in aid of construction of its road by the United States or by this State. Eighth. Number of acres of such land remaining unsold. Ninth. A list of its officers and directors, with their respective places of residence. Tenth. Such statistics of the road, and of its transportation business for the year, as may in the judgment of the Commissioners be necessary and proper for the information of the General Assembly, or as may be required by the Governor. Such report shall exhibit and refer to the condition of such corporation on the first day of July of each year, and the details of its transportation business transacted during the year ending June 30. Eleventh. The average amount of tonnage that can be carried over each road in the State with an engine of given power. SEC. 5. To enable said Commissioners to make such a report, the president or managing officer of each railroad corporation doing business in this State shall annually make to the said Commissioners, on the fifteenth day of the month of September, such returns in the form which they may prescribe as will afford the information required for their said official report; such returns shall be verified by the oath of the officer making them; and any railroad corporation whose returns shall not be made as herein prescribed by the fifteenth day of September, shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each and every day after the sixteenth day of September that such returns shall be wilfully delayed or refused. SEC. 6. The said Commissioners shall hold their office in the Capitol or at some other suitable place in the city of Des Moines. They shall receive a salary of three thousand dollars per annum, to be paid as the salaries of other State officers are paid, and shall be provided at the expense of the State with necessary office furniture and stationery, and they shall have authority to appoint a secretary, who shall receive a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per annum. SEC. 7. Said Commissioners and secretary shall be sworn to the due and faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices before entering upon the discharge of the same, as prescribed in Section 676 of the Code; and no person in the employ of any railroad corporation, or holding stock in any railroad corporation, shall be employed as secretary. Each of said Commissioners shall enter into bonds, with security to be approved by the Executive Council, in the sum of ten thousand dollars conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties. SEC. 8. To provide a fund for the payment of the salaries and current expenses of the Board of Commissioners, they shall certify to the Executive Council, on or before the first day of January in each year, the amount necessary to defray the same, which amount shall be divided pro rata among the several rail |