St. Paul, Minn.; vice-president, Elmer E. Blackman of Lincoln, Neb.; secretary, Edward A. Kilian of Alma; chairman of the executive committee, John T. Keagy of Alma. One of the principal objects of the society was to erect monuments marking certain historical sites, and on Aug. 12, 1902, the first of these monuments was unveiled at Logan Grove, near Junction City. The monument was in the form of an obelisk, some 17 feet in height, and bore the inscription: "Quivira and Harahey, discovered by Coronado 1541, Jaramillo, Padilla, TatarRediscovered by J. V. Brower 1896. Erected for Quivira Historical Society by Robert Henderson 1902. John T. Keagy, Chairman, Edward A. Kilian, Secretary. Kansas, U. S. A." The unveiling was attended by appropriate ceremonies, the Sixth field battery, K. N. G., firing a salute, and the Ninth artillery band furnishing the music.. Monuments have also been erected in Dickinson, Riley and Wabaunsee counties.

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Rago, one of the thriving little villages of Kingman county, is located in Valley township on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. 17 miles southwest of Kingman, the county seat. It has a local retail trade, telegraph and express offices, and a money order postoffice with one rural route. The population, according to the census of 1910, was 125.

Railroad Commission.-Several years before a railroad commission was established in Kansas, attempts had been made at state control of railroads and considerable progress had been made along that line. Gov. Anthony was the first executive to recognize the importance of state legislation and control of the roads, and in his message to the legislature in 1877 recommended the passage of a law to protect the rights of the people in the matter of railroad rates, etc. Several bills were introduced, but nothing came of them and the matter rested until 1878 when railroad legislation was made an issue of the campaign. Gov. St. John reopened the question in his message and the railroad war was on. The champion of legislation looking toward state control was Samuel A. Riggs, who introduced a bill entitled "An act to establish a board of railroad commissioners, to prescribe their powers and duties, and to prevent and punish extortion and unjust discrimination by railroads in the transportation of passengers, freights and freight cars.". It was nearly identical with the Illinois law, and its operation might have resulted in advantages to both the railroads and the people, but the bill failed to pass. In 1881 the Riggs bill was introduced in the senate, read the first time and reported back with the recommendation that it be rejected. Another bill on railroad legislation was introduced in the house and passed by that body, but was killed in the senate. Gov. Glick, who had introduced the bill in the house, when elected governor of the state devoted a large amount of his message to the matter of state control of railroads, with the result that eleven bills were introduced into the house, but the committee reported

adversely upon all of them and recommended a substitute of its own, which, after modification in the senate, was passed and signed on March 8, 1883.

This law provided for a commission of three men, not more than two of whom should be of the same political party, to be appointed by the executive council before April 1, 1883, and to have general supervisory powers over the railway, express and sleeping-car companies doing business in the state. The commission was authorized to examine the physical condition of the roads at least once each year, in order to suggest changes with regard to stations, yards, improvement in service and other matters necessary to have the roads fulfill all their obligations to the public, as common carriers of the state. It was also given power to revise and establish rates, adjust disputes and perform the functions of arbitrators between the roads and their patrons. The railroads hailed the passing of the law as a victory for them and many conceded it as such, but time and the working of the commission have since changed that idea. The first commission was appointed in April, 1883, and consisted of the following members: James Humphrey, L. L. Turner and Henry Hopkins, who died on Dec. 18 of that year. According to the provision of the law "no person owning any bonds, stock or property in any railway company, or who is in the employment or who is in any way or manner interested in any railroad," can be eligible to the office of commissioner or any other officer of the board.

When the board came into existence there were 29 lines operating in the state. Within six months after assuming the duties of office the commissioners had inaugurated such a vigorous policy that public sentiment regarding the efficiency of the law had radically changed, the railroads discovered that they were confronted by unexpected conditions and made an attempt to break down the law, but signally failed. This was the first and last attempt of the kind made by the railroads, and the rulings and decisions of the board in thousands of cases that have been brought before it have been accepted by the railways of the state the same as though they were decisions of the court. These decisions deal with every form and kind of complaint, and an idea of the vast amount of business carried on by the commission may be estimated from the fact that in 1908 alone over 730 cases were tried and decisions rendered. Some cases are trivial, others of vast importance to the interests of the entire state, but the most important have been those with regard to the reduction of freight and passenger rates. It is doubtless true that, with an increase in the volume of business, rates would naturally have fallen, but it is doubtful whether they would have been reduced 50 per cent. during the first eight years had there been no commission. Gov. Martin said in 1886: "The saving to the people of the state by the reductions in freight rates, secured chiefly by the board of railroad commissioners, aggregates for the fiscal year ending June 3, 1885, over $200,000."

In 1889 and 1901 acts were passed relating to railroads and in 1905 the general railroad law was amended so that the members of the board of railroad commissioners were elected at each general biennial election "in the same manner as the other state officers," but in case of a vacancy the governor was given the power to appoint a man to fill the unexpired term. The commissioners were not allowed to hold any other office in the state or under the general government and could not engage in business which would interfere with their duties as commissioners.

Through the efforts of the commission the freight rates on the natural resources of the state have been reduced, and thus the mining and manufacturing interests have been stimulated. This applies especially to the salt and coal producing cities of Kansas, and in a marked degree to the cities of large milling industries. Another advantage of the commission which has greatly benefited the public, is the quick settlement of complaints made against the companies. Months and even years of delay occurred before the creation of the commission. In cases where claims of damages could not be properly brought before the commission they were adjusted through its members, as individuals, and were generally satisfactory to both parties concerned. As a result of the action taken from the start the commission has enjoyed the confidence of both the people and the railway companies. The greatest usefulness of the commission lies in its power to supervise the rates, which are flexible, and adjusted to the constantly changing conditions. Statutory regulation of rates would never prove satisfactory, for in many cases by the time the law became effective the conditions under which it was enacted would have changed or ceased to exist, and thus injury would result to road or patrons. Not only did the board regulate rates within the boundaries of the state, but it could also control an undue multiplication of roads and the extension of those already in existence. From the first Kansas avoided ultra measures and the conservative policy introduced by the commissioners has been adhered to and has led to increased confidence of the people, and a more friendly feeling between the railroads and their patrons. In 1911 the railroad commission was converted into the "Board of Public Utilities" by an act of the legislature. (See Stubbs' Administration.)

Railroads. At the time Kansas was organized as a territory in 1854 the means of transportation west of the Mississippi river were extremely limited. Immigrants came by water from St. Louis to what is now Kansas City, from which point the trip westward toward the interior of the state had to be made with wagons, over a country where even wagon roads had not yet been established. Under these conditions the question of better transportation facilities was one which early engaged the attention of the Kansas pioneers.

In 1834, twenty years before the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Dr. Samuel K. Barlow of Massachusetts advocated the building of a railroad through the western country which he had just visited.

Three years later Dr. Hartwell Carver, in a communication to the New York Courier and Inquirer, suggested a railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific coast, if possible, and at any rate to the head of navigation on the Columbia river. But the public was not yet ready to accept the scheme as feasible and laughed at the idea of a railroad across the continent. In fact, many people looked upon steam railroads as impracticable and an innovation unworthy of adoption by any civilized community. In 1828, only nine years before Carver wrote the article mentioned, the school board of Lancaster, Ohio, replied as follows to some young men who asked for the use of the school house in which they desired to debate the railroad problem:

"You are welcome to the use of the school house to debate all proper questions in, but such things as railroads and telegraphs are impossibilities and rank infidelity. There is nothing in the Word of God about them. If God had designed that His intelligent creatures should travel at the frightful speed of 15 miles an hour, by steam, He would clearly have foretold it through His holy prophets. It is a device of Satan to lead immortal souls down to hell."

Notwithstanding the attitude of opposition, Dr. Carver went to Washington to try to interest Congress in the subject of a trans-continental railway. There he met Asa Whitney, a New York merchant who had a large trade with China, and who was desirous of finding a shorter route to the Orient. But Congress was not yet ready to act on a proposition of such magnitude. Again in 1845 Whitney presented a memorial to Congress asking for a donation of a tract of land 60 miles. wide from the west shore of Lake Michigan to the Pacific ocean, through the corner of which he and his associates would build a railroad and remunerate themselves through the sale of the lands on either side. Whitney was regarded as a speculator, but he continued his efforts to awaken the people to the importance of his project, and even influenced the legislatures of twenty states to indorse his plans. From 1853 to 1861 exploring surveys were made under the direction of Gen. G. M. Dodge, who says in his report:

"The first private survey and exploration of the Pacific railroad was caused by the failure of the Mississippi & Missouri (now the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific) to complete its project. The men who put their money into that enterprise conceived the idea of working up a scheme west of Iowa that would be an inducement to capital to invest in carrying their project across Iowa to the Missouri river. They also wished. to determine at what point on the Missouri the Pacific railroad would start, so as to terminate their road at that point. The explorers adopted Council Bluffs, Iowa, as that point."

On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the bill authorizing the construction of a Pacific railroad. One feature of the bill was that it empowered the president to designate the eastern terminus of the road, and after consultation with Gen. Dodge Mr. Lincoln named Council Bluffs. While this bill did not directly affect Kansas, it marked the

beginning of a great railroad system that now operates over 1,000 miles within the state. The Union Pacific company was organized at Chicago on Sept. 2, 1862, and by the act of March 3, 1863, the government granted to the company alternate sections of land for 10 miles on each side of the road-about 3,000,000 acres in all-and authorized an issue of bonds payable in 30 years to the amount of $16,000 per mile to aid in the construction of the road.

As late as 1857 there was but one line of railroad west of the Mississippi river, extending from St. Louis to Jefferson City, Mo., a distance of 125 miles. In the meantime, however, the territorial authorities of Kansas had not been idle in their efforts to secure the building of railroad lines in the territory. The first legislature (1855) granted charters to five railroad companies, to-wit: The Kansas Central, the Southern Kansas, the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western, the Leavenworth & Lecompton, and the Kansas Valley. Among the incorporators of the Kansas Central were John Calhoun, S. D. Lecompte, A. S. White and John Duff. The capital stock of the company was fixed at $1,000,000, and it was authorized to build a road "from any point on the Missouri to any point on the western boundary." The capital stock of the Southern Kansas was fixed at $3,000,000, and the company was given a franchise to build a road "from the Missouri state line due west of Springfield to the west line of Kansas Territory." A. J. Dorn, William J. Godfroy, James M. Linn, Joseph C. Anderson and others were named as the incorporators, and the act stipulated that work was to begin on the road within nine years. Some of the leading projectors of the Leavenworth, Pawnee & Western were W. H. Russell, J. M. Alexander, S. D. Lecompte, E. H. Dennis and C. H. Grover. The authorized capital stock of the company was $5,000,000, and the road was to run "from the west bank of the Missouri river in Leavenworth to the town of Pawnee, or to some point. feasible and next to the government reservation for Fort Riley, with the privilege of extending the same to the western boundary of the territory." H. D. McMeekin, John A. Halderman, R. R. Russell, Daniel Woodson, S. D. Lecompte and C. H. Grover were among the incorporators of the Leavenworth & Lecompton road, which was to run between the points named. The capital stock was $3,000,000 and the company was authorized to take stock in the Lecompton Bridge company in order to assure an entrance to the territorial capital. Work was to begin on the road within five years. The first board of directors of the Kansas Valley company were Thomas Johnson, H. J. Strickler, A. J. Isaacs, Rush Elmore, John P. Wood, Johnston Lykins, Andrew McDonald, Thomas N. Stinson and Cyprian Chouteau. The capital stock was fixed at $5,000,000 and the charter provided for the construction of a line of railroad "from the western boundary line of the State of Missouri, on the south side of the Kansas or Kaw river, commencing at the western terminus of the Pacific railroad, near the mouth of the Kansas river, running up the valley of said river on the