attorney, on any question of law relating to the public service.

5. To proceed in the courts against insolvent insurance companies, and building and loan associations, in order that the interests of creditors may be protected.

6. To perform all other duties required by law, and to present a biennial report to the governor giving information as to his official acts.

139. Salaries and Office Help. The salary of every state officer is established by the constitution or by law; and the law determines the number of deputies, stenographers, and other assistants that each officer or board may employ and establishes their salaries. The annual salaries of the officers whose duties are discussed in this chapter are as follows:

1. What are the executive, legislative, and judicial powers of the governor ?

2. What is the difference between the militia and the national guard? What power does the governor have over the national guard? The President? For what three reasons may the national guard be called into active service?

3. Is there any legal limit to the taxing power of the state?

4. Under what circumstances may a tax be collected on generai property for the support of the state government?

5. By what means does the state board of equalization keep track of the various corporations with which it deals? What powers other than that of computing taxes does it possess?

6. What are the respective duties of the controller and the treasurer in the matter of collecting the state tax?

7. What are the official relations between the controller and the state board of control?

8. What are lieu lands?

CHAPTER XIII

THE STATE EXECUTIVE

- APPOINTIVE OFFICERS AND BOARDS

NOTE. — The adjutant general and the board of control have been considered in the preceding chapter, because of their close relation to elective officers. In this chapter we shall consider the most important of the remaining appointive executive officers and boards. The treatment must of necessity be brief, and persons wishing more detailed information are referred to the Political Code.1

140. The Railroad Commission.2 A railroad is a private corporation operated for profit. To pay as large dividends as possible on its capital stock is the principal aim of its officers and managers. But in the services that it renders every railroad meets an urgent public want. The public is, therefore, vitally interested in the manner in which it is operated and in the rates that it charges. For many years the railroads of our country were permitted to establish their own freight and passenger rates, and they generally charged "all that the traffic would bear." Furthermore, they formed the habit of discriminating between different places, and between different corporations and individuals. Thus it was quite within their power to determine whether any city should prosper or not; and to favor

1 Any edition of the Political Code will do, provided the code amendments and statutes of every session of the legislature since its publication are also taken into account.

2 State constitution, article XII, section 22; see also Statutes of 1911, Extra Session, page 18 seq.

particular corporations and individuals whose business depended upon the transportation of goods, to such an extent as to enable them to drive their competitors out of business. Any city, corporation, or individual unaided by the government found it impossible to obtain fair treatment.

Shortly after the Civil War, there began to be a widespread demand throughout the country for the regulation of railroads by the national and state governments. To this end laws were passed by Congress and the various state legislatures. To enforce these laws, Congress created the interstate commerce commission, and many of the states established state railroad commissions. Our state constitution of 1879 provided for a commission of three members. The state was divided into three districts, each of which elected one member. For many years the commission exercised no real control over the railroads of the state. This was due to several reasons: (1) The method of selecting the members of the commission was wrong. Men to fill positions requiring expert knowledge cannot be selected by the mass of voters. (2) Several honest attempts to control the railroads made by the commission early in its history were promptly checked by injunctions from the federal courts. Discouragement and apathy followed. (3) The railroads have exercised a potent influence in California politics since the establishment of the commission, and this influence has naturally been exerted toward rendering the commission ineffective.

The legislature of 1909- the same legislature that passed the direct primary law - raised the salary of each railroad commissioner from $4000 to $6000 a year, and increased the powers and duties of the commission. But the legislature of 1911 determined to remodel the commission completely. A constitutional amendment, which has

1 The members of this legislature were elected along with Governor Johnson in November, 1910. This was the first election at which voters were called upon to choose between candidates who had been nominated, not by party conventions, but by the voters of the various parties, under the direct primary law of 1909. The result was a revolution in California politics. It now seems as if bossism were

since been adopted by the people, was proposed, changing the number of commissioners from three to five, and providing that they be appointed by the governor, each for six years. Furthermore, a law was passed increasing the powers and duties of the commission. The legislature of 1913 increased the salary of each commissioner to $8000 a year.

The office of the commission is in San Francisco, but it is authorized to meet in any part of the state. It elects one of its members president and appoints a secretary, an assistant secretary, an attorney, and all necessary experts, engineers, inspectors, and other assistants. The attorney receives an annual salary of $5000. It is his duty to represent the commission in all lawsuits in which it may be involved, and to perform such other duties as the commission may require.

The authority of the commission is confined strictly within the state. For example, in its control of the railroads, it cannot regulate interstate commerce. Shipments which begin and end in California are under its control, but any shipment to or from any other part of the United States is under the control of the federal interstate commerce commission throughout the entire route. The most important powers and duties of the commission are as follows:

1. To establish rates of charges for railroads and other transportation companies, and to exercise the other powers mentioned in the second paragraph of section 22, article XII of the constitution. Every transportation

dead. Whether it proves to be so in fact will depend upon the intelligence and patriotism of the voters.

1 Read section 22, article XII of the constitution,