The Commission recommends that such laws be enacted by the General Assembly, at its present session, as are hereinbefore indicated in this report. We furthermore urge the General Assembly to enact such laws as will carry out the suggestions of the Commission contained in the following letter addressed to the Hon. Huger Sinkler, of the Senate, and Hon. J. W. Nash, of the House of Representatives, constituting a special committee of your body, conferring with us during the past year:

"Columbia, S. C., December 17th, 1907. "To the Hon. Huger Sinkler, State Senator, and the Hon. J. W.

Nash, Representative.

"Gentlemen: Availing itself of the opportunity extended by you

as a special Committee authorized to investigate such matters, the undersigned, Railroad Commission of this State, would respectfully suggest and recommend certain amendments and provisions to the laws now regulating railway transportation in South Carolina.

"First. In consideration of the increased business and importance of this office; and in view of the fact that one of the chief difficulties experienced by the Commission is in securing prompt compliance with its orders; and in further consideration of its constant need of legal advice in arriving at the proper course of procedure in enforcing the laws of this State with reference to the corporations under its supervision, the Commission deems it to the interest of the State that the General Assembly provide, at its ensuing session, for the appointment of special legal counsel to the Railroad Com-mission, whose duty should be to attend all regular meetings of the Commission, to advise the Commission upon all questions of law whenever called upon, and to conduct all legal proceedings before the courts, or elsewhere, when instituted by the Commission.

"Second. The General Assembly, in our opinion, could very much strengthen the effectiveness of the Railroad Commissioners' work by providing for the appointment of an Expert on Railroad Construction, whose duty it should be to examine thoroughly and regularly, under the direction of the Commission, the physical condition. of all railroads in the State, the condition of their motive power and equipment, terminals, and means of transportation generally. At the same time such an expert or inspector might be very properly instructed to report to the Commission all infractions of the laws or Commissioners' rules coming under his view.

"The statutes now permit the employment of an expert, but no compensation has heretofore been provided for, nor the duties of such a position defined.

“Third. It is further suggested and recomended by the undersigned, that the General Assembly make proper provision for a reliable compilation of the State laws relating to Railroad, Telegraph, Telephone and Express Companies, that is, to transportation and transmission service of all kinds, whether under the supervision of the Railroad Commission or not. Such a compilation, properly executed, and printed in convenient form, would afford ready information and valuable guidance not only to those charged with the administration of our laws, but to the public at large.

"If the General Assembly should provide for the appointment of counsel to the Commission, as recommended in foregoing paragraph

I, such counsel might well prepare this compilation, aided by the Commission.

"Fourth. The Railroad Commission should be authorized by the State to investigate all interstate rates affecting South Carolina, and where excessive charges or discrimination on interstate business are made, the Commission would be very much strengthened if it was explicitly empowered to appeal, in the name of the State, if necessary, to the Interstate Commerce Commission for redress and correction; and in this connection sufficient funds should be appropriated for the employment by the Commission of an expert on freight rates, whose duties should be to check all excessive charges or discriminations on interstate business and advise with the Commission as to all freight rates. Such expert, in our opinion, would be of much assistance to the Commission as well as of great service to the commercial interest of the whole State.

"Respectfully submitted,

“B. L. CAUGHMAN, Chairman.
"JOHN H. EARLE,

"J. M. SULLIVAN,

"Commissioners."

RAILWAY MILEAGE IN UNITED STATES.

The railway mileage for the United States, June 30th, 1906, aggregated 206,900 miles. It may be of interest to note the following table, giving a comparative statement of this mileage as distributed per 10,000 inhabitants and per 100 square miles of territory in each State:

SUMMARY OF RAILWAY MILEAGE IN THE UNITED STATES BY STATES AND
TERRITORIES.

PULLMAN CAR SERVICE.

This service has been called to the attention of the Legislature before, and a bill, which failed to pass, introduced giving this Commission jurisdiction over this system. This is a growing and important part of our transportation service and should be under the same supervision as the other transportation companies. This Commission has had many complaints concerning this company, but did not investigate them for the reason that they had no authority to correct the evils complained of. We would suggest that the Commission be given authority over such companies, so that proper rules and regulations governing them and the rates to be charged can be definitely fixed.

EXPRESS COMPANIES.

There is only one Express Company operating in this State, and we regret to report that it has not been giving proper service.

We have investigated all complaints made, and have found them well founded as a rule. One serious complaint which has recently been reported is that charges are repeatedly collected from patrons at both ends of the line, although the package was marked paid by the forwarding office. Another complaint is as to packages being broken open and part of the contents removed; another that the company does not promptly deliver packages to consignee. Some complaints as to intrastate rates have been adjusted. Complaints as to interstate rates were not adjusted, as the Commission, of course, has no jurisdiction over such rates. We have herein prepared a full report of the operations of this company, their tariffs, etc., which shows an increase of gross earnings for the year ending June 30, 1907, of $29,975.74, as compared with the same period of 1905-1906, an increase in net earnings of $5,487.98 for the same period.

TELEPHONE COMPANIES.

Numerous complaints have been made from different sections of the State concerning telephone service and, in all instances, except a few, have been satisfactorily adjusted.

The telephone business is growing in this State, and the Commission now requires each company to make a separate report of its operations for each exchange. There is published herein a complete report for each exchange operated by the Southern Bell Telephone