see praying for appropriate relief by mandamus or injunction or otherwise.

SEC. 1. Be it further enacted, That the Commission shall have power to adopt and enforce such reasonable rules, regulations, and modes of procedure as it may deem proper for the discharge of its duties, and to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations and hearings of companies and other parties before it, and all hearings before the Commission shall be governed by rules to be adopted and prescribed by the Commission.

SEC. 12. Be it further enacted, That all decisions, orders, and authorizations of the Commission shall Decisions of be in writing, and shall be filed and kept in the office Commission. of the Commission, and recorded in a book kept by it for that purpose, and shall be public documents. Said Commission may, at any time, for due cause shown upon hearing had after due notice to all parties in interest, rescind, reverse, or alter any decision, order, or authorization made by it. Written notice of all orders, decisions, or authorizations issued by said Commission shall be given to the person or company affected thereby by personal or registered mail, as the Commission may determine.

SEC. 13. Be it further enacted. That if any express, telephone, or telegraph company or party in interest be dissatisfied with the decision or fixing of any rate or regulation adopted by the Commission, such party may institute legal proceedings setting forth the cause of objection to such decision in a court of competent jurisdiction at the domicile of the Commission against said Commission as defendant, where such orders or regulations shall be tried de novo; and either party to said action may appeal the case; provided, that no rate, rule, order, or regulation shall be suspended pending a hearing in the courts unless legal proceedings are instituted within ten days after such rates, rule, order, or regulation has been fixed and adopted by the Commission, and entered of record. And then only upon injunction issued by some court of competent jurisdiction and upon adequate and sufficient grounds fully shown in bill, and subject to penal damages to the State in the sum of $1,000 a day; provided, said injunction is procured in bad faith, otherwise the usual damages

Commission

ister oaths, subpœna

and compel

of witnesses.

payable to State; all or any of said damages so collected may be applied by the court to damages of parties involved, in its discretion; and that no injunction shall issue by any court to suspend any order of the Commission, except upon notice to the Commissioners.

SEC. 14. Be it further enacted, That each of the Commissioners, for the purposes mentioned in this may admin- chapter and in all hearings before it, may administer oaths, certify to official acts, issue subpoenas, attendance compel the attendance of witnesses, and the production of papers, books, accounts, documents, and stationery; and in case of failure or refusal to comply with any order of the Commission, or on the refusal of any witness to testify to any matter regarding which he may be lawfully interrogated, any Circuit Court in this State, or any Judge thereof, on application of a Commissioner, shall issue an attachment for such person or persons, and compel them to comply with said order; and the court or Judge shall have power to punish for contempt as in cases of disobedience of a like subpoena issued from such court, or a refusal to testify therein.

Act of 1897.

SEC. 15. Be it further enacted, That every owner or operator of an express, telephone, or telegraph property, and any officer or agent of any express, telephone or telegraph property, who shall violate, neglect, fail, or refuse to comply with any lawful order, rule, or regulation of the Railroad Commission of this State, shall upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in the discretion of the Commission, such fines to be collected by suit in the Circuit Courts of this State.

SEC. 16. Be it further enacted, That all rules of the Commission regulating the method of procedure before the Commission, prescribed in Chapter 10, Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee of 1897, with reference to railroads, shall be applicable to, and enforcible against, express, telephone, and telegraph companies; and the word "company" as used in this Act, shall include persons as well as corporations; provided, no subscrib

er to any telephone company shall pay any amount except for services actually rendered.

SEC. 17. Be it further enacted, That the provisions of this Act shall not apply to the regulation of telephone rates in any county having a population of more than 190,000 by the Federal census of 1910 or any future Federal census; the rates of telephone companies in said counties to be regulated by such authorities as may now or hereafter be given the power to do so, and this Act shall not be construed as depriving any municipality or county authorities. now having the right to regulate telephone charges and service, of their power to so regulate said charges and service.

Provided, however, the counties hereinbefore exrepted are only excepted as to matters entirely within said counties. But as to all other matters this Act shall apply, especially as to matters where citizens out of said counties are concerned.

SEC. 18. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby expressly repealed.

SEC. 19. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed March 26, 1913.

NEWTON H. WHITE, Speaker of the Senate.

Speaker of the House

Approved April 3, 1913.

W. M. STANTON, of Representatives.

BEN W. HOOPER,
Governor.

CHAPTER 33.

HOUSE BILL No. 437.

(By Mr. Mullens.)

AN ACT to appropriate the sum of four hundred dollars for the repair, care, and maintenance of the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, near the town of Franklin, Williamson County, Tenn.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That the sum of four hundred dollars be, and the same is, hereby appropriated for the purpose of repairing and keeping in good condition the McGavock Confederate Cemetery, near Franklin, Tenn., and the road leading from Lewisburg turnpike to said cemetery, and the bridge across the same.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That the Comptroller issue his warrant to the Treasurer of the State of Tennessee for two hundred dollars for the year 1913, and two hundred dollars for the year 1914, to be used for the purposes above set out.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

CHAPTER 34.

SENATE BILL No. 250.

(By Mr. Cecil.)

AN ACT to amend Chapter 602 of the Acts of 1907, being "An Act to provide more just and equitable laws for the assessment and collection of revenue for State, county, and municipal purposes; and to repeal all laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act whereby revenue is collected from the assessment of real estate, personal property, privileges, and polls;" and to relieve County Trustees from certain penalties.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That Section 68 of the Acts of 1907, being "An Act to provide more just and equitable laws for the assessment and collection of revenue for State, county, and municipal purposes; and to repeal all laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act whereby revenue is collected from the assessment of real estate, personal property, privileges, and polls," be amended by adding at the end of said section the following:

"Provided, that said Trustee shall not forfeit and lose his said commission, and that said commission shall not be recovered back from him when allowed or paid, unless it shall appear that said Trustee failed and refused to make said publication willfully with full knowledge of the purport of this Act, for the purpose of defrauding the State, county, or municipality as aforesaid."

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That the County Trustees and ex-Trustees of this State shall be relieved and released from losing or forfeiting their commission, and from being liable for the repayment of said commission where commissions have been allowed, where they have failed to make the newspaper publication required by law, unless it shall appear that such failure to make publication was done with knowledge of the law requiring such publication, and for the purpose of defrauding the State county, or municipality.