Where have I seen this movie before? Oh,yeah in the 1870's in the debates Where have I seen this movie before?Oh,yeah, in tbe 1870s in tbe debates around the establishment of the California Railroad Commission, proposed in response to the monopolistic practices of the Octopus, a very different Southern Pacific. One company official at the time was quoted as saying, after its establishment, that the Commission had more power than, "...the Czar of all the Russias!" A bit hyperbolic, perhaps, and attempts at regulatory capture commenced forthwith, long before the establishment of the ICC and subsequent adventures and follies.
Amazing what one can learn at the California State Archives.