The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1871-05-05

the contract than does heappropriation
of land which the State has granted
under an express or implied agreement
for quiet enjoyment by the grantee, but
which may nevertheless be taken when
the public need requires"
Mr.. Greenleaf, in a note to his edition
of Cruise on Real Property, Vol. 2, p,
67, Amy act Of the legislature
disabling itself from the future exercise
of powers intrusted to it for the public
good must be void, being in effect
covenant to desert its paramount duty
to the whole people,"
In the cases before us the legislature
has not granted away its powers of con-
troll, but expressly and in apt words re
served them.
Cooley,in the same work, p. 537, says:
"The authority to determine in any
case whether it is needful to exercise
this power must rest with the State
itself, and The question is ARRAYS one Of q
strict political character, not requiring any
hearing nponhc facts, or any judicial deter.
miHdtion."
Again, the State has general police
power over all these corporations; and
without celebrating the subject would
refer you TO the opinion of Chief Justice
Redfield in Thorpe q. II. & B. II. II. Co.,
q vt, 1i9, where he states: "We think
the power OF the legislature to control
existing railways in this respect may be
found in the general control of the po.
lice over the country, which resides in
the law making power in all the states,
and which Is, by the fifth article of the
Bill of Rights in this state, expressly
declared to reside perpetually and ina
lienably in the legislature, which is,
perhaps, no more than the enunciation
of a general principle applicable to all
free States, and which therefore cannot
be violated so as to deprive the legisla-
ture of the power, even by express
grant, to any mere private or public
Corporation. And when the regulation
of the police of town or city, by gener.
al ordinances, is given to such cities or
towns, and the regulation of their own
internal police Is given to railroads, to
be carried into effect by their bylaws
and other equations" just what these
always, in all such cases, subject to the
superior control of the legislature.
THAT is responsibility lrhich legislatures
cannot dicea themselves cE # they ,conH
On the same point | refer also to India
napolis &c II. r. Co. q. Kercheval, 1G
Ind. 81; Ohio &c II. II. Co. y. McClell-
and % Ill. 1i0; State .. Nayes, AZ Me.
1S9.
Now, are the present rates of freight
on the railroads in question eXorbitant?
The testimoney of witnesses produced
on this point is as fresh in the minds of
the Committee as in my own, and the
rates of freight charged at different
times is before you in the shape of doc
umentary evidence. In this connection
l will only allude TO the evidence of u
few witnesses because as we wished to
occupy but little of your time we have
called only q small number, when we
might have cumulated testimony by
hundreds of them, us the Committee
well understand
In the first place, then Col. Hitner, a
manufacturer of iron, distinctly states
that the rates of freight a;e cxorbitant,
and that alone, and not the price of
mining coal, is the cause of the present
trouble. He believed the charges of
| 0S.l00 cents per ton per mile for freight
were eXorbitant and much more so the
present charge of Gi cents per ton per
mile. MessrS. Fulton, kcndrick, and
other prominent men called by the de-
PENDANTS testify to the same effect Gen.
Brsbin, general counsel of the Della
ware, LackaWanna & Western II. II. Co.
regarded the rates as prohibitory Gen.
i,1rS,'nI 20 &c aoii;or;oS In
GnLnSIt II, nuntu v,ovid vi ' nnw ~ IN on
eTatISn. M Mr.. l} BS2aa, atm the agent Of Of the S
n v mrn,ing tbere oiisrai that tho in,
tentinn ,y.s 7n n,,t ' nv tho 80 - -
rrnintt W. .uch i,e,rc,,p w ra,o,,, ~, !,
,yoniL Ina in,non.ihi, rIy onv 80 onornta,. .,r ir
tho s,.hmyii, III ,.,,',;n, In ~; ;, pnnai i'
L, &C.,, ',;' w Snlp ~; 3,"'
No. l,,., t,S S g. G"vVat Wa,tars $4,000 e.,
that Il ,t,,.r,.,,t 1nnrstGr, toId then Iono
hnrrra ,ha nroSa,It 80 of fra;,,ht ,,,ar-
aInntad thpt tha ti,an rot ~ ta, u,asaa"rh;
~ and ,ra,,a,,od tta,',
iii% ii %"I ~ ,hor ,,v TI
,'case',t rate, l.c ,'crI, T,, ,ei ,a n,,,L ~ ~
tbc,,rS.c t6,o "'1'" |'"' '''''' 10 "'"''' '''
M,s.rs. Fnlav and II,lImon ranrosen.
tinr NOT onIv Inc Nstinn,I T,mhor A. $50.
cintion in this Safe Int inc oIoO men
comno.ir,r tbnir Jrnirn in nany,iiIe
swear that the Great works there are
stopped, not because of the strikes. but
because of the eXorbitant, prohibitory
rates of freight on the Lackawanna &
Bloomsbury. r. II. The iron manufac.
turers Of Danville and their miners in
Luzerne were in accord, but the extra.
ordinary increase of tolls on the Lacka.
wanna IL Bloomsbury II. II. chilled
their furnaces and reduced thousands OF
men in that Thriving town to want and
suffering. y
In Bloomsbury, as appears by the ties.
timony of Mr.. Drinker, the furnaces are
working at the same disadvantage, and
though shipping coal for their furnaces /,
it is tremendously enhanced in value by
the Increase of freights.
Look at it, Gentleman of the Com.
mittee! Even now, as appears by the
testimony, a ton of chestnut coal cost.
at the mines in the Schuylkill region
Dut n 100, ana the ireight Is S6,95 to
rhlIauelphla me Philadelphia Coal
company only charse MIt amount now
III the Ihliaueiphla d. heading IL. IL
only charged s2,Oo per ton,rl more thar
thelr usual rates l,[lhe suffering thous
ands OF philadelphia, despite suspen
sions, would pay oniy Sl,oo per ton a
the point or delivery where they arr
now Obliged 10 pay $500.
II these creatures of the State, then
| NAV charyp ann amount fnr trousnorta