The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-11-21
AN CASE.

sioners are the plaintiffs, and the Chi
cago Il Alton Railroad Company Is
defendant. This suit tests the validity
of the law in that State regulating the
freight charges on railroads, or rather
making certain restrictions upon rail-
roads in reference to these charges
The new Constitution of the State Of
Illinois, which went into effect in 1870,
declures all railways in that State
public highways, and directs the Leg
islature to pass laws establishing rea-
sonable rates for the transportation of
| passengers and freight. The Legisla-
latnre has made such law which pro-
hibits all railway companies from dis
eliminating in favor of long distances
of shipment as against the short or To-
cal shipments. 1t is claimed that the
defendant has d~isobeyed the law. The
company sets up as a defense, that its
charter is a contract that the law un-
der which suit is brought, Of we'll as
the constitution upon which it is found
ed, is of a prior date tothe charter and
this law impairs the validity of the
charter or contract; that the constitu-
ton OF the u. S. forbids such impair
ment of contracts and that therefore
the constitution of Illinois as well as
the law, is. so far as the deft's charter is
concerned, in conflict with the Federal
constitution, ana void. This is a ques-
ton that becomes of vital interest to
the whole country, as the railroad car
rage of the country is becoming more
and more general each year, and as
they are destined finally to be almost
the only arteries of trade From an
able article upon this subject appearing
editorially in the Mo. Democrat we ex-
tract the following references to for
mer decisions bearing upon the subject,
and which seem to us to clearly over
throw the position relied upon by the
defense in the case above stated:
The opinion ofChief Justice Marshall
in the celebrated Dartmouth college
case, in which Webster bore so promi-
nent a part, is the corner stone upon
whitehall corporations of the United
States have since based their argu-
ment against the assertion of legisla-
tive power in restriction to their char
tered rights. The court held in that
case that the college charter was a con-
/. tract, and that certain provisions oft
We're beyond certain Legislative con-
troll. 1t has been loosely assumed by
the advocates of vested corporate
rights, that each and every provision
OF a corporate charter is a separate
contract, and that the Legislature has
no right to modify orrepeal it without
the consent of the eorporators or their
successors.
Against this is argued that lcgisla-
tive authority is a trust which the Leg
i~slature cannot abandon, and that no
legislative body has the right to make
acontract with any individual OF cor
poratIon in such a way as to abridge
its power to prescribe general rules
for the government of society. This
principle was declared in the case Of
Fletcher VS.. Peek, decided by the Unit
ed States Supreme Court, Marshall, C.
D., delivering the opinion, and has
since been recognized in many cases
decided by the same court and in the
State courts. The courts have also
held that the Legislature may grants
free bridge parallel with and near q
chartered toll bridge; a Legislature
cannot surrender the taxing power of
the State q Legislature may make d
grant Of land. which no succeeding
Legislature can abrogate or. annul,
but such grant is subject TO the rights
OF eminent domain. under which the
land may be seized and used for pub
lie purposes. Judge Cooley in his
justly celebrated treatise on Constitu.
tionai limitations, says: alt would
seem. therefore, TO be the prevailing
opinion, and one based upon sound
reason, that the State could not barte,
away, or in any manner abridge OF
weaken, any of those essential powers
which are inherent in all governments
and the existence OF which in full
yigor is important TO the well-being Of
organized society and that any con-
tracts 10 that end, being without au-
thority, cannot be enforced under the
provision of the national constitution
now under consideration" In the de.
cision Of the legal tender cases oflS7O,
Justice Strong, in delivering the opin.
ion of the Supreme Court. says: "Ae
in a state of civil society, property OF
a citizen or subject is ownership, SUBJ
ject to the lawful demands of the SOW
ereign. so contracts may be understood
as made with reference To the possible
exercise Of the rightful authority Of
the government, and no obligation of a
contract can extend to the defeat OF
government authority" State Legis-
latures and municipal bodies are con-
stantly enacting laws and ordinances
regulating the fees, tolls and charges
of professional men, bridge, ferry,
turnpike companies, hackmen, millers,
money lenders. etc, etc.