Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-10-02

e public. or is it mere private property
y owned in absolute right. One o
: these theories must be true which,
ever is held to be true. it will follow
0 that the other is untrue.
n Whichever is adopted, certain con
q illusions will necessarily follow:
a. fit be highway, then the
legislature can, in its discretion, au.
thorize country or q town to aic
10 the construction of such road, and
raise money by taxation for that
, purpose; because the money is rails
ed for public purpose. And it also
follows that as highway it may be
: controlled and regulated by the leg-
islature. Its use may be controlled,
and tariff of rates may be fixed.
4 (2.) 1fit be not public highway
then the public have no other con.
troll over it than over other private
estate.
| The theory that railroads are pub.
lie highways, is attended with the
following consequence
| a. You have p0icer TO aid the
building of railroads, which you
may exercise or not as you please /;
and.
| CD You have power to regulate
the operation of railroads, and fix q
tariff OF rates thing you wish to
DO, and vastly important to you to
have done.
If railroads are not highways,
then
| a. You have no poaoer to aid the
building of railroad a thing you
need not do, if you had the power,
but
CD You have no power to regu.
late their operation or fix their tar
iff of rates.
The Times trembles at a doctrine
which maintains the right of the peo-
pie to aid in the building of a rail-
road or not as they please, or as
their interest may dictate and to
extinguish this power to do what
they need not do at all, the Times is
willing to surrender the right to
regulate railroads and fix their tolls.
If the editor was convinced that he
possessed the power to thrust his
hand in burning CRATE, would he
amputate his hand or would he de-
termine to keep his hand and keep
it out of the CRATE also? The Times
concludes Its article by saying eve
mean reform or revolution )" appar-
emily Indifferent as to which should
be accomplished. The article itself
was written in defiance of logic and
ID revolution against reason. In q
revolution and while it continues
things may be regulated by cspric-
ious and arbitrary force; but when
peace is established, and reason pre-.
walls, railroads to be subject to leg
islative control must be classed with
public works and if classed as pri-
vate estate, then they must enjoy
the exemption from public control
which is enjoyed in regard to other
private property.
1t is very clear that the doctrine
of the Supreme Court of the United
States, that railroads are public high.
ways, owned in form by a corpora
ton, but really by the people; or
as G. J. Shaw phrased it, the title
held by the corporation, but held in
trust for the public, is the only ground
upon which the right of the legisla.
ture to control the operation of
railroad or fix its tariff of rates, can
be maintained by any one who ac-
knowledges the authority of reason.
And no real friend of the farmers
will attempt to base their demands
upon principles which must untime-
ly be held to be unsound. Buster,
barney, and threats of revolution,
can accomplish nothing in this mat
ter. Sound principles, the principles
of law upon which the security of
the rights of all depend, must be sus-
tanned and enforced by all.
| III.
Congress has pOWer to regulate tariff
of rates upon all railroads as to inter-
State Commerce.
The Constitution of the United
States, article !, section s, provides
that
The Congress. shall have power
to regulate commerce with foreign nations,
and among the several states, and with the
Indian tribes.
Before proceeding to examine the
nature and extent of the power CON-
ferred upon Congress by this provisa
ion, it may be we'll to mention few
general principles which should be
borne in mind in all constitutional
discussions. American sentiment is
so prejudiced against the very ex-
istence of unlimited power, and our
people have so long been educated
to consider and defend the rights of
individuals, that it requires some re-
lection to bring our minds to admit
that any considerable degree of
power, for good or evil, can be lodg-
ed in free government. The late
civil war taught us the great truths
that the good of all requires that the
Government should possess, and
sometimes exercise, indefinite and
| enormous powers: tina, liberty ulti-
mately rests upon the physical pow
err to maintain it; and when consti'
tutions can no longer restrain rebels,
force-brute force-war, must be re-
sorted to TO secure peace and pre-
serve liberty. Considering the ma.
. tions of the earth only with reference
to their mutual relations, it is evil
dent that each is iDdependant of the
t other, and that each possesses with
Q in itself as absolute power over the
| individuals and property within itf
5 jurisdiction as is possessed by any
!. other. That one nation is called {
{ despotism and another republic, il
J, not that one nation has greater pow
5 ers than another, but that the pow
D ers residing in the nations are dis.
# tributed differently. When all tn
i elements of sovereignty, Legislative