Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1874-09-24
THE POTTER ACT.
The Supreme Court Says the Railways
Must Obey the Law.
MADISON, Wis,

MADISON, WIS, Sept. 10.
The following is an abstract of the de-
cision of the Supreme Court, prepared
by ChiefJustce Ryan, in the case
brought by the Acknowledgement and
Railroad Commissioners for an injunc-
ton to compel a compliance by the Chi
cago & Northwestern and Chicago, Mil
waukee & st. Paul Railway Companies
with the provisions of the Potter law
This court has no original jurisdiction of
proceedings by injunction at the suit of
private persons, or to enforce private rene
dies, but has jurisdiction of the writ in mat
tiers public, upon information of the
Attorney General, in the nature of an
injunction bill to restrain excess where
mandamus would not go to rem
edy the defect The writ given to this
court in group CT prerogative writs is given
as quasi prerogativc writ for prerogative
purposes Atty -Gen. Blossog, Wis. BIT, Con-
sidered and approved Independently of Secs.
Is and II, Chap. l4S, Revised Statutes, courts
of equity have Jurisdiction, upon information
of the Attorney-Genel al &c oticio to restrain
corporations from excess or abuse of corpo-
rate franchises or other violations of public
law under color of franchise to the public in
jury These sections confer no jurisdiction
in this court. Whether they operate to limit
the jurisdiction of the Circuit Courts is not
here considered. 1t is for the court to deter
mine, in such an information, whether the
acts charged work II public injury. This
jurisdiction was an established equitable
jurisdiction at the time of the adoption OF the
State Constitution, and Sec. D, Art |,
of the Constitution, in relation to trial
by jury, has no application to it.
Were this otherwise, the questions raised
by these informations are questions OF
law and the jurisdiction Of them in equity de-
prives the defendants of no right of trial by
jury. Chap. 273, of 1874, is not repealed by
Chaps. sg3 or 34l of the same session. All the
chapters can and will stand together. The
court finds no difficulty in holding that the
Chicago, Milwaukee u st. Paul Railroad
Company is the corporation designated as the
Milwaukee x st. Paul Railroad Company in
Chap. 2i3, The corporation is sufficiently in
dicated bv the name used in the statute
although it had month before added the
prefix of " Chicago to its name. The consti-
tutioual amendment of 1871 prohibiting spe-
cal acts of the Legislature for granting corpo-
rate power or privileges except to cities is
prospective only, and has no relation to exist
ing corporate charters by special acts before
the amendment These may be amended or
repealed by special act, rs before. The
rule established in the Dartmouth College
case, OF Woodward 4, Wheaton ), Is, is con
sidered and disapproyed as far as 1t extended
to quasi private corporations intrustcd by
charter with public interests SO as to consti-
tute them quasi public corporations, This
rule is followed, nevertheless, by the court,
because ii is the rule of the Supreme Court of
the United States of the construction OF
clause in the Federal Constitution; but the
reserved power in the State Constitution to
alter or repeal corporate charters was de-
signed to take, and does take, all corporations
created under it out of the rule in the Dart
mouth College case, and the Legislature has
the same power over such corporations as If
the rule in that case had never existed. The re-
served power to alter or repeal has no other
limit in law than is implied in the words
used--the power TO alter or power To amend
Il charter without entirely changing It's pur-
pose or character. The exercise of the
power should be under the guidance Of eX-
tremc moderation and directions, and should
not be oppressive and unreasonable. But all
this rests in the legislative discretion SO far
as corporate franchises are concerned, the
Legislature is under a moral obligation not
10 reduce the tolls of railroads below a fair
and adequate amount, but their power over
the franchise is absolute. But the power to
alter or repeal cannot affect the property or
corporations other than the franchise, such
right of property is inviolabls.
II is not material here whether the defend
ants had elected to accept or reject the altera-
tion q their charters, BY Chap. 213 they
were bound 10 obey the statute .. = discon-
tinue their operations rs corporate bodies. In
either case they had no right to conduct their
operations in defiance of public law. Chap,
2;S, of 1874, so far as its provisions are before
the court in the cases. is valid amendment
Of special charters of defendants, granted by
the State. Whether il would be a valid
amendment of the General Railroad act OF
1872 is not here considered, The Territorial
charter of 1877 1. of the Milwaukee X
Waukesha Railway Company, extended
by the Territorial act OF 1913, is the
subsisting charter of the railway built under il
from Milwaukee to Prairie du CHEN. 1t does
not appear in this case whether the charter
was accepted and the corporation organized
under il before the abortion of the State Con.