The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1874-05-15
Opinions Of Curtis and Eyarts.

Opinions Of Curtis and Evarts.
The legal opinions Of Judge b. r.
Curtis, of Boston, and the Hon. w. Nj.
Evarts, of New York, upon the validity
of the railway laws of Wisconsin have
been printed in our columns. The mag
nitude of the questions discussed, and
reputation of these gentlemen rs law
yers, render the documents, at this time,
interesting.
Mr.. Evarts assumes as the settled law
OF the country the doctrine of the Dart
mouth College case, that charters
granted by States to corporations are
protected as contracts, and that the
charter contract can be impaired by one
of the parties only when the power nee
essary thereto is reserved in the charter
itself or in the law which forms part
of it. This brings him directly to the
discussion of the reservation of power
in the Constitution of Wisconsin to
modify or repeal grants of franchises to
private or trading corporations. He re-
cognizes in the property of corporations
two classes-one embracing property
which may be owned either by corpo-
ration or private individual, and the
ObhCA Cpl pOidbC lldHCillStS tSScItluI w
the existence and action of the corpora
ton itself. His next step is to affirm
that the reservation in the Constitution
of Wisconsin relates only to the latter
class,-the franchises granted by the
State-and he afiirms that under that
Constitution the Legislature may revoke
or modify franchises granted that it
may absolutely annul them, or it may
impose upoh their exercise new burdens
and conditions that legislation annul-
ling the franchise would compel the COR
poration to wind up it's affairs, and APP
ply its property Of the first class men,
toned in the manner prescribed by law
for the application of the property of
corporations under such circumstances
that is, first to the payment of its debts,
them to distribution to its stock
holders. He aflirms, further, that if the
Legislature shall modify the franchise by
imposing new burdens and conditions
upon its exercise, the corporation may
reject the modified franchise and pro-
coed Immediately to wind up its affairs.
In other words, the Legislature may an
nul the franchise absolutely, and there
by compel the corporation to wind up,
or it may impose upon it new conditions
to the exercise of the franchise, and
compel the corporation to either accept
them or close its affairs. In no event
can the State compel either a corpora
ton or an individual to devote it's or his
property to any public use or purpose
without compensation. The use for
such purpose, except upon such terms
as the Legislature may prescribe, may
be absolutely prohibited, but its use
upon terms obnoxious TO it's owner can
not he enforced. 1t is further held that
the Wisconsin laws do not profess to be
and are not acts regulating the use of n
franchise granted by the State that
they do not propose to terminate or
modify franchise that they are acts
fixing the compensation which company
may receive for the use of its property,
and are therefore in violation of the
the Constitution of the United States.
Judge Curtis discusses the effect of
the acts, assuming as a fact that the
entire receipts of the railway, ifoperated
in conformity to their requirements,
would be exhausted by its expenditures,
leaving nothing to be divided among the
stockholders, or appropriated to the
payment of the principal and interest of
its outstanding bonds.
III the allegations of fact made by the
Wisconsin railways can be sustained,
the controversy in that State is narrowed
to but one proposition, and as to that
there can be, and will be, but little dis
pute Brushing away the distinctions
between two classes of corporate prop
erty made by Mr.. Evarts and the ques-
ton of power in the General Assembly
to fix the price which can be demanded
for commodities or personal service, the
question remains Can the Legisla-
ture indirectly confiscate any property
by compelling its use for public pur-
pose without providing compensation
to the owners, either in the payment of
the value of the property, or allowing
reasonable profits upon such value to
the owner ?-ChicQQO Inter- ocean.