, 1874-08-11
The Injunction Suit in the Wis.
consin Supreme Court.
Arguments Of Judge Spooncr aud G.
Smith for the Companies.
The Case Not Likely to Bo Decided
To-Day,
New Tariffs Of the Rock Island and Bur
lington Roads.
Atlornpt to Resist tho Payment of
Missouri Taxes.

Atto1nl,t to Resist tho Payment of
Missouri Taxes.
THE WISCONSIN Law.
s,,ec,ut D,s3mfcA to Tho CAteaao Tribune.
TIE INJUNCTION SUITS At a1AD1soN--ruE Anau-
MENTa uEsuSEp.
MADISON Wis, Aug. decentralization OF tho
f,in,clton s,lits Was resumed this morning. Ad-
fltiotal and moro difficult points have boen pro-
Bol,toi1 III ts suit thaa Woro advanced In tho
rocos,t caAe before tho United statos Court Tho
latter was rushed through prcctpitatoly. This
procooi1s deliberately, and MI tho points aro
boing fully argacd This morning
JUDGE r. L. srooNER,
ono of WiHconain's shrewtlcHt lawyers, continued
tho argument for tho st. Paul Company. The
unconstitutionality Of tho law was very In
geuiously illustrated. The charter, lo claim-
%, was q contraot with tlle stato' Every
intentions Of tho parsien to 1t. The
Potter law invadaten tho contract be-
twoou tho corporations aud tho Stato. Each cor
poration is ouitlod, Under the Constitution, to
tho guaranteed safeguards for tho protection OF
property. unless by the terms OF The charsor tho
right OF the corporation to tho bonoft of that
protection il expressly or implicitly giyon away.
Tho State docs hot reserve the right to violate
tracts that alteration shall not 10 a violation Of
1t. Neforriug to tho jury question: he claimed
that. II tho Legislature can take away, by eraet-
ment from any corporation, tue aght Of tral by
lavo its property uniformly taxed, aud tho
right OF remedy by law for all injuries dono TO
It's property, it can take from them tho benefit Of
tho constitutional provlBlon which says
THE PROPERTY Or No rEHsoN sllA141 liz TAKEN Fon
PUBLIC USE
without Just compensation, and tho benofit Of
tint other law Which declares the services OF 10
porsop shall be takon without compensation.
His conclusion was that all corporations III Wis.
consin, Of every kind, stand outside the pale OF
tho Constitution without q single ono Of tho
rights which tho Constitution secures for tho
protection Of pirate property, onttled to mono
Or thoy arc entitled to all. 1t tho Legislature
should pass au oct declaring tint every railroad
company must carry oil persons and property
free Of charge. 1t would bo taking tho services
and tho property for public uso without just
compensation: Yet Judge Dixon, for the State,
not mako it tho duty Of tho corporation to ren-
der its services without just compensation, tho
measure Of which it was not tho province Of the
Legislature to liz, eiso it might mako 1t moroly
nominal. ..#
Assiasant Atty.-Gen. sloan said that question
was involved in tho case. The 6tato was only
Booking to obligo the Companies to carry nt rates
not higher thRn the Potter law. il an in]uno-
ton shall Issue III that case, and tho Companies
stop running, thon tho State would apply for
1nantlau,us to compol them 70 Kun. Tho quea-
ton aa to whotlor tho Companies could bo conf
pellod to carry without just compensation
would then b0 presented. ,,...--
eral llesltated to say whathor tho Legislature
could compel tho railroads to perform services at
loas. What folly to ask the Companies to do
this, or to ask for writ Of mandamua to compel
tto1n to do it. It would DO simply impossible.
Who would furnish the mehns7 II tho Companies
cannot secure reasonable returns they OF neccs-
stv muat stop. IN that event how long would
Il bo before every manufacturing establishment
In the Btate would he cloged. md tho farmorh
find their produce wosthlosB because tAero waa
no way 10 got It to market? How long
a 5s1S 'ye 5 eteg would %sa ss b.
stn1o .houpanta OF voices would cry out to the
Attorney General: We thought you were going
t. cuuapat tho railroads to carry at tho Potter
rates. iIe would answer:
TuoBE RATES ARE MOT COMPENSATORY,
and the Stale Las no powor to compel tho Com
paries to accept them. Why, then, the people
would lomand, did you stop their trains? Why
have you Involved ua all III irremodiable bank
could only sny: The tstato has no powor 10 make
tho Companies zenaes sesyices without just COM
ponBution.
In excellent dlction Judge spoonor depicted
s,,sponelon OF railroad aorvice. How ply
sieans would be unable to visit tho sick, and
parents to reach tho hedsiae Of their dying chill
dren, oven though they offered tho railroads
supreme Count had decseeA tho companies
should not accept such ratos Tho injunction
would, therefore, operate upon the people.
Chjof-JuAtico Rynn--four argument is IN
praof here TINT tho Potter rates. arc not ado
of,sccrs show that the income OF tho soada
Potter rates they would 10 unable to
pay interest," md dividends. Vas not that the
~po,tags, and II the Post 0flice Department had
beo., corporation, and Just Buch an injunction as
sliis had boen applied for to compel them to
carry ut reduced rates, would not precisely the
.sauie argument 81 ye1 are now making haYe
,tllen beon equally Roods
Mr. Cary-A1 tho tlepononts lavo sworn that
IN their belief aud Judgment NO rnatorinl in-
cronae OF business Mould bo cxaatcd By reducing
tho rntes.
Judge RYAN, reco1lect very we]l when tho
reduction OF postage was urged 1t ,Tas said no
ncroaso OF buaincsa would follow. OF eourae
the npiniun Of experienced railroad men IL worth
moro On this subject than any man On the
Bench but tho point make is thoro Ia no test
by which tho Court cn,l conclude that tho poteor
pct would have tho effect 1t IL claimed ii would
have, and whether this Court. or eny Court,
co,sld come to B conclusion on that sub
iect until tho Potter ]Aw Ia put III operation,
u1lti ifs results arc observed.
Judge Hpoonar thought tho analogy Mas not
porfcst petween postage aud ffoight. There
hight be some force In tue suggestion about
p,assengor rated, In regard to frelEht, the COM
pauieB carried tho proll,lco Of tho West naat-
ward, and b,ought back commodities or Whatever
WIN offered. THEY now carry MI there Ia to
trauepo.t, aud tl,ora ia uq reaaon to auppoae a
reduction of rates would so stimulate production
and manufacturing in to make up tho deficiency
arising f1a1n reduced rates. lilo Court wore
now hearins u,atiou for u preliminary injunc-
ton. Upo! tho flna! l1oaring tho dofendanta
would doubtless adduce the proof. Equity
.se.,.irod the Court should not nasun,o
tho proof to lie Insufficient mcsely
because IL Ind not boon demonstrated as fully ~
tto Court wonltl require on n final heariug. Fur
tho purposes OF this motion tho Court ought to
att,su,e the satem are not compensatory. In this
ca,.nection Judge arooner advanced y PROPOSE
tim tint IL llnRnAwerab!o. The Legislature
conld not by enactmont take tho cara Of ono
company and give lllea,. to another. Neither
coult they compel ono rnad TO transport tho cars
ot another without just compensation, because
1t would obviously be an
INTERFERENCE WITH THE n10uTs or PRIVATE