Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1874-03-19
EDITORS.

There is a war Of words progressing
between the editors Of the two Virginia
City papers: but. so far. there seems to
he little hope of a fatal termination on
either side. The railroad question is
what diSturhs these mighty intellectS.
The other day the Chronicle published
the following silly paragraph:
Now. while the Virginia Chronicle
has pcr>i>tentlv maintained thai III ac-
cordanre with numerous decisions
rendered upon this question by the
Supreme Court of the | nitcd states.
Congress has the sole right to leSi>la;e
upon the subject of frcightS and fires
on Interstate railroads. and while we
fully iniur>e the sentiment that Con-
rre>s shall speedily pass a law that
will "prevcn eNtortion without doing
Injustice To the railroad companies. y
vet we respectfully suggest that the
Enterprise is tran>cendinE the limit OF
fact when ii asserts that this Congress
sional right is a Republican measure.
The next day the Enterprise ground
on the annexed reply:
Now, in the name of all the GODS AZ
once. what is the meaning Of such
stuff as this" The editor OF the ChTon-
icle should know that III decision of
the supreme Court Of the lnlted
States admitting the right in Congress
10 regulate the rates of freightS and
passage on interstate railroads has
ever been rendered. If such Il decision
has ever hcen made. will the gentle
nan have the goodness to point ii ont?
Congress knows nothing of any such
Judgment. Something overa Year ago
the Senate Judiciary Committee was
instructed to inquire into the right of
Congress to regulate Interstate rail-
road management under the Con>titu-
ton. This right is denied by the Lead
ing Democratic statesmen and jour
nails of the land. and three or four
weeks ago the New York World. first
class Democratic authority, quoted
largely from the decisions of the SUI
prenIe Court 10 show that the iudg-
ments of that body bearing upon the
point bad been adverse TO the exercise
of that right by Congress.
And the Uor!i is correct in its posi-
tlon. The great weight of authority is
to the effect that the several States
may regulate railroad affairs within
their respective Limits. Only a few
DAYS ago. or weeks at mos, the Su-
pretne Court promulgated an opinion
in the Nebraska case which is directly
in Ioint. Ii was held that the State
had the power to levy and collect Il
tax i'll any sun so that i,
did not exceed the amount levied or
other property. More recently it was
decided in the Wisconsin case that the
fares and freights ON Interstate rail
ways can be legally prescribed by
State Legislature. 1t would be a re
markable assumption to even pre>um,
that the supreme Court holds that tn,
same identical power resides in Con
gress, and when the Enterprise argue,
that it does, it commits an unpardon
able blunder. The Enterprise answer
the Chronicle correctly. but in doin!
so it goes a little further and IS guilt,
of even a worse error itself. There i
10 longer anything mootcd in regarc
tothe railroad question. 1t is a settle,
tact-settled by solemn decision of III,
highest tribunal in the land, tn,
Supreme Court of the United States
that the States possess the requisite
authority to deal with the subject il
all Of its bearings. Those Store,
county editors would do we'll to pos
themselves a little on current events
They might thus avoid. perhaps,
few, at least, of the ridiculous blunder
which they are in the habit OF commit
ting daily.