Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-06-11
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
SLOAN.
From tie Milwaukee wisconsin,

4
nor patriotic TO strive to arouse the
passions of the people or the corpor-
atoms over The pending difficulties
which have grown out of the so call
ed Il tier railroad law. 1t is the
height of folly and madness to in
duce such condition of the popular
mind that capitalists will not vea-
ture another dollar in the construc-
ton of railways in Wisconsin. The
necessities Of the State require, for
the benefit of distant settlers, the
| construction of 500 miles of railway
within the next i've years. Men
| who have the veal of the people at
heart earnestly desire to see the st.
Croix and Chippewa valleys thread
cd with railroads the extension OF
the Southern Wisconsin to Dubu-
que; the Lake Shore to Sturgeon
Bay; the Lodi road to Milwaukee
the completion Of the Wisconsin
Central to Ashland and Duluth, and
the prolongation of that road from
Stevens Point to Portage City, and,
finally, the construction of the Mil
waukee x st. Louis Air Line. Here
are 500 miles OF road, which will
cost $20,000,000, and which would
surely have been constructed had
not this deplorable war between the
people and the railway companies
been promoted by politicians, who
care nothing for the people except
as they can use them to get into
Office, and then pocket the emolu-
ments, frequently for their selfish
pleasure.
The railway companies needed
regulating, because they were arro-
CANT and defiant, and unreasonable
in their determinations. 1t is not
just that a farmer should pay more
for the transport of bushel of his
wheat for 95 miles than another
farmer does for 1S5 miles on the
same road. Yet there have been
such Determinations, and no one de-
nies the fact and these discrimina-
tions, which are unreasonable and
unjust, provoked the enactment OF
the Potter law, law which has at
tempted to do too much, and, there
fore is not wise. The people require
moderation and regulation, but they
do not want that which is unjust or
destructive. So the controversy has
commenced.
The railroad companies have Sc
,1rnl ha as,A xvrsftan nnin
ions of Curtis, Of Boston, and Evarts,
of New York, and. it is understood,
have paid them $4,000 or $4,000
each, while the people have bad
vOlunIoca uofosders IA 0ou.tuI Cur
penter, who wants 10 be reelected
to the United States Senate, and A.
Scott Sloan, who longs to be Attor-
ney General again or U S. Senator.
SO it may be said that each ono has
a personal object in view, and yet
we would not reflect upon the mo-
tives Of either Of the four gentlemen.
The J are able Iurists and honorable
men professionally. But it seems to
US, in this controversy, that neither
Curtis nor Evarts, nor Carpenter,
nor Sloan, is right. The two former
assume at the outset that the Potter
law is unreasonable and unjust and
confscatory, and therefore unconstl-
tutional while tho latter assume
that it is reasonable and just in its
compensations, and constitutional.
But this question will undoubtedly
have to go to the jury, and upon the
facts presented they will determine
whether it affords sustaining COM
pensation. If the law is reasonable
and just, and not confscatory, Sena-
tor Carpenters argument in favor
of the Potter law is conclusive.
We have not q doubt that the
State has power to regulate the
charges on railroads. Senator Car
penter's citations on that point are
impregnable, bat the power to regu-
late does not imply the power to
destroy, and that power of regula-
ton is limited by the clause in the
Constitution of the United States
which declares, among other limita-
tons on Government "NoR SHALL
PRIVATE PROPERTY BE TAKEN FOR
PUBLIC USE WITHOUT JUST CoMPENsA-
TON" That Constitution is "the
supreme law OF the land" over all
State Constitutions and State laws,
because that organic law was made
previous to our State Constitution,
and our State Constitution must
therefore be subordinate. This is
both law and equity. Carpenter and
Sloan hold that the power of the
Legislature is supreme, and that
there is no restriction except its
own will /; we deny that in toto. Its
statues are subordinat to the Con-
stitution of the United States. Tha.
position is impregnable, and all the
legal quibbling cannot get around
it. Decisions Of hundred courts
may be cited to sustain almost any
side, for judges are fallible as all OF
US human are, and we say that those
who insist that the Legislature of
Wisconsin, under the constitutional
provision of altering or repeating
charters, has the right to oonfscate
properly in railway corporations. as
sumo virtually tho position of q
bandit. The Legislature reserves
the right to repeal or modify the
grant, but at the same time it cannot
compel company CIR individuals to
transact business at loss on the
capital actually invested. There is
no autocracy in this country; neither
the Governor, the Legislature, the
President, nor Congress, is supreme.
The British Parliament is supreme.
As an Englishman said to us, Parlis-
ment can do anything. 1t is far
higher than the Judiciary. but there
is no written constitution in Eng.
land. Here our President, our Gov
ernor, our Congress, our Legislatures