, 1874-12-03

Their PASSAGE" Chief-Justice Ryan, In lia
opinion, seemB to go Tho w}olo length Of my
lug that 40 long rs The mntcrinl property Of
| lilo railroads are not mcll]ed with tho State
| 1nny to what it Tleasas with tho franchise,
| impose What rates 1t will, whether oy not
H1'oll rates diminish tho income Of tho cor
rorht'ons, deprive tho Companies Of tho
ability To pny their creditors, or compel thenl
to e'scroaclt IN their cnl,itAl II, or
tier to conti,llte the operations of tile
roa'ls II wonld th,ts Seem tllat in
Wisconsin it ia tho Inv to.day TINT
railway companies ,nny bo compelled to oper-
ate their ronds nn1 ea,7y passengers and
freight at any rates fixed by tho Legislature,
Ito Mattor how low, md wlatl1cr they
amount to repeal Of tho franchise or not,
And what is true Of railway companies il
true Of all corporations in TINT State. In-
a''rance companies may bo compelled to ispuo
politics ut one-l1alf their present rates, aud
manufacturing companies to soil their pro-
Quota ut ono-fonrth tho cost Of production.
We Ito not believe TINT this is good law. It
Is not justice. It Ia not common sense. It
is not public policy. It, therefore, cn,,not 10
good Inv. We grant that the State Of Wis.,
consn Inns the power to repeal Or alnend tho
charter Of any corporation created by it.
We grant, too, that, in tcr1ns, TINT power Is
absolute. But ITO court should hold it to bo
absolute. Not arbitrarily, hut for good cause
shown, cn1l tho State R1tor or amend tho o1lnr-
tor Of IL corpo,ntion. The franchise Of
corporation may bo repealed, hut only be-
Cause tho paramount good OF tho people Of
tho stato demands 1t, OR rs q penalty inflicted
OIL tho corporation. These limitations arc
not expressed III tho Constitution Of Wiscon-
sin, but public policy, tho spirit Of tho Con-
stitntion, and the highest principles Of 1aw,
equity, aud Justice will supply them. And
so, Tor lite reasona, charter luay not bo
modified III gnch Il manner ns to entail tho
loss Of vested rights, or tile loss Of dollar
once earned and owned
Tho charter OF corporation ii cnntrnct
with tho Stale. It is q contract oven lit Wiu-
conHin. So Chief-]ustice Ryan admits. Az
contract, therefore, it should he interpreted
by the legal rules for the Interpretation of
contracts, tho object Of which rifles il 10
ascertain the nutnal understanding Of the
parties to them. What was tho mutual TILL
derstanding Of the parties to the contract
hcrs9 Did the railroad companies, when
they petitioned for and accepted their char
ters, understand that, arbitrarily, for no
good renson, tic State might cu1ne in
and deprive them Of their fra1t-
chisc by repeal. or modify it SO as to compel
the operation Of the roads at n positive loss
It ia absurd to think 60. Did not the indi.
vie}ual corporatolB suppose, rather, that when
they became members Of the corporation they
did not cease to have all the privileges mud
rights Of individuals under the Constitution
of Wisconsin; to obtain Justice "confor,nn-
bly, to tho laws," and to the protection OF
their property against covert rs well as overt
conhscation? The personal rights of indi-
dividual members Of corporations aro the
same as those members Of no corporation;
md the State has no power over tho Life, lib
erty, or property Of an individual because
he is mombor Of corporation which it has
not over him III his own individual capacity
There are parts Of Chief-Justico Ryan's opiu-
ion scarcely as explicit rs We could wish but
Of the bearing OF the whole there call DO no
doubt. We do not think that tle Supreme
Court Of the United states will ever take the
ganae view Of these cnses as tho Supreme
Court Of Wisconsin. The Potter low, how
ever, will be repealed Or modified before TINT
tribunal reaches tho cases It is q misfor-
tune that Chief-Justico Ryan's opinion can.
not DO repealed with the Potter law.
Tho opinion will stand, maintaining the
absolute and arbitrary power Of the State
over all the frnnchisea until tho Constitution
Of the State alters the provision Of whicl, it
Is tho Interpretation. The opinion itself is
giant blow at the credit aud property Of Wis
consin. Corporations are o great power
in the development Of State but who
cares to invest his savinga in the stock Of
corporation which may ut any time be de-
privcd Of its franchises, aud with it's frau
ohiscs Of tho par value Of his "material prop
erty"?