The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-08-03
From the Prairie Farmer.
The ILLINOIS Railroad Law.

railway corporation is, whether the right
to determine what shall be prinld Jdcie, o
reasonable rate, exists in the Legislature, or
in the courta = The railways assert that it
is for the courts to say whether certain
rate is or Is not reasonable, and that under
the construction of the celebrated decision
in the Dartmouth College case, the charter
Of o railway corporation is contract
between the state and its people on the
one hand and the corporation on the other,
which contracts fixed and airreyocable,
and may notsbe changed or modified By the
legislature. Is = - 81. ~ f&.E
The discussion of this. the main ques-
ton, has waxed warm and bitter during
the past few years. The people and their
representative writers and thinkers on the
one hand, and the attorneys Of railroad
companies on the other, have each in their
way presented their views and urged their
theories before the public. ~
The railroads and their attorneys con-
trolled by direct interest, the money ar
bitrarily extracted from the public for the
payment Of their salaries, have ably and
persistently sought to ridicule out of court
and out of mind the principle that .
creature Of the law shall be controlled by
law, that the corporators OF public high
way, shall not override the power which
Incorporated them. -.
The people insist that no legislature has
the power to delegate TO, or confer upon
any corporation irrevocable rights and
powers which belong to the people exclu-
sively and which concern their, dearest
welfare, and Of which they may not be di !
vested forever. The legislature is a
creature of the people under the constitu-
ton and in its capacity as coordinate
branch Of the government it cannot create
a private corporation and then confer upon
that corporation beyond recall part Of the
powers vested only in the sovereign, viz.
the power of control over its subjects,
whether they be individual or corporate.
The attitude assumed by the corpora
tons presents an anomalous spectacle.
They are intangible persons, spoken into
being by the grace and will Of the legis-
lature, and can only exercise such powers
as are within the limit of legislative au-
thority to grant. But constituting their
powers to be unlimited as to fixing rates
and charges, if their assumptions are cor
rect they assume in effect to be part Of
the government. By virtue of their exer-
else Of the right Of eminent domain, which
may be only granted them by the legisla-
ture upon the theory that their railroads
are public highways, they stand in the, po-
sition Of holding the absolute power of
prohibiting the use of their highway to
the public by exacting such prohibitory or
extortionate charges as shall prevent the
public from enjoying its use.
Ii they discriminate between points, or
charge more for a less service over their
highway than for greater they thereby in
effect, prohibit, or tend to prohibit, the use
Of their highway to that portion of the
public which may desire thelesser service,
and the moment they prohibit, by such
discrimination, or by extortion or unrea-
sonable charges, that moment they cease
to be such corporations as may exercise
the right of eminent domain, and they be-
come simply ordinary private corporations
like manufacturing, mining and other
companies, which have no power to con-
denim and enter upon private property
BY continuing this argument then tC
its logical conclusion, it will be evident
that when railroad corporations do so pro
hibit the uss of their highway, by uDjus
discrimination or unreasonable charges
they are overstepping the conditions o
their charters, are violating their so calleC
contracts with the public or with the state
and may be ousted under such condition
as may be fixed by law. =
Now as to their charges. The mos
strenuous railroad attorney will not CLAIM
that any railroad corporation has tn
right to make unreasonable charges 70
transportation Of freights or passengers
They all admit. that, to be collected, thei
charges must be reasonable. How, rea
sonable? Who is to decide2 May con-
pany charge what it chooses to each ship
per, and then await suit by the sblppe
to recover back what he has bee
charged more than is reasonable? Mus
each shipper, in shipping goods over
road whose owners, by the use Of the La
of eminent domain, have established
public highway, be compelled to brin
separate suit to obtain back his overpay
ments in unreasonable charges2 Ough
not rather the law to authorize the 6xin
Of scale of rates which shall be deeme
primo. fdcie reasonable :? The legislator
las done this, the rates have been fixe
under the law, by the railroad commission
ers, and they are now in all courts in th
state, to be taken as prinldfacie reason
able. The railroads have the right to al
pear in court and show that the rates 6xe
by the commissioners are not sufficient, {
not reasonable. The only effect Of tn
law authorizing the fixing of rates, is [
throw the burden Of proof upon the corpo
ations who attack them, instead Of upo
the people.
What hardship is it then fora railroa
corporation, which has at its bidding alb
lawyers, competent railroad men an
talented experts in the matter of transpor
alton, 70 appear in court and furnish ii
proof that will satisfy jury that the leg
schedule rates are not sufficient or .reaso
ably large2 -J eA'i 81
Why should not the onus of proof /
rather upon them than upon the individu
shipper, whose pecuniary ability is limitet
and who, in his person but represents
unit of the great public whose rights are
stake? "
And again, for another reason, VIII
should not this burden Of proof be place
upon the corporation, whose rates excee
those fixed by Che commissioner sch
dule? Which reason is this: The CO
poration is hut creature of law, it exis
but by the grace of the law makers, and
has no power to charge any rates OF i
own whatever, except as common carrie
1t shall have been authorized so to do, an
further, upon the conditions that the
shall be- reasonable. What presumpt
in law, is there, that any rate fixed by sue
corporation is reasonable? Such DIT,
sumption perhaps, would exist. and con
panieS rates would be held prinaa fac
reasonable, had the legislature not sal
that the rates fixed by the railroad con
missioner's schedule were to be deeme
aud presumed to be prinad .facie reaso
oil,