The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-07-07
A Review of Gov. stones Letter.

II ought TO be Ia the hands OF every voter
in Mississippi;
A Review of Gov. Stones Letter.
To the Elitor Of the Commercial
Bv careful reading Of the Governors
recent letter to Capt. Burkitt, upon which
he expects TO go before the State Conven-
ton on the Sd of August next, for re-
nomination, there appears 70 me inconsis-
tencies, upon question Of public policy Of
vital interest to the people, that OF the
suneryision of railroads by the Legislature.
That is one of the ISSUES necessarily in-
volved in the great issue fast developing IN
American politician issue between the
monopolists and anti-monopolists-an issue
which at no distant day, IN my opinion,
will overShadow all others. For, il must
be evident 10 any caIeful reader oi current
events. that with the rapid strides ~ power
and influence being mace BY corporations
thereby controlling, to a great extent, both
our Federal and State governments, that
unless checked through tine ballot-box, the
great law of selfpre>eryation which In Ger
tain contingencies knows no bounds, must
aud will be invoked by q patient and OPP
pressed people.
/ From the first legal proposition an-
nounced by the Governor in his letter, we
conclude that he must favor the supervision
/ of railroads by the Legislature, for he As
serts: Every enterprise, whether it be a
railroad, canal, factory, or college, winch
} has sought aud obtained in Its construction
+ and exercise Of the States right OF eminent
! domain by transfer 10 itself OF the power
| to take private property against the consent
of the owner, upon the payment OF what
Z jury of review may say 1t Is worth, Is there
! by est0pped TO say 1t Is a private business
over which the State has no control. BY
accepting from the sovereign and exercising
/ a power which can only be granted TO, aud
used in behalf of public enterprise, IL has
! ineradcably stamped that character upon
/ itself Such is the settled doctrine of the
courts supported by principles and sane
\ toned by precedents
/ The principle thus announced comes fully
/ up to the doctrine of the anti-monopolists.
4 l indorse every word of 1T.
! But he afterwards says, in the same let
/ ter that any law Is unconstitutional, null
/ and void ''that undertakes to deprive corpo-
| rations of their clearly chartered rights,
and that it would be therefore "more than
/ useless performance for our Legislature to
adopt, or for Governor to approve an act,
which does not carefully guard the charter
ed rights of railroads" Now, in order to
understand what he means by the char
tered rights of railroads, We have only TO
refer to his veto message of the Barry Bill,
and his Iabored pamphlet opinion on the
same subject, afterwards printed III vaca-
tion. In these two papers, he held that one
of the chartered rights of the railroads in
this State was that of regulating their own
freights aud passenger fare; that such was
vested right, by virtue Of their charters,
and any legislation attempting to regulate
1 the same, was unconstitutional, null and
{ void. Hence his veto of the Barry Bill.
/ There were some other minor points to
which he raised objections, but the gist of
the message was the unconstitutlonality Of
| the act, for the reasons above stated. In the
letter under review, he also states, "any legis-
lation, carefully guarding and protecting the
chartered rights of railroad corporations,
which undertakes through railroad commits
sions, or by carefully considered, wise and
impartial provisions to supervise and con-
! troi the management of our railroads, and
to regulate upon just and proper principles
their rates of charges, shall receive my
prompt and hearty approval"
Now keeping in view the principle an
| nounced IN his veto message and pamphlet
opinion of what are the chartered rights of
/ the railroads, | cannot see how any act
could be framed and passed by a Legislature,
undertaking to supervise railroads, either by
a commission or otherwise, which could re-
ceive his prompt and hearty approval"
The two propositions are wholly inconsist-
ent and irreconcilable and will no more mix
than oil and water. | give it as my opinion,
that if Governor Stone should be reelected,
! and thereby remain our Governor for whole
decade, for this is now his sixth year, TWO
years longer than any of his distinguished
/ predecessors, that during that long, long,
! period of time-a period in which new cities
and States will spring into existence, and
/ crumble and be remembered only in history,
| that no Legislature will ever be able to draft
/ and pass an act, supervising the railroads
| of this State, which in his opinion, suffi-
GENTLY guards and protects their chartered
/ rights, by commission or otherwise to iusti-
/ fly and receive his prompt and hearty APP
prevail.
( 1t seems to me, therefore, that his able
| letter upon that subject is inconsistent and
meaningless; but when read in connection
with his official record upon the subject, we
are compelled to place him squareiy in OPP
position to the doctrine of supervising rail
roads by the Legislature and with the mo-
nopolists aud his proposition to give his
prompt and hearty" approval to such a
measure under any circumstances, is all
bOsh-"a mere tub to the whale"-an cleo
pioneering document, and about as genuine
and sincere, as the ordinary smile of can
didate.
The power to supervise railroads by the
State Legislature is yet an unsettled ques-
ton. Some of the courts holding the
affirmative, and some the negative of the
proposition. The most learned and distin-
guished attorneys in America, differ upon
it. Judge Jerry Black, of Pennsylvania, in
his celebrated opinion given to the New
York chamber of commerce, on the 10th
day of November, 1880, upon that question,
holds, that "the railroad are public high
WAYS, and the rights of the producer and
consumers the need of the poor, and the
prosperity of the rich all cry aloud for some
system of management which win compel
them to do the duties they owe to the public
faithfully, at rates reasonable, fixed uniform,
and equal. without extortion. The laws
necessary for this purpose, are not difficult
to frame Their determination to charge
as much as the traffic will bear" he pro
nounces, "in the aggregate to be the most
enormous, oppressive and unjust tax that
was ever levied upon the industries of any
people under the sun" And maintains. /
shat all the States have a clear and indie /
feasible right to protect their people against /
such wrongs, and to exercise the power is a
sacred duty.
Ar. George 1icknor Curtis, the attorney
forthe Erie railroad, in reply to the opinion
OF Judge Black, held the contrary: i'there |
are two sides to every question:" and law
yers differ according to the side upon which |
they are retained, otherwise, there would be /
no litigation. Ali the RAILROAD attorneys, |
as a matter of course, hold TO doctrine that /
the States cannot, by their Legislature, SUI
pervise railroads; otherwise thew So. !,
not properly represent their clients.
The doctrines of chartered rights and
svested rights" is not now such a great |
bougaboo with the courts, uninauenced by /
the corporations, as some would believe /
But recently it has been decided by the SUI |
preme Court of North Carolina that bank |
charter. which authorizes it to charge anv
rate of interest, that may be agreed upon bv /
it and its customers, Is TO be constructed To
any reasonable rats, not usurious. Accord /
ing to the doctrine of the monopolists. when
such provision exists in a bank charter i
then II isfha rirhf Of the hanlr - -. 30