Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-04-05
Our Railway Commission and the
limited States Supreme Court.

Tt seems that the State OF Texas recently
attempted to impose tax on all tele-
graphic messages sent or received in that
State. To this the Western Union Tele-
graph Company demurred, and deter
mined to test the matter in the courts.
After passing through the usual trlbu-
malls, the question finally reached the
court of last resOrt-the Supreme Court OF |
the United States-and the decision there |
rendered. and which is elsewhere pub
Iished, is in effect as follows: The right |
of the State to tax messages confined |
strictly to the limits of Texas is conceded,
but when any message is sent to, or re-
eeived from any point without the State,
then the State has no authority TO i'm |
pose any tax whatever thereon. The |
court holds that under these circum-
stances the imposition of State tax IS
a regulation of interstate commerce,
which is beyond the power of the State.
This decision is of peculiar significance
in Georgia, as it settles matter for |
which our arbitrary Railway Commits
sion has long been contending, and that
is, the power to control through rates
of freight on the railways of the State.
It will be remembered that when the
law creating that piece of legislative
despotism was first passed, and the Com
mission first set about preparing its
manifestoes declaring how our railways
should manage their affairs, it, not salts
fed with the plenary powers with which
it had been vested, attempted also to
control rates on freight passing beyond
the confines of Georgia, or coming into
this from other States. Having some
doubt of its ability to do this without
special legislation on the subject. 1t
applied to the Legislature to confer on
it the coveted authority. From some
cause or other, however, the Legislature
failed to do so, and this failure to
obtain absolutely autocratic control OF
the entire business management of our
complicated and important railway sys-
TEN has. apparently. proven a serious
source of disappointment to our Com
mission, which has necessarily striven
to carry out its purposes. In the
first place, it, long since, published
an order that rates on through
freights should not exceed local rates
on the same class of freight, an
order which, as it is as much Of an at
tempt to regulate interstate commerce
as was the effort of the State of Texas to
tax telegraphic messages sent to or re-
ceived from beyond the boundaries
Of that State, is invalid and unconstitu
tional, and need not be observed by the
railroads unless they wish to do so. In
the next place, it is believed that the
failure to receive authority from the
Legislature to so regulate inter State
commerce is the cause of the recent
Circular No. 90" still further reducing
local rates, and against the enforcement
Of which the Georgia Railroad has
already appealed to the courts, and
against the injustice of which all other
railway lines in the State have so far in
effectually appealed to the Commission.
This decision of tue Supreme Court,
as it naturally leads to the consideration
of the efforts made by the Railway Com
mission of this State to regulate through
freights, brings into prominence once
more the powers and authority of that
Commission, which, as we have always
maintained, are too arbitrary, and should
be curtailed. The Legislature of New
York, the most important commercial
State in the Union, has been for some
time, and is even now, engaged in dis
cussing the problem of Railway Com
mission, and being fully aware of the
great importance of the question, is
making haste very slowly, giving
careful and intelligent thought to
the subject before enacting any
measure of the kind whatever.
Should any Commission bill at all finally
pass that body it will be the measure
| known as the Baker bill, which pro-
vides only for an advisory commission, to
be vested with no arbitrary powers,
but simply to act as mediator between
the roads and the people. A commits
sion organized on this basis has
been tried in Massachusetts, and
other States, and has invariably been
found to work well, and to the gene
raj satisfaction of all parties interested.
On the other hand our Commission, into
whose keeping the sole and entire man.
agement of our important railway inter
ests has been arbitrarily committed, has
proven a constant source of harassment
and annoyance to our iron highways
| those agencies which have accomplished
so much for Georgia. and without which
she would soon be forced back from her
present position as the most prosperous
| State of the South. In making choice
of the next Legislature, it would be well
for the people of the State to give this
matter due consideration.