The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-04-25
TOO MUCH AUTHORITY.


any body or any thing as heavily as they
see fit. No matter what the subject may
| be, whether pablo or priva'e property, our
Legislators, listening to some popular
clamor, Immediately proceed to levy tax
and pass laws regulating the management
of the company's affairs, We have always
on principle and as a matter Of policy, in
weighed against such practices, put
lii seems to have been OF no
laval. An anti-railroad bill has just
been passed, Notwithstanding tho
fact that these enterprises we should now
court before everything else. 1t Is the rail-
road and the telegraph that make us part
and parcel of the outside world that give us
our civilization, in fact, and yet the state
legislators seem to be blndly rushing ahead
in opposition to our most useful assistants
and factors in the march Of events. There
is, however, fortunately revisory tribunal
in the land where unjust assumptions Of
the law may be corrected. We want TO see
all the authority and power possi-
bio reserved to the states, but
We desire at the same time to see
all efforts calculated to injure us set down
on" Ifpolicy and proper sense of right
do not influence legislation ii is well tn, t
there are resorts where mistakes can be
| rectified. AS an instance OF the spirit, I'M
fortunately too prevalent, topounce upon
ana bleed corporations, we may cite the
,se of the Western Union telegraph cons
pany, in error, VS.. the state of Texas, Lately
decided by the United States supreme
court. Our Legislators undertook to levy
tax of one cent on all full rate messages,
and half cent on other messages sent by
the Western Union company, whether
in or out of the state. The tele-
graph company were unable TO see clearly
the business in such proceeding, and re-
fused to pay the tax. They were thereupon
sued. Our state court, OF course, decided
in favor of the state, but, upon appeal to
the supreme court at Washington, that der
nier resort decided that Texas had as
sumed too much authority in the premises.
The opinion was delivered by CnIEr JUS
Tee WAITE himself, and, in the course Ct
his remarks, he said: at follows that the
judgment, so far rs il includes the lax on
messages sent out Of the state, or for the
government on public business, is erronc-
Gus. The rule that the regulation of COM
merce which is confined exclusively
within the jurisdiction and territory
Of state, and does not affect other ma
tions or states or the Indian tribes, that is
to say, the purely internal commerce of a
state, belongs exclusively to the state, is as
well settled as that the regulation of COM
merce which does affect other nations or
states or the Indian tribes belongs to con-
gress. Any tax, therefore, which the state
may put on messages sent by private par
ties, and not by the agents of the govern.
ment of the United States, from one place
to another exclusively within its own iuris.
diction, will not be repugnant to the con-
stitution of the United States. Whether
the law of Texas, in its present form,
can be used to enforce the collection
of such tax is question entirely
within the jurisdiction of the courts Of
the state and as to which we have no power
Of review" This decision is particularly
important as setting line over which the
states cannot go. Whatever pertain, to
commerce and trade within the state is
a subject for state legislation, whether a
matter of good policy or not, but when the
trade crosses the border, when it partakes
of an Interstate character the state author
tiles nre not permitted to act in the case.
There are, unfortunately, men Ia every leg
isature who fancy that they are authorized
to correct whatsoever strikes them as an
evil, and it is well that occasionally
setback Of the proper kind is given
them. In congress and ms ate legislatures,
the fact is, too much authority is assumed.
Not only corporations and individuals en-
gagged in commerce and trade are subjected
to unwise and preiudiced legislation, but
statutes are enacted which undertake to
regulate what we shall eat, what We shall
drink, and where witha we shall be
clothed. We are neither the organ Of rail.
roads, liquor traffic, telegraph, Sunday
breakers, or what not, but we desire above
all things to see liberal and Just and non.
interference spirit dictate our laws, except
so far as actual revenues are concerned.