Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-17
The Gaze"

-
The Granger Gaze"
San Francis: o Chronicle.
The higher courts of the nation are
gradually coming into accord on the
question of state control of railroads.
The most recent decisions by the su-
preme court OF the United Slater
we're ON two cases carried uI
from the supreme court of Illinois.
Both have been pending for many
years. One of these respects freightt
and fares. In the height Of the
granger excitement In 1873, a pas.
senger named Lewis, travelling be.
tween two stations not far
apart on the Chicago, Bur.
llngton & Quincy railroad,
refused to pay the 20 cents fare
charged by the company, but tender.
ed 18 cents, the minimum fixed by
the state legislature. He was elected,
and sued the conductor for assault,
who was fned $40 and costs. The
company refused to pay the amount,
and carried the case up, In the face OF
a series of adverse decisions. till 1t has
just been decided against them By the
court Of final appeal. The ground of
defense was that the state, In regu.
lating freights and fares, had violated
Its agreement by contraven!i G some
COZ sssions made to some OF the
roads which had been absorbed
by the Chicago, Barlisgton and
Quincy. at the same time q decls.
ion was rendered In what Is known as
the Elevator case, which involved the
same principles In both cases the
right of q state to regulate freights
and fares was affirmed by the supreme
court of the United States, the states
Jurisdiction In the matter being
allowed to extend 80 far as TO permit
the cancellation, or at least the liberal
Interpretation, of some portion of an
agreement into which the state had at
some previous time, perhaps, incau.
tiously entered.
The railroads have fought their
fight energetically on the various
points raised, but have been In nearly
every case defeated. They have at.
tempted to show that q state had no
right to forbid discrimination, to
regulate freights and fares, or to ex.
erclso any jurisdiction over them
when they were organized under one
state, but operated In another. There
have been numerous decisions on the
first point, their tenor scarcely differ.
Ing in a single particular. One
Ct these was delivered by Judge
Baxter, Of the United States district
court of Northern Ohio, in the case oil
a coal dealer, who brought suit against
a railroad because 1t carried coal for a
rival dealer the same distance fol
from 80 to 20 cents per car load less.
The plea of the defendant, that the
patron alluded to shipped a larger
amount of coal, did not Influence the
court, which decided that the testi-
mony showed unlawful discrimination
The decision in regard to state con
troll when the matter has come
directly before the courts have
been uniformly against the railroads
The third of the three principal points
raised by the railroads-tbat q stat,
In which they were not owned, but
merely operated, could not control
them has been passed upon In three
different cases, involving severally the
Chicago and Northwestern, thu
Wabash, Western and Pacific and The
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. Ons
&c 49, L.. NU.o. A..
lowe and one In Illinois. The frs
two went to the supreme court Of thu
United States, and In one o
them the chief justice himself CAV,
the decision, affirming the right of tn,
state to forbid discrimination II
freights and fares, using almost thu
Identical language employed In tn
Granger" case quoted. The rights o
q state are therein clearly explained
A state has all the legislative right
not forbidden by the constitution o
the United States, and Is presumed Il
be right till Its enaotments have BEEF
proved wrong. That Is q kind o
state sovereignty to which n
one a object. Chief Justic
Waite says In this last decision that
state may make all regulations regard
ing railroads that they have not speci
ioally permitted the road to make
but that such privileges, If granted
must not be contrary to the constitu
r ton and bylaws OF said state. Tha
Is, a general charter permission to
railroad to fix freights and fare
according to their convenience doe
: not prevent legislation 10 prevent OF
0 ~tortion on tho part of the company
In respect to California We ar
:, doub!y fortified, for our corstltutio
gives the legislature all the pove
q that Is necessary to suitably contro
. the oppressive corporations that a
o unjust Providence hss ssddled upo
US. judging the supreme court G
the United States as at present cor
8 stituted, by this deols!on, we feel jus
p tilted In expecting that when cases 4
a which we are locally Interested com
before II we shall be able to obtaI
such Just decisions as those rendere
Q in the cases that have gone up to
4 from Illinois, Wisconsin and lows
According to these decisions
we have the right to fix freight
and fares, to forbid railroa
Q discrimination, and to do oil TIL
8 whether a railroad Is organized With
the state or whether 1t Is organized |
an adjoining state and operates a pol
tion of Its line within our limitn. Tn
> only n besides Judge Field who
8 d~istrusted on account Of his previou
connection with corporations Ia Star