The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-02-08
CORPORATE POWER.
Ito --latest and Most Dangerous
Move.
Undermining the Supreme Court, the
Last Dulwark Of the People.
(Frofn Justice.l

tFT0m Justice.l
A faithful sentinel on the watch-tow-.
er, Justice sounds the alarm for the
latest, the most dangerous assault yet
made by the combined forces Of corpo-
rations. The note shall be sharp, clear
and defiant. Let it ring from Maine to
Texas, from Florida to distant Oregon.
From the adoption Of the constitu-
ton, the Supreme Court Of the United
States has been the safeguard Of the
people. The head Of an independent
department Of the Government, its
Judges, with high integrity Of purpose,
have held the scales Of justice in firm
and steady hands. 1t has preserved the
integrity Of the Onion, the powers Of
the State and the rights Of the people
with strict ilnpartiality Like the gov
ernor Of a mighty engine, it has regu-
lated the speed Of all the parts Of
complicated Government so that each
part has moved without friction in its
Just relation to every other. Never did
it fulfill It's high behest more perfectly
than when, in the Granger cases. il
defined those to be public corporations
which appealed to the general public
for patronage, and declared that it was
an implied condition Of their existence
that they should submit to legislative
regulation and control.
When that decision was made, corr
porations declared war against the
Supreme Court. They determined that
.he decision should he reversed; and, as
here WAS no way of reversing it short
Of changing the Judges. they have ever
since been laboring to elevate corpora
tion lawyers to the bench once honored
by Marshall. Taney, Curtis. Story and
Nelson. They have SO far succeeded
that they have stained one judicial app
pointmcnt with an uncontradicted scan
dial Of the darkest complexion. But
their efforts have not yet been crowned
with success, and at the present writing
that court remains loyal to its ancient
policy, evidenced by long line Of de-
cisians.
But corporations, though foiled. are
, slow to acknowledge defeat. They
have now changed their base Of opera
tions and opened the attack from an
unexpected quarter. Ii il very un-
pretentious and apparently innocent
movement. hut the most deadly ever
attempted. Should il prove successful.
corporations will he as Independent Of
Legislative control as the inhabitants Of
Patagonia are of the Parliament of
Great Britain.
The county of SAN Mateo, in the sage
brush region of southern California. is
| traversed by few miles oi the South
| ern Pacific railroad. the franchise and
property Of which was valued for pur-
poses of taxation ut about $4,000 per
| mile: while the county authorities were
collecting tax ON this valuation. by
process in the State courts. they fonnd
themselves suddenly whirlc,l into the
Circuit Court Of the United States, on
the claim that their proceedings in
| volved the laws and constitution of the
United States! How this could he they
could not comprehend, but Associate
Justice Field. Of the Supreme Court Of
the United States, and Sawyer. Circuit
Judge. who have cnjoined all further
| proceedings for the collection of the
tax, have given them the explanation.
| Their explanation we will now give to
the 100000 readers Of Justice. and we
commend it to their careful attention.
| There is part of the Federal consti-
tution known rs the Fourteenth amend
mcnt II was the product of the diving
struggles Of slavery II was adopted as
the final measure Of the civil war to Sc
cure to all men equal protection of the
laws, without distinction of race. color
or previous condition. 1t reads rs fol-
lows:
"All persons born or naturalized in
the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens If the
| United States, and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities Of citizens Of
the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person Of life, liberty or
property without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within it's iuris-
diction the equal protection Of the
laws"
Note here that the persons named in
the Fourteenth amendment are persons
Of flesh and blood, "born or natural
ized'
The constitution Of California de
clares that all property for purposes oi
taxation shall be assessed mt its actual
value. In practical cases il is assessed
ta its owner But, rs the owners Of
pullic corporations can seldom he as
certaincd, the constitution provides
that the property of such corporations
shall he assessed by that name, and
holden for taxes without regard to the
owner. precisely rs real estate is in the
State of New York. Property Of indi.
yiduals subject to mortgage shall h
assessed to the owner" less the yalne
of the mortgage, which shall be
assessed to the owner Of the mortgaged
security. so that both are taxed; but, rs
the property OF corporations is assessed
TO itself and not to any owner, no de-
duction Of mortgage debt is or should
he allowed. In both eases the property
is made to pay tax in proportion to its
actual value, but in one case the tax il
imposed upon the owners, in the Other
upon the corpus OF the property.
In the opinion of Judges Field and
Sawyer, the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company il person "born or natural.
lied within the meaning of the Four
teenth amendment to the constitution
and because the constitution Of Califor
nia provides different system for rs
sessing and taxing the property of rail
roads and public corporations from tina
applied to other property owned by in
diyiduals it denies to that railroad com
pany the equal protection Of the laws
These Judges have accordingly enioine.
the collection Of the tax, and the cas-.
has been carried to the Supreme Cour
of the United States.
The railroad corporations have il
their steady employment many of tn
; leading lawyers. In addition to tn,
California contingent, they have em
ployel in this case reinforcement con
sisting Of prominent senators and poll
tieians 81 numerous that, il all are per
1 n, "a, ,s,,.