Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-10-24
The Supreme Court Decides the Civil
Rights Act OF 1875 UncOnsti-
tntiOnnl.


preme Court to-day rendered de-
cision in the five civil rights cases
which were submitted to the court
about a year ago. These cases were
prosecutions under the Civil Rights
act for not admitting certain colored
persons to equal Accommodations and
privileges in hotels, railroad cars, and
theatres. The defense set up in every
case was the alleged unconstitutional
ity of the law.
The first and second sections of the
act were the parts directly in contro-
versy. The first section is:
SECTION !. That all persons within
the jurisdiction of the United States
shall be entitled to the full and equal
enjoyment of the accommodations,
advantages, facilities, and privileges
of inns, public conveyances on land
and water, theatres and other places
of public amusement, subject only to
the conditions and limitations estab-
lished by law, and applicable alike to
citizens of every race and color, re-
gardiess of any previous condition of
servitude.
The second section provides that
any person who violates the first Sec
ton shall be liable to forfeit $500 for
each offcnse, to be recovered in civil
action; and also to q penalty of from
$500 to 81 900 fine, or Imprisonment
from thirty days to year, to be en-
forced in a criminal prosecution. Ex-
elusive jurisdiction is given to the
District and Circuit Courts Of the
United States in cases arising under
the law.
The rights and privileges claimed
by and denied to the colored persons
in these cases were full and equal ac-
commodations in hotels, in ladies' cars
on railway trains, and in the dress cir
Gle in theatres. = ~
The court, in long and carefully
prepared opinion by Justice Bradley,
held.
First-That Congress had no con-
stitutional authority to pass the Sec
tions in question under either the
Thirteenth or Fourteenth Amendment
of the Constitution.
Second-That the Fourteenth
Amendment is prohibitory upon the
States only, and that the Legislation
authorized to be adopted by Congress
for enforcing that amendment is not
direct legislation on the matters re-
specting which the States are prohib-
tied from making or enforcing laws
or doing certain acts, but is corrective
legislation necessary or proper for
counteracting and redressing the eff
feet of such laws or acts; that in for
bidding the States, for example, to
deprive any person of life, liberty, or
property without due process of law,
and giving Congress power to enforce
the prohibition, it was not intended to
give Congress power to provide due
process of law for the protection of
life, liberty and property (Which
would embrace all subjects of legisla-
tion), but to provide modes of redress
for counteracting the operation and
effect of State laws obnoxious to the
prohibition.
Third-That the Thirteenth Amend
ment gave no power to Congress to
pass the sections referred to because
that amendment relates to slavery and
and involuntary servitude, which is
abolished, and gives Congress power
TO pass laws for its endorsements that
this power only extends to the subject
matter of the amendment itself, name
ly, slavery and involuntary servitude,
and the necessary incidents and con-
sequences of those copditions; that it
has nothing to do with different races
or colors, but only refers to slavery
the legal equality of different races
and classes Of citizens being provided
for in the Fourteenth Amendment,
which prohibits the States from doing
anything to interfere with such equal
ity; that is no infringement Of the
Thirteenth Amendment to refuse to
any person the equal accommodations
and privileges Of an inn or a place of
public entertainment, however it may