The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-11-18
THE SUPREME COURT.
Important Decisions Rendered
on Tuesday.
GENERAL sHERIDAN'S VIEWS.
He Makes Some Suggestions Regard
ing the Indians-MinOr
News Items.
In &c supreme Court.

WASHINGTON. November 1.-THE
Supreme Court has rendered a decision
in the Kentucky Railway tax cases.
They were three in number, brought by
the State against the New Orleans and
Texas Pacific, Louisville and Nashville
and Chesapeake & Ohio Railways, to
recover taxes levied by the State. The
decision OF the lower court was in ia
vOr Of the State, which the Supreme
Court now afdrmS.
Two federal questions arose on the
record in these cases.
Flrst-That the act of the State
Legislature and the taxes levied in pur-
suance Of it. if enforced, would in effect
take the property Of the roads without
due process of law.
SecOnd-That they constitu Re denial
equal to the protection laws, violating
In both particulars the fourteenth
amendment of the Constitution of the
United States.
The court holds that the proceedings to
raise public revenue by buying and col
lecting taxes are not necessarily
judicial, and that the "One process law, J"
as applied to this case, does not imply
or require the right to such notice of
judicial proceedings. Respecting the
question of discrimination against the
railway companies and their property,
a being obnoxious to the fourteenth
Constitutional amendment, the court
holds that the rule of equity in respect
70 this subject only requires the same
means and methods TO be applied TO
the constituents of each class. so that
the law shall operate equally and uni
fOrmly on all persons in similar circum-
stances. There IS no objection, the
opinion declares, 10 discrimination as
between railway companies and other
corporations by method by
which the value of reciprocity is
obtained. The court also delivered
its opinion on the case brought by the
State Of Alabama, as plaintiff against
the directors and officers of the Ala
bama &ChattanOoga Railway Company.
The State lent its credit to the road,
taking mortgage as a security. The
declaration alleges that the company
did not build the road as contracted,
but bought an old road and leased an
ether; that the company became bank
rupt and q foreclosure failed TO Ieim-
burse the State. The court holds that
there IS no allegation that the road cost
less than it was supposed it would cost;
III IS merely q case II WHICH TIE : ute
accepted insufficient security. The de-
m1rrer Of the company IS sustained.
WASHINGTON, November lin the
Supreme Court, decision was rendered
in the two public land cases brought
upon an appeal from the judgment Of
the Supreme Court of Dakota. The
first was an seton to recover q parcel
OF mineral land upon which IS built
the city OF Deadwood. The land was
entered and paid for IN January, 1878,
ant n June following, the probate
Judge acting as trustee fer the town,
entered the same land. The Supreme
Court holds that no title from the
United States to land known at the
time to be mineral land can be acquired
Ender the presumption, homestead or
1ownsite laws. The mining claim OF
the plaintiff in the case and the title
had actually passed to him before the
probate Judge took the initial proceed
ingS. The United States had, there
lore, nothing TO convey. Judgment
against the town is affirmed. The other
ease is similar, except that the town OF
Central City, Dakota, made no entry.
Judgment sgsiust the town was
PiiTmed.