Daily Republican., 1886-12-23

This NAtionsl Grange, Patrons o,
Husbandry, at its recent session took o
firm stand In favor OF what IL knowp
rs the Reagan Interstate commerce
bill now pending before the House OF
RspresentAtives,i in preference to the G al
lum bill pending before the Senate.
Until the decision OF the United States
Supreme Court, rendered October %
last, strong sentiment prevailed that
the States were the proper bodies to
regulate commerce within their borders
and the Reagan bill was looked upon
As interfering with that Southern cher.
ished principle State rights. That feel
ing Ii moro modified since the decision
referred to, though Chief Justice Waite,
Justice Gray and Justice Bradley dis
sented from the opinion OF their brother
judges who were in majority. The
case upon which the decision was rem
dered, was that Of the Wabash, St.
Louis and Pacific Railroad Com pany,
plaintiffs In error, against the people OF
the State OF Illinois. The specific allie.
CATION was that the railroad company
charged Elder & Mckinney 10 cents
per 100 pounds for transporting goods
from Peoria to New York City, and ON
the same day charged Isaac Bailey and
I. o. Swanell 20 cents per 100 pounds
for the same GLASS Of goods from Gil.
man, Illinois to New York, the latter
being eighty-slx miles nearer New
York than Peoria This Statement.
fairly sho W Q grea. Discrimination
against Gilman, q discrimination that
initiated directly against the business
Of Gilman. Nobody will be surprised
that the people Of Gilman felt indign ant
and appealed to the Courts OF Illinois
for redress. Why q railroad com pany
should make such discri mination In its
charges 10 something that cannot be
understood by those outside Of railroad
management upon the principles OF
fairness and justice. The State Courts
decided that the railroad com pa MES had
no right to discriminate In this manner
when the company appealed the case to
the supreme Court Of the United States.
The recent decision Of the latter yscst.
ing the action OF the State Courts is not
q decision In favor of the Railroad Com.
pany, but rather that IL is the business
of the Congress OF the United States to |
regulate Interstate commerce instead |
or the States, as lines OF railroad In but |
rev instances were confined to one |
State, but stretched across one or more
probably across zen OF States. The
decision practically declares that roads |
re aiming through more than one S.ate
cannot be interfered with by the States, |
out II atirms that Congress has the
power to regulate that matter. This
seems like very sensible decision. I'll
a railroad line WAS confined entirely To
one State there could be no doubt OF the
right and power Of that State to con-
troll Its actions when 1t departed from
the limits ofits charter. For instance.
here Is the Philadelphia, Wilmington
q Baltimore branch OF the PennsyIva-
MIA Railroad, that within a distance of
hfty miles traverses thres States. lin
deed, We can truthfully say that Within
distance OF one mile it rams In three
5tates), how could 1t be controlled by
all three OF the States? Unless Penn
sylvanis, Delaware and Maryland.
agreed to and did pass the same identi.
cal laws, the Legislation would be q
wonderful piece OF patchwork.
The regulation then clearly falls M
On Congress and there two bills as we
have already stated are pending, OF
which the Changers in their National a.
semolsge choose the Reagan House bill,
In preference to the Cullum Senate bill.
because the fret gives party aggrieved
direct access to the courts while the
Cullum bill refers all matters OF dis.
pute to com mission OF nine persons
The latter is Objectionable because It ia
liable to become 3 partisan body sub
iact 70 change with every administra-
tioa, ard more liable to be controlled
u monopolies and by Itself might be.
come the agency for welding all the
trunk lines into one com mon pool. The
best Of the argument seems 10 be clearly
on the sid OF the Reagan bill, and with
such discrimination as that in favor OF
Peoria against Gilman prAoticed both
in Illinois, there should be no heslta-
tton nor delay in the passage of the
Reagan bill.