The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-31
DRIVERS OF IRON HORSES
STATES CAN COMPEL THEM TO
TAKE OUT LICENSES.

The Interstate Commerce Clause OF
the Federal Constitution Not Vio-
lated by Such a Requirement-The
Ruling Brought Out by Fight
Against Alabama's Law.
WASHINGTON, JAN 3O-A decision was
rendered by the United States Supreme
Court to-day in the case of Joseph j. Smith
against the State of Alabama, which pre-
sents another phase of the question of States
rights Mr.. Smith, the plaintiff in error,
was a locomotive engineer in the service of
the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company,
and was engaged in managing locomotive
which regularly hauled trains in and out OF
the State of Alabama, but not between
points wholly within that State. He was
arrested for failure to provide him
self with the engineers license
required by an act of the General
Assembly of Alabama, approved Feb. %,
1887. He sued out writ of habeas corpus
and asked to be released upon the ground
that the act of the General Assembly of
Alabama above referred to, is in violation
of that clause of the United States constitu-
ton which confers upon Congress power to
REASONING OF THE COURT
This court, in long and careful opinion by
Justice Matthews, reviews ad Judged cases
which relate to questions of this nature, and
then, referring to the Statute of Alabama,
whose validity is called in question, says:
st would indeed be competent for Congress
to legislate upon the subject matter of this
statute and to prescribe the qualifications
of locomotive engineers for employment by
carriers engaged III foreign or Interstate
commerce 1t has legislated upon a
similar subject by prescribing qualifications
for pilots and engineers of steam vessels en-
gagged in the coaSting trade and navigating
the inland waters of the United States
whilo engaged i'll commerce among the
States, and such legislation is undoubtedly
justified, on he ground that it is incident TO
the power to regulate interstate commerce.
Power might with equal authority be exer-
cised in prescribing qualifications for
locomotive engineers employed by rail
road companies engaged IN the transporta-
| tiOn of passengers and goods among the
| States, and in that case would SuperSede
any conflicting provisions on the same sub
ject made by local authority. But the pro-
visions on the subject contained i'll the
! statute of Alabama under consideration
| are not regulations OF interstate commerce.
| 1t is a misnomer to call them such. Con
sidered in themselves they are parts of that
body of the local law which properly gov
erns the relation between carriers of paSsen-
gers and merchandise, and the
| public who employ them, which
are not displaced until they come
| in conflict with express enactments of Con-
| greSS in the exercise of its power over com
merce, and which, until so displaced ac-
| cording to the evident intention of Con-
gress, remain as a law governing carriers
in the discharge of their obligations,
whether engaged in purely internal COM
| merce of a State or i'll commerce between
States.
| CONCLUSIONS OF THE JUDGES.
"The court is therefore of the opinion
81 That the Statute of Alabama. the
vadidity Of which is under consideration, is
not. in its own nature, regulation of inter
| state commerce, even when applied as in
| this case.
"2. That it is properly an act of
| legislation within the scope of the admitted
power reserved to the States to regulate the
| relative rights and duties OF persons being
and acting within its territorial jurisdic-
| ton, and intended to operate so as to secure
| for the public, safety of persons and prop
erty.
''3 That so far as it affects the trans
action of commerce between States, it does
so only indirectly, incidentally and remotely
and not so as to burden and impede them,
and in the particulars in which
it touches those transactions at all,
it is not in conflct with
any express enactment of Congress on the
subject, nor contrary to any intention of
! Congress to be presumed from its silence.
| For these reasons the court holds this stat
ute of Alabama, so far as it is alleged to
coutravene the constitution of the United
! States. to be valid law The Judgment of
the Supreme Court of Alabama is affirmed"
Justice Bradley dissepted and said that be
thought it was going too far to permit a
State to enact laws relating to a subject
over which exclusive jurisdiction had been
| given to Congress- and to impose conditions
| upon engineers from other States who were
| engaged in Interstate commerce.