The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-04-01
RAILROADS AND RAILROAD
~ COMMISSIONS.
No. 10.
TCor. Scotland Neck Democrat

Sui LII oil Gu0 OGoGOS WILL juAA0NAS
ton over every foot of railroad in the
United States, and what more is
needed ? Here is the answer to that
argument: The national commission
has no jurisdiction whatever over a
single foot of railroad in any State in
the Union. 1t only has Jurisdiction
over the traffic that passes over the
roads, and then only when that traffic
passes from one State to another. The
freight transported must pass from
the Jurisdiction of one State to that of
another State before the Federal COM
mission can assume to act.
It would be much better for the
country if that commission would
never assume Jurisdiction in any case.
[ do not assert as a fact, for | have
no means of knowing, but [ give it as
my opinion that the Federal commits
sion has been worth to the railroads
more than five millions of dollars an
nually and has damaged the people
more than six millions of dollars an
nually. | think the creation Of that
commission a ~stupendOus fraud upon,
the rights of the States; and that fraud
must have been conceived by the rail,
roads and lobbied through Congress
by railroad attorneys by the aid of the
moneYed kings of that body.
The railroads of this State are citi-
zens of this State and are under the
control of the State as much as any
other citizen.
The Federal Government has as
sumed control over these roads when
goods pass from one State to the other,
simply because the people have tamely
submitted to it. The government
does this under the fimsy pretext of
regulating commerce between the
States, which it has a right to do.
The clause in the Constitution Civ
ing Congress power to regulate com,
nero between the States could not
have meant more, IN the minds of its
trainers, then that no State should lay
any embargo or tax on the articles
made in one State and sent to another
for sale, and that the traffic between
the States shouli be free and untram-
meled.
The trainers of the Constitution in
tended to have absolutely free trade
between the States, and in order to
insure this, the power to regulate was
delegated to Congress.
Surely it never entered the brain of
those who established the Government
to give Congress the power to regulate
wages for services performed by the
citizens of one State for the citizens
of another State.
This whole matter as to services
by individuals and corporations be-
tween the same of different States is
n Of contract, and was so considered
and left to be governed by the rules
and laws of other c~ontrcts. Then how
can a commission created by the Leg
i~slature~ interfere with a. contract made
in this State between the citizens of
this State and its other corporation
citizens? Simply because the corpora.
ton is an artificial citizen vested by
the State with specific powers for
specific purposes, and no others. And
these corporations can exercise no
greater power than was granted them
in their charter, and the Legislature
could grant no to these corpora
tions than the people had given it the
right to grant in the Constitution.
And who will assert that the people
aver granted or ever intended to
grant, in the organic law of the State,
any right to the Legislature to sur
render their sovereign power, or to
grant by charter to any combination
of individuals or to any corporation
the power to deprive themselves and
rob their descendants Of the ~inalienable
right to maintain protection against
combined corporate powers?
This power of self~-protection ex-
listed and asserted itself in the forma-
ton of the States, in the Federal
Union, and will ever exist and assert
itself. 1t has never been surrendered
either in the States or in Federal COM
pacts, and when the people acceded 10
these constitutions of the States by
ratifying them they did not so under
stand it. And when the States &C.
coded to the Constitution of the United
States, they understood that they
were reserving to the people the right
to control their own State affairs, to
govern their own citizens, and espe-
cially the citizens of their own crea-
ton. This right was reserved, and
if the powers that be attempt to with
hold it or render it nugatory, and the
people shall realize the fact, they will
by revolution or law, as the case may
be, assert that right and place it in
the constitution of the States and the
United States, or we shall soon go
into despotism.-
I am now discussing the indefeasi-
IL lA- e