St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-21

Tor the performance OF duty WHICH Dc
longs TO the state itself, namely, that of
furni shing public accommodation and
providing means Of intercommunication
between one part Of its territory and
another. 1t is devolved upon the legis-
ative department to carry out this duty :;
and, if instead of the state building its
railroads. which it might do if it saw
fit, the legislative department commits
sions private parties to perform the
duty, it is the prerOgative Of that de-
partment to fix the fares and freightS
which such private parties, whether
corporations or individuals, shall charge
for their services. On the same prin-
ciple that legislature may fix the tolls
to be paid by those who use a road or a
canal, it may fix charges for transpOrta-
ton by company chartered to carry
on public transportation. Following
this idea up, Judge BRADLEY says:
But it is said that all charges should
be reasonable. and that none but rea-
sonable charges can be eXacted; and it
is urged that what's reasonable charge
is judicial question. On the contrary,
it is pre-eminently legislative one, in
voIving considerations of policy as we'll
as of remuneration; and is usually de
termined by the legislature by fixing
| maximum of charges in the charter of
| the company, or afterwards, If its hands
| are not tied by contract. 1t this maxi
mum is not exceeded the courts can not
interfere. When the rates are not thus
| determined they are left to the diScre-
| ton of the company, subject to the eX-
press or implied condition that they
shall be reasonable; express, when so
| declared by statute; implied by the
common law. when the statute is silent;
! and the common law has effect by
| virtue of the legislative will.
Judge BRADLEY differs from the ma
| jority of the court in this: They say
| in effect, if not in terms, that the final
| tribunal of arbitrament is the judiciary.
He says it is the legislature, holding
| that it is legislative question, not a
| judicial one, unless the legislature or
| the law (Which is the same thing) has
made it judicial by prescribing the rule
that the charges shall be reasonable,
and leaving it there. He thinks 1t
| delicate thing for the courts to make an
issue with the legislative department at
any time, and in this instance he is sure
that it is unwarranted assumption of
power. The incongruity of the major
| ity decision is thus forcibly pointed out:
The question presented before the
| commission in each case was one re-
| lating simply to the reaSonableness of
| the rates charged by the companies-a
| question of more OF less. In the one
| case the company charged cents a
| gallon for carrying milk between GER
| tain points. The commission deemed
this to be unreasonable. and reduced
| the charge to ~ cents. In the other
case the company charged $1.25 per car
| for handling and switching empty cars
| over its lines within the city Of Mime
apoIis, and $1.50 for loaded cars,
and the commission decided that ST.
per car was sufficient charge in
| all cases. The companies complain
that the charges as fixed by the
commission are unreaSonably low. and
that they are deprived of their property
without due process Of law; that they
are entitled to trial by court and jury,
and are not barred by the decisions of q
legislative commission. The state court
| held that the legislature had the
| right to establish such commission,
| and that its determinations are binding
| and final, and that the courts cannot
review them. This court now reverSeS
that decision, and holds the contrary.
In my Judgment the state court was
right, and the establishment of COM
mission, and its proceedings. were no
violation of the constitutional prohibit
ton against depriving persons of their
property without due process of law.
think it is perfectly clear and we'll
settled by the decisions of this court
that the legislature might have fixed the
rates in question. If it had done so, it
would have done it through the aid of
committees appointed to investigate the
subject, to acquire information. to cite
parties, to get all the facts before them,
and finally to decide and report. No
one could have said that this was not
due process of law. And if the legis-
lature itself could do this, acting by its
committees, and proceeding according
to the usual form adopted by such bod
les, can see no good reason why it
might not delegate the duty to a board
of commissioners, charged, as the board
in this case was, to regulate and fix the
charges so as to be equal and reason
able.
He concludes his splendid argument
support of legislative prerogatives
with the following statement:
In the case of Davidson VS.. City of
New Orleans (96 u. S., 81, we decided
that the appointment of board of as
SCISSORS for assessing damages was not
only due process of law, but the proper
method for making assessments to dis
tribute the burden of public work
amongst those who are benefited by it.
No one questions the cOnStitutionality
or propriety of boards for assessing
property for taxation, or for the i'm
provement of streets, sewers and the
like, or of commissions to establish
county seats, and for doing many other
things appertaining to the administra-
tive management of public affairs. Due
process of law does not always require
a court. 1t merely requires such tri-
bunals and proceedings as are proper to
the subject in hand. In the railroad
commission cases GIG q. S., 800, we
held that board of commissioners is a
proper tribunal for determining the
proper rates of fare and freight on the
railroads of state. 1t seems to me,
therefore, that the law of Minnesota did
not prescribe anything that was not in
accordance with due process Of law in
creating such board and Investing it
Wltllthe powers in question.
1t may be that our legislatures are in
vested with too much power, open, as
they are, to influences SO dangerous to
the interests of individuals, corpora
tions and society. But such is the con-
stitUtion of our republican form of
government; and we are bound to abide
by it until it can be corrected in legiti-
mate way. If our legislatures become