The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1893-10-25
U6URPATION OF THE COURTS.

The Ex.Chief Justice of Minnesota
+ on the Usurpations of the
Federal Courts.
We have tried to use the columns
OF the REPRESENTATIVE to give the
people information which they could
not get elsewhere;-which the hire
ling press makes it its business to
suppress. Among the questions so
discussed we have given a prominent
place to the acts of the supreme
court of the United States, which
have resulted in robbing the people
OF their rights and turning this gov
eminent from republic into mon
eyed oligarchy. We heard some years
since Of a striking address, delivered
april 1884 by Hon. Thomas Wilson,
ex-chief justice Of Minnesota and ex-
M. c., and one Of the ablest lawyers
in the Northwest, upon this topic.
We asked Judge Wilson for a copy Of
it, which he was kind enough to send
US. His statements are the more
significant because he is and has
been for years past, an attorney for
great railroad corporations; but he
comes of a strong and sturdy stock,
1.-THE same which gave the nation
President Andrew Jackson,) and he
has an ingrained love of liberty and
hatred of oppression, and hence is
one of the few lawyers in Minnesota
who has risen above the narrow limi-
tations of his profession. 1t has oc-
Cured to us that we could not do
better than give our readers some ex-
tracts from this address.
Mr.. President, and Members of the Bar
Of Minnesota:
CONCLUDED.
The question whether a CORPORA
ton aggregate is citizen of the state
creating It'll was again considered
in Covimgtom Drasc-bridge Co. v. Shep-
ard, 20 How. 227, in which the opin-
ion of the court was delivered by
Chief Justice fancy. The judges of
the court who favored the jurisdic-
tiOn in such cases had manifestly
come to the conclusion that it would
not do to hold a corporation aggre-
gate-a mere artificial entity-to be
a citizen of state. Hence, in the
opinion in this case, the chief Justice
says: x"Now no one, we presume,
ever supposed that the artificial being Gre
ated by an act of Incorporation could be
a citizen of the state IN the sense IN sohich
that soord Is used IN the constitution"
See, to the same effect, opinion of
Mr.. Justice Curtis in Lafayette ms.
Co. .. French, 10 How. 4O4. At first
sight it would seem that this must
have disposed Of the question
against the Jurisdiction of the fed
eral courts in such cases. But the
court did not, after struggle of
half century, arrive at any such
impotent conclusion. On the con-
trary, it held that the members of
the corporate body must be pre-
sumed to be citizens of the state in
which the corporation is domiciled,
and that no averment or evidence
to the contrary is admissible for the
purpose of withdrawing the suit
from the jurisdiction of court of
the United State. In other words,
it holds that both parties are estop-
ped by the act Of incorporation to
question the citizenship of the cor
porators. It is not unfrequent that
party is estopped by his own acts
to deny either his prior words or
acts, especially when such denial
would operate to the prejudice Of
the opposing party, who had been
led to rely and act on contrary prior
representations. But that one party
to a suit may be estopped by the
words or acts of his adversary to
prove the truth, especially when the
truth would show that such adver-
sary had no status in court, and that
the court had no Jurisdiction, is
new doctrine under the sun, which,
if pushed to it's logical results, would
lead to startling consequences
But one short step further is nee
essary; indeed, it is not necessary
to take even another step, but only
to follow to it's consequences the
last announced doctrine, to strip the
state courts Of nearly all jurisdiction, and
to transfer nearly all the business Of the
country into the federal courts at the OPP
ton Of either party. It is only neces-
sary to hold, when citizenship in a
given state is alleged by any person,
or artificial, that no aver
ment or evidence to the contrary is
for the purpose of with
drawing the suit from the jurisdic-
tiOn of court Of the United States.
The presumption that the allega-
ton is in accordance with the facts
~ hn h.