St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-01-30
SCALPER LAW FAILS,
Judge Willis Holds 1t to Be
Unconstitutional.
1T rs CLASS LEGISLATION
Railroads Are Now Defeated
in Four States.
TICKET rs TRANSFERABLE
Under the Law a Ticket Is
Not Redeemable.
1T rs CLASS LEGISLATION.
TICKET rs TRANSFERABLE
CLEARLY A BAD P90YySi0R

S-HhEf OdO TnOFJOEOM
Judge Willis has decided that the
ticket scalper" law passed at the late
session OF the legislature is unconstitu.
tlonal. in that it sought to create
special privilege to few. is class Leg
islation, and has ordered his opinion
certified to the supreme court for re-
view. The point came up on demur-
rer to an Indictment against Clarence
T.. Corbett, ticket broker The mat
ter was ably argued last week by
Hiler 81. Horton for Mr.. COrbett and
the county attorney and Nj Bum foB
the state and the railroads. The dee
murrer raised the question of constie
tutionality direct Judge Willis susS
tanned the demurrer and ordered G. E
Corbett released. In his opinion Judge
Willis uses the following language in
substance:
The law is entitled, Gan act to reguv
late the sale and redemption of trans.
pOrtaiOn tickets of common carriers, and
TO provide punishment for violation of
the same" The act provides for licens-
ing certain individuals, selected and
designated by 1.-The owners of any rail-
road or steamboat for the trans portation
of passengers" to sell tickets for
transportation of passengers by
railway and steamship; and for5ids
under heavy penalty any sale
of such tickets or any traffic
therein or any gift thereof, by any per
son not so licensed. The act contains
no provision requiring the issuance of
license to sell these tickets to any citi-
zen Of good character who may apply
for such license and pay the fee there
for 1t provides no qualifications as to
character or competency on the part of
an applicant for a license. All that is
required of an applicant is that he shall
be presented to the licensing authority
under the potent patronage of person
or corporation fortunate enough 10 be
the owner of railway or a steamship.
1t is made, by this statute, the duty of
the owners of any railway Or steamship
to redeem tickets for the transportation
of passengers once issued by such own
ern, in cases where the original vendor
is the owner of railroad or steamboat
situate or operated. in whole or in part
within this state." No provision is
made for the redemption of tickets of
the kind mentioned sold by persons
other than the 'owners of every rail-
road or steamboat situate or operated,
in whole or in part within this state"
There is no provision in the act for the
redemption of the tickets described in
the indict ment, if such tickets were
originally purchased in the stats
of Wisconsin from the agent
of a railway company char
tered under the laws of that
state and owning and controlling no
lines outside of Wisconsin. Suppose
the ticket mentioned in the indictment
was sold to the defendant at Milwaukee.
Unless he bought it from an agent of
the Northern Pacific Railroad company,
he can neither sell it nor enforce its re-
demption under the laws of this state If
the statute under consideration be al
lowed full force. His property in this
ticket is thus annihilated so far as its
eXchangable value is concerned. The
ticket is marked mot transferable;"
but that condition simply means that
the issuer of the ticket will not recog-
nize it as sufficient evidence in the
hands of any assignee of the original
holder to entitle such assigneeto trans
portation by virtue thereof. 1t does
not eXtinguish its existence as an article
of commerce.
The statute, by forbidding the sale of
railway and steamship tickets. recog-
niZes such tickets as chattel property
and as articles which have been the
subject of commercial transactions by
barter and sale. In assuming to destroy
the value of such chattelS as articles OF
commerce, the statute must be Justified
If at all, as an exercise of the police
power. This statute does not declare
the selling of transportation tickets to
be business dangerous to health or
morals, nor could such declaration be
sustained. The sale of such chattels is
per Sc innocent. The legislation
under which the pending prose-
cution is based aims at the
complete prohibition of such
sale and suppression of traffic IN trans
pOrtation tickets except by privileged
class, the persons designated by the
owners of railways and steamships and
licensed by the state government pur-
suant to such designation. This favor
and spirit of our state constitution. The
provision for the issuance of a license
restricting the issuance to persons deS-
ignated by the "owners of any railroad
or steamboat" is an unconstitutional
delegation of the licensing power.
While the statute under consideration
is conspicuous example of class legIS-
laIion, it could not be successfully i'm
peached on that ground, if Its enactment
by the legislative authority of the state
were not in direct conflict with that
prior and supreme expression OF the
sovereign will of people which is enl-
bodied in the constitution. That in
Strument declares that mo person shall
be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law" Bill OF
Rights, Article l, State Constitution,
Minnesota, Sec. Z. This statute, by
creating special class of citizens to
whom alone licenses may be issued,
violates sec. 33 of Article ~. of the
state constitution, which declares The
legislature shall pass no law grant
ing to any corporation or individual
any special or exclusive privilege" 1t
may be tuat some sections of this stat
ute are not justly open to the objection
that they are unconstitutional; but 1t IS
evident that the entire scope of the act
is controlled by the unconstitutional
provisions; and the latter are so inter
woven with the other provisions of the
act that no chirurgical art known to
jurisprudence could dlssect the void
from the valid portions of the statute
and leave any Vitality in the subject OF
tlas nnaration.