The herald., 1898-03-11
POPULISTS OF KANSAS
DON'T LIKE THE DECISION IN
THE RATE CASE
A SPECIAL SESSION CALLED
For the Sole Purpose of Enacting a
Law Fixing a Maximum
Freight Rate
Associated Press Special Wire


! TOPEKA, Kas., March 1O.-The Populist
| administration of the state of Kansas gave
out a startling public address today, one
brstling with severe criticism c. the re-
cent decision of the United States supreme
court in the Nebraska maximum freight
| rate case. The address is particularly sig
nificant in that Governor Leedy has al
ready taken preliminary steps to the call
| ing of the state Legislature in special ses-
sion with the especial purpose of enacting
| a maximum freight rate law. While the
address is given out over the signature OF
Governor Leedy, it had been first approved
] by Chief Justice Foster of the state su-
preme court and other prominent Popu-
lists.
Governor Leedy said in an interview:
This is an unclean victory in every as
pect Of the case, showing that, no matter
how carefully the robes of justice are
1 folded about the personnel of the supreme
! court, the robes can no longer conceal the
| cloven hoof of official malfeasance and
| usurpation."
The governor then declared that the con-
stitution of Nebraska gives the legislature
power to establish maximum charges for
TRANSFORMATION and declares that the su-
preme court has tried to abrogate it. He
challenges Justice Harlans declaration
| that corporation is a person under the
Fourteenth amendment to the federal con-
stitution, and says: 81 defy 1t, and so will
everybody but a corporation lawyer or a
subservient tool of corporate interests.
Governor Leedy then quotes the Four
teenth amendment, and says:
How in the name of God can this apply
to corporations? Corporation are not
born, they are created-made by law. They
| cannot be naturalized; they can take no
| oath of allegiance; only human beings born
elsewhere can do that
Continuing, the governor quotes Hare on
American constitutional law and decision
by Justice Wood of the United States cir
cult court afterward supreme court JUS
tice, to prove that the Fourteenth amend
ment does not refer to corporations, and
declares that the Woods decision had been
followed in California, Rhode Island and
other states from 1870 to 1882, "when Justice
Field and another federal justice of the
peace named Sawyer decided the other
way and since then whenever corpora
ton starts out to commit highway robbery,
pick a mans pocket or loot public treas
ury it disguises itself as a person and goes
out on its mission of plunder. Nobody but
a Nave or a knave will yield assent to the
hideous distortion of meaning which Judge
Harlan gives to the word person. as used
in the Fourteenth amendment, and upon
which he bottoms his Infamous decision,
and which shows to what depths of iniquity
the supreme court of the United States has
descended"
81 DESIRE" the governor said, "to quote
some of the decisions of the supreme court
of the United States before it went into
partnership with Morgan, Gould, Wander
bit & Co. in opposition to the opinion they
hold in the Nebraska case"
Long decisions by Justice John Marshall
| in 1880 are quoted.
In conclusion, Governor Leedy states
| that his maximum rate bill will be pre-
sented to the Kansas legislature in such
| shape that to decide against it the court
must reverse it's decision In the Nebraska
| case, and he states that ''if the courts
| still pursue the corrupt and rotten practice
| that it has heretofore. by changing it's de-
cisions to suit the shifting interests of the
railroad corporations" the remedy will be
with the people in their dealings with the
courts or in building railroads of their
| own.
A GRAND TRUNK CUT
| MONTREAL, March 10.-The Grand
Trunk railway announces another cut in
| rates. meeting the cut made by the Cana
dian Pacific yesterday.
A DISTURBING RUMOR
CHICAGO, March 10.-The report of a s.
rate from st. Paul to Seattle, made by the
| Canadian Pacific and its connections, is
denied in the most explicit terms by the
officials of the 500 Pacific road. They say,
moreover, they have no intention of maxi
| ing such a rate. The western roads were
very greatly disturbed over the matter, as
| it would have been impossible for them to
meet a rate Of SIS. All the lines using the
Missouri river gateways would have been
compelled to route their business through
Portland in order to reach Seattle and be-
tween Portland and Seattle there is an ar
bitrary rate of $3.50, which is demanded by
the Northern Pacific, and as 1t is the only
line between the two cities, the Missouri
river lines are not able to reach Seattle in
any other way
wILDER's SUCCESSOR
SAN FRANCISCO, March 10.-James AL
ger of Ogden has been selected to be the
successor of the late A. D. Wilder as SUI
perintendent of the western division of the
| Southern Pacific, with headquarters at
Oakland. Mr.. Alger's place as superintend-
ent of the Salt Lake division will be filled
| by John 8. Noble, now superintendent Of
l the Shasta division, which will be merged