Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-06-16
REGULATION OF RAILWAYS.
by III. IT. Hunter.

l tOuII WHICH, MI. La IOlittlt SuS - 40
now perverting the spirit OF the con-
stitution and frustrating the laws.
Personally, when il comes TO inter
preting the constitution of the United
States, | would rather trust the inter
probation of the supreme court of the
United States than the Interpretation
of Mr.. La Toilette.
Mr.. La Toilette uses large words and
high-sounding generalities, and IL is
very difficult TO tell. in these g%enerali-
ties which are at variance with the
facts, whether he is really ignorant
himself or whether he only trusts 10
the ignorance of his readers. If he
has read the discussions in the senate
and the house which preceded the pass
age of the interstate commerce act, he
must know that things which he saws
as 10 the meaning of that act and IT'S
Interpretation by the courts are totally
false. | am inclined 10 think, howev-
err, that he does not know it, and is not
wiifully telling what is not so; in
which belief | commend TO him a care
fl. reading of those debates. Then. IL
he will turn 10 his article after reading
the debates, imagine that he viii be
a little ashamed of some of the things
he has said. and will be vesy sorry that
he has put himself on record in print.
What is worst in Mr.. La Follette's
article, however. is the spirit which
underlies it and the point Of view
which ought TO be resented by every
loyal citizen of South Dakota. Mr.. La
Toilette is n politician, and every poll
tician knows that ii is 4 clever trick TO
appeal to that inherent human d!scon-
tent, which is more or less at the bot
tom of all our natures. and that Il IS a
particularly clever trick 10 play upon
this discomfort by pretending that the
people are suffering horrible outrages
at the hands OF the corporation capital
lists. Mr.. La Toilette says that our So
cial conditions are greatly disjointed,
that the corporations are managed
without regard 10 the interests Of he
people, and has an inspired pity for
the poor people of South Dakota who
are suffering such wrongs.
Mr.. La Toilette talks about the rail-
ways having banded themselves to-
gether against their creators. The
railway company with which | am
connected does more TO bring settlers
within the state, to develop its re-
sources and to help ii on TO the mag
niticent destiny which awaits il, than
the whole tribe OF La Follettes VIII do
in Il thousand years. 1t is just such
talk as his that is the chief obstacle
which those, who, like myself, are en-
~deavoring to help in settling ana build
ing up South Dakota. have 10 meet and
fight against. We are now trying. per-
haps, 10 get capitalists TO put money
into a factory in South Dakota-or we
are e~ndeavoring TO persuade settlers 10
come here and make their homes and
to help build up the country-and they
produce from somewhere an article
just like that OF MIR. Ia Foiiette's. pub
lished in some home paper, as evidence
that the people of the state are all dis
contented and unhappy, and nothing
that he can say will overcome it.
The people of South Dakota are not
DISCONTINUED or unhappy. They are
prospecting. They deserve TO prosper,
and l believe Mr.. La Toilette would be
doing his state more service If he pro-
claimed these facts 10 the WORLD. rath-
er han sit whimpering and whining
about dreadful conditions which do
not exist in South Dakota. at least.
AS for the recent decision of the
/ tatt a
already said that / believe that that
court knows more about our constitu-
ton han Mr.. La Toilette. As a mat
ter of fact, the decision contains moth
ing new, but only reiterates what has
been decided again and again. There
is no question whatever, and has not
been for twenty years or so, as to the
right of the people to regulate the rail-
rnaIC Tn rnnffarC nf fufnrytafn tra -, ~
that regulation must be done by the
federal authorities. In the matters of
purely state traffic the state is SUI
preme. The only limitation which is
set to the authority of the state Is that
limitation which the constitution and
the common law have thrown as a pro-
lection around every individual citi-
zen. The state cannot confiscate the
property Of any individual or any per-
son, whether that person is a single
man or n corporation, without due pro-
cess of law. 1t cannot take for public
use the property Of an individual with
out reward. The state cannot arbitra-
rily seize a mans farm without paying
for Ii, because ii wants 70 build a
s~choolhouse or IL nor can it arbitrari-
ly take the property of a railway COM
pany. NFat the united states SUI
prene court has said is. that a railway
company Is entitled TO a fair return on
the fair value Of its property. If it
does not get such n fair return the
state Is confiscating that property,
which II ANN do. That is what Mr..
La Toilette complains Of. There is no
limit on the right of the state TO regu-
late railways, provided that it does not
positively confiscate their property.
1t is only when the state gets below
the limits Of justice that the courts and
the constitution intervene. IL this is
any ground for complaint on the part
of the individual against the courts,
then Mr.. La Toilette is right: but l
imagine that the people Of South Da-
kota prefer that the principles Of the
constitution should be observed and
that common liberty and those COM
mon rights which the Constitution Sc
cures to all of us should be maintained,
wen If a politician here and there
should be disappointed in his efforts to
stir up a fuss for the purpose Of climb
ing into office on the votes of the peO-
pie whom he is trying 10 mislead.