The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
xorns OF 1EeA1 ErExrs.

NoDTnHkn mhNiulum IE6IRnt TuUo ChSO hnu WV
rendition OF q verdict Of aoouittal in tho prose-
cution for murder against tho Pennsylvania
Sheriff and his deputies who fired upon the strik.
inE miners at Lattimer in September last. Tho
Nebraska decision establishes tho doctrine that
tho courts will not permit tho Logislaturobf q
State to regulate railroad rates to such at ex-
tent as to deprive railroad companies of reSeon-
able compensation for their services based upon
tho fair value Of tho property which they use
for tho benefit of the public. II appeared that
under tho rates for freight prescribed under the
Nebraska statute n majority OF the railroad
companies affected by that law would have sus-
tninod an actual loss upon thoir freight business.
Thus tho cfrcct Of the statute was TO deprive
those companies of their property without duo
process OF law, within the meaning Of the Four
teonth Amendment to the Federal Constitution.
Tho decision has given risc to considerable dis
satisfaction among the Populists in the West.
1t really leaves n wide margin of discretion
ary power. however. to tho Legislature of n
Stato to regulate rates for freight and pnsson-
ger traffic on railroads within its own bounda-
ries. So long as these are not reduced to q point
which clearly d~eprives tho companies Of rea-
sonable' compensation the courts cannot inter-
fere.
The outcome Of the Lattimcr case is peculiarly
satisfactory for the reason that the defendants
were officers of tho law accused Of violating tho
law which II was their duty to enforce, so that n
conviction would have involved not only the
ordinary elements Of the crimo OF p,urder. but n
reproach to the public service Of the State. 1t
would seem that the case for the defendants
must have been made very clear at the end; for
the jury took only one ballot and every vote was
for acquittal. This verdict, however, may not
end the prosecutions growing out of the unfor-
tunate events at Lattimcr, as numerous other
indictments still remain untried, and there Is q
very hostile feeling toward the Sherin's depu-
ties who did the shooting. On the other hand,
there will hardly be many repetitions of q trial
five weeks long in which a hundred and nifty
witnesses must be examined.
We have received from Albany q copy Of the
proposed Education law, which has been cub
mitted to the Legislature by Messrs. Charles
n. Lincoln. William H.. Johnson, and A. Judd
Northrup, the State Commissioners Of Statu-
tory Revision. In tho article on libraries are
some extremely Objectionable provisions relat-
ing to the law libraries in various parts of the
State, tho purpose of which appears to be to
place them under the control Of Mr.. Melvil
Dewey, the Secretary Of the Regents of the Uni
versity. No attempt is made to interfere with
the libraries provided by tho Legislature for the
use of the Judges OF the Court of Appeals. Each
Judge shall have the sole custody and control
of tho library assigned to him, and upon the expi-
ration of his term of office 1t shall DO delivered
to his successor. Tho Judge may buy hooks for
such library ont of any funds available for that
purpose" Instead of making similar provis-
ions In respect to the libraries which have been
furnished for the use of the four Appellate Di-
visions of the supreme Court, tho Statutory Re-
vision Commissioners coolly propose to mako
the Appellate Division libraries free public
1ihrnripSr npinr Tho CONTROL NJ tho Pauepfa uhn
may appoint and remove the librarians; but they
will graciously permit the Supreme Court JUS
tees to borrow books from such libraries "un-
der reasonable regulations prescribed by the
Regents" These Appellate Division libraries
were established to afford the Judges ready &C.
cess to tho necessary books in tho privacy of
the consultation room; and to allow the public
access to them would defeat the very purpose
for which they were founded.
Tho commission to revise and codify the
criminal and penal laws of the United States
is authorized not only TO report the result of it's
work as a whole when completed. but to make
special reports to the Attorney-General from
time TO time during the progress of It's labors.
Acting under this authority, the Commissioners.
Messrs. A.. c. Thompson. Alex. @. Botkin, and
d. b. Culbcrson, have recently made a special
report relating to the district Of Alaska. propos-
ing a penal code and code of criminal proceed
ure for that Territory and recommending its
enactment by Congress at an early day, In view
OF the fact that there will probably be 200, 900
persons In Alaska in 1898. Without under
taking to pass judgment upon the wisdom of the
provisions of positive law, the manner in which
he work of codihcation has been done impresses
us very favorably. 1t also has the merit of
comparative brevity, the combined codes COW
ering only 1856 pages of large print. tho pages be-
ing of the size ordinarily used for Congressional
documents. Tho urgent need of new criminal
laws for Alaska Is made evident by advices re-
ceivcd on Wednesday from Copper City, where
the people have been compelled to legislatc d.
rectly for themselves in order to rcpress crime,
and have declared that larceny. where the
amount stolen exceeds 800. as well as murder.
shall DO punishable by death. In the proposed
Alaskan codo, larceny In cases where more than
$35 worth of property is taken subjects the Of
fender to Imprisonment for not less than one or
moro than ton years. Here In New York the
maximum punishment for grand larceny is ten
years imprisonment. but the statute prcScribes
no minimum penalty.
An interesting application OF the doctrine of
contributors negligence has recently been made
by tho Appellate Division of the Supreme Court
In the Fourth (Rochestcr) Department., in q
cAAA op"A''oN 49, -'N' va ~
recover damages for wrongfully causing tho
death of n person who was killed by q train
while endeavoring to drive across the track.
Two boys were in a buggy. As they approached
the track the boy who was driving addressed n
person on foot and asked him TO so mp the West
Shore line and find out whether there was any
train in sight. This person testified that he
looked, could see no train, and called to tho
boys TO como on. They drove ahead and wero
run dawn by q train which their friend on foot
had failed to observe. The hoy who was not
driving was killed and the action was brought
by his administrator. The Court held tn at the
person who mislcd him and his companion into
surprising that they could cross in safety was
their agent, and that, II he WAS guilty of ncglI-
gencc his lack OF care was attributable to tho
lad who was killed. In this view, however,
Judge Hamilton Ward refused to concur, al
though no sustained the verdict for the rail
road CoInpnny Oh other grounds.