The Advocate and news., 1898-03-16
The Nebraska Railroad Decision.


the question whether a State Legisla-
ture has constitutional authority to es-
tablish maximum charges for carrying
freight. This, 1t would seem, is error
A close examination of what the Judge
said in this case and of what Is said by
Judges in all cases in which arises the
mater of legislative authority over the
compensation of carriers - especially
carriers by railroad equipment-will
disclose the fact that the opinion rests
not on the question whether the State
may set limit above which the carrier
shall not go in his charges, but whether
a Legislature may fix q rate that will
not yield a reasonable compensation to
the carrier. That is the question and
the only question in all these cases. If
the law should prescribe rates that are
or would be remuneratiVe, and the ques-
tion of authority were raised, the courts
would find no trouble in sustaining the
constitutionality Of the statute.
To say that the Legislature may es-
tablish rates covers the whole ground.
Up to this time the Legislatures have
not found 1t practicable to take and
keep direct charge Of the railroads
within their borders, and some, If not
all of them, have appointed boards Of
railroad commissioners to regulate the
transportation businesses, and this on
the ground that the regulating Of COM
pensation Is as much within the iuris-
diction of the lawmaking power as the
granting of right-of-way. What are
railroad commissioners for If not for
this very work?
But. more. There is not a code Of
State laws in the Union that does not
provide for the sums that carriers may
demand and receive as compensation
Here, for example, Is the law Of Kan
sas as it was carried into the compiled
statute Of 1S79-nearly twenty years
q ragO:aloca
mo railway corporation shall charge
exceeding six cents per mile for the
transportation OF passengers, except
when the amount Is O fraction Of five
cents, in which case the fraction may
be added"
And here is the next section, proVid-
ing that-"every such railway shall ar
range and classify all property usually
carried over the railroads, and shall affix
thereto the rates respectively at which
the same shall be transported,
which rate shall not exceed
for distance less than fifty miles, twenty
cents per ton per mile," and so on.
If the question had been raised in
court whether the Legislature Of Kan
sas had exceeded It's authority in fixing
six cents mile and twenty cents ton
per mile as maximum rates for carrying
passengers and property, would the
court have decided in the negative? The
roads, of their own motion, cut the pas
senger to four cents mile, and reduced
freight rates to correspond. The fact
that the compensation provided by law
was satisfactory to the carriers rem
dered 1t wholly unnecessary to look for
any other avenues OF escape for the
Judges
Take the case of ferries and custom
mills. Laws regulating the compensa-
tion Of ferrymen and millers are always
held to be valid so far as the authority
Of the Legislatures over the subject
matter is concerned. The important,
the material question In such cases is
not one Of authority to regulate rates,
but whether the amount allowed is rea-
sonable, which is altogether different
matter.
Nor would any question Of authority
arise in this and other like cases, were
it not that the Legislatures or Board Of
Commissioners undertake to enforce the
rate. The carrier pleads that the rates
Of the law are unreasonable, that the
business cannot be carried on except at
a loss under the legal schedules. The
court is easily satisfied on that point,
because the matter is susceptible of
proof that is not far to find. The COM
pany's attorney shows the capitalization,
which is made up of stock, so much;
bonds, so much; unfunded debts, 80
much; total, blank million dollars. The