The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1902-04-03
Supreme Court OF Wisconsin Refuses
to Throttle an Industry Of so
Great Proportions.
LEGISLATURE IS TURNED DOWN
Big Chico go Companies Can Continue to
Ship Ice From Ksnssha County with
cut Payment of Any state License.

The law passed bv the last Legisla-
ture imposing a tax of 10 cents ton
on ice shipped out of the State was oe-
clared invalid by the Supreme Court
in decision handed down Tuesday in
the case of Henry Rossmiller, an
agent of the Knickerbocker company,
who shipped ice without obtaining a
license, was arrested and convicted in
the Circuit Court. The Supreme
Court reverses this judgment and or
ders his discharge.
The opinion is written by Justice
Marshall and discusses at considerable
length the States ownership in public
waters. The opinion says in part:
''The State is trustee Of the title to
the lakes, under trust created before
the State was formed, to which it was
appointed trustee by its admission into
the Union. The State has no such in
terest in the beds of navigaDle lakes
that it can treat the same as subject
for bargain and sale, or grant the
same away to private owners under
the guise of police powers or other
WISE"
Several authorities are cited to sup
port the position taken, and the court
continues:
"The title to the beds of such lakes
is in the State, but not for its own use
as an entity. The mere naked legal
title rests in the State, but the whole
beneficial use thereof is vested in the
people of the State as class. The
State can no more appropriate to itself
that ice formed upon its navigable
lakes or other navigable waters than
one person can rightly appropriate the
property of his neighbor against the
| latter's will and pass the title to bar
gain and. sale or otherwise to third
party"
In conclusion the court says:
1T is matter of keen regret that
we are compelled to place the stamp of
Judicial condemnation upon the work
OF coordinate branches of the govern
ment. That is true in any case, but it
is especially true here, since it turns to
| naught strongly fortified, supposedly
new discovery ofia rich source for add
ing to the revenues of the State. It is
the duty Of the Judiciary to protect at
all points the constitutional rights of
the people from legislative interior
ence. That duty must be performed
without hesitation, with firmness and
| with completeness, whenever the ne
cessity therefore arises, or the bless
ings of constitutional liberty, as we
understand the same to exist, will soor
| fade away. The wisdom of the faith
ers in securing,to the whole people the
right to enjoy the naviga BILE waters of
the State, with all their common law
incidents, beyond the possibility of
any rightfu1 governmental interfer-
ence herewith, and the consistent and
vigorous defense of such right by the
Judiciary ,asswil1Ebe more and more ap-
preciated as time goes on. The right
is deemed to be SO strongly entrenched
that all assaultssupon them must fall"
By the court: "The judgment is re-
versed and the cause rema nded to the
trial court with directions to discharge
the plaintiff in error
There is no county in the Sta
whose business interests will be 50 d.
rectly affected by the decision Of the
courts as Kenosha county. The decis1-
ion of the court gives the big Chicago
companies the right to continue in the
development of their great industry in
this county, and as result Of this VIC
tory for the company it is probable
that within a few years every inland
lake in this county will be dotted with
ice-hoHses and the harvesting of ice
will become Qpe of the greatest, if pot
he greatest industry Is the county.
The decision of the court will be re-
ceived with universal rejoicing among
the Kenosha county people.