The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-11


Indiana. certainly the states attorney
should be granted the power to enforce the
rights of the State with reference to these
foreign corporations. Corporations are or
ganized in New Jersey and never build
plant In New Jersey but come over into In
diana and other States and build their
plants, hire their laborers here, and If you
seek under the present law TO have them
obey the laws of Indiana and bring suit TO
that end, they simply snap their fingers
IN your race and say, We are residents Oh
the state of New Jersey and you will nave
TO sue us in the federal courts of our ma
tive State or in the State courts OF our
native State. New Jersey charters corpora
tons to do almost anything except TO MUIR
der and these corporations chartered
now have exercised over them no controi
whatever by the State Of Indiana"
The next section was discussed by the
senator by stating that It simply related
to the mode OF procedure Of bringing lnfor-
nations into the Supreme Court of the
State of Indiana; conferred upon the Su-
preme Court of the State original jurisdic-
ton In the matters relating TO informatlons
filed by the attorney general
Certainly, If the State OF Indiana grants
foreign or domestic corporations the right
to do business in Indiana, then in suits per-
tanning to these foreign and domestic cor
porations their suit should be tried In the
highest courts of the State of Indiana and
the information should be brought by the
attorney for the State Of Indiana
The senator said that the balance of the
bill so duplicated the present law that 1T
was not necessary to discuss those points.
BILL CONSTITUTIONAL.
The senator next took up the constitu-
tionality of the bill and showed that under
Section four, Article seven of the constitu-
ton which states, that the Supreme Court
shall have original jurisdiction in such
matters the General Assembly may
designate, that so far as the constitutional
ity of the bill is concerned there should be
no question about that.
He next showed that the bill creates no
new causes for information either by the
prosecuting attorney or by the attorney
general, and cited the Portland Gas Conn
pany case, In the 153d Indiana, and several
other cases from the leading States or the
Union on that subject
Speaking of the bill in general, the sena-
tor said that the great points of the Dill
jurisdiction on the Supreme Court, which
was in conformity with the law of the lead
ing States of the Union; second, that part
of the bill giving the State OF Indiana some
power and control over foreign corpora
tons.
Continuing further he said, among the in
controvertible reasons why the bill should
pass. was the fact that there is now form
ing large combine situated in foreign
State, organized for the purpose of control
ing all the soft coal fields in the State OF
Indiana. LAS the law now stands this coal
combine can go on being organized under
the laws of a foreign State and the State
of Indiana must stand idly by and see the
fuel which is the life of its factories liter
ally stolen away from 1T and the State is
powerless under the existing law to save
itself; The attorney generals hands are tied
The State is without power.
This bill Is designed TO get after the
'get-rich-quick' companies, graveyard in
surance' companies, fake accident insur-
ance companies, spurious fire and life In
surance companies. Since all these cor
porations are put into existence by a char
ter from the State of Indiana, it would
seem to be a necessary conclusion that
the State of Indiana, by its legal depart
ment, should be empowered to purge itself
of such robbing schemes and companies.
This cannot be done unless this bill
passes"
STAND ON THE PLATFORM.
In concluding the senator said: II see
by the papers that John D. Rockefeller has
served notice on Congress that there must
be no antitrust legislation. The same
papers also announce that the lobby here
in indianapolis says that the State Legis-
lature of Indiana must not pass the at
torney generals bill. / do not know how
you. my fellow-senators, feel about it,
but l feel that / am here representing
neither the corporations the news
papers, but / am here representing the
people Of the State of Indiana, to pass
and vote for such laws as believe are for
i believe that you will have less trouble
| to explain to your constituency why you
voted for this bill than to explain why
| you voted against it. 1 did not have any
more sense in the last campaign than to
| go on the stump and advocate a law regu-
lating the control of the large corporations,
| platform of the Republican party, and
| since the Congress Of the United States
| is now engaged in the laudable purpose
| of trying to regulate these things, 1t &C.
4 N M
| the State Of Indiana to pass reasonable
| laws on the same subject. so far as
sponsibility in the Senate for 1t. indorse
every syllable of Ii. 1t is my bill and /
| hope every senator will do his duty to the
| State and to the people by voting for it.
| He was followed by Senator Fortune, of
| Jacksonville, Democratic floor leader, who
placed himself on record ultimately as fav-
| oring the bill. Senator Fortune made the
| principal argument that while he favored
many things which the bill provided, yet he
was opposed to those provisions which re-
| quired all complaints against corporations
| to be heard in the Supreme Court as a
| trial court. Such a procedure would tend
! to endless annoyance, not so much to
corporations as to complainants, and would
tend also. he said. to lessen the importance
| of Circuit Courts. There is no question
| but that fair trials can be secured I'm Cir
| cult Courts, the senator from Clark said,
and he could not understand the wisdom of
| q bill which provides that the Supreme
Court shall be the only court for the hear
| ing Of this class of litigation.
| Mr.. FORTUNES OBJECTIONS.
Another serious objection raised by SEN
ator Fortune from his point of view was
that 1t deprived citizens of the right Of a
| trial by jury and deprived him of the right
| of being heard i'm the community in which
| he resides. The senator delivered a tell
| ing speech. interrupted now and then by
applause He received the undivided at
| tention of the senators. In brief he said:
1.-The two objectional features to the
! bill are:
First, 1T makes the Supreme Court of
| the State a court of original JuriSdic-
ton and thereby Gusts the jurisdiction of
| every Circuit Court in the State in which
quo warranto proceedings are instituted.
| Second, the bill, as drafted, applies Ia
| individuals as well as to corporations and
trusts.
by the ordinance of 1857 the Northwest
| Territory was coded to the United States
| with the express condition that the citizens
to reside in the territory were, not to be de-
| prived of the right of trial by jury. This
| principle was reiterated i'm the Constitu-
| at the time of its revision in 1851. and has
been handed down to English-speakine
| people from Magma Charta. 1t is contend
| ed by the friends of the bill that a jury
| might be impaneled In the Supreme Court
of the State to try questions OF fact, but
| as matter of fact, every Supreme Court
| decision from the first Blackford up &c
the last decision rendered has held that
| the Supreme Court is court OF error
and that ii will not pass upon questions OF
| fact, but will review the action presented
| to il purely upon questions of law.