The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-26
GLENN'S R. R. CASE PROPOSAL
Contin ued from First Page.

fortunate in the ooinion Of the official men
toned, because it has The effect Of dis
couraging railroad construction at the
very time when the future prosperity OF the
country depends more upon such construc-
ton than upon any other factor.
Officers Of the Government who are
concerned over affairs in North Carolina
hold that IL is the most serious phase OF the
railroad situation and serves to illust rate
the nature and gravity of controversies
or this character. The case is regarded
as simple enough per So. however and it Is
contended that IL should not create any
confusion in the mind 81 the public. The
view taken here by those whose opinion is
worth noting ia this:
h & constitution Of the United States is
the supreme law OF the land. binding and
enforceable everywhere. Ii contains an
express provision that no property shall be
taken without due process of law and no
person deprived OF the equal protection Of
the law. h earnings Of a railroad from
transportation service are it's property,
q nd il "A State undertakes to reduce those
earn ings below the basis Of Just compensa =
ton the State in effect takes the property Of
the railroad without due process Of law and
deprives IL Of the equal protection of the law.
Anv person claiming hat his constitu-
tao nal rights IN this regard have been vio-
lated is free to appeal to the Federal courts.
and II il their duty to give fair and impair
tial hearing to the contention. III a prima
facie case is made il is clearly within the
discretion of the Federal court to grant an
injunction against the enforcement Of the
law alleged to he unconstitutional until the
question Of it's validity can be determines
in the suit. The effect Of sue injunction is
TO suspend the enforcement of the wv for the
time being. and ii is the duty of the State
officers TO accept and respect the mandate
OF the Federal court. There would seem to
be only one course TO pursue, and that IL to
sustain the action of Judge P%ritchard with
out hesitation. BECAUSE the integrity and
! authority Of the Federal court must be up
held at all hazards.
Authorities here express the belief that
the United States Supreme Court will have
10 decree just where Federal authority
over interstate begins and ends.
the clash between the State and Federal
authorities bringing up a question that
must be settled by the court of last resort.
The Official above referred to said:
A railroad which operates in two or
more States carries both State and inter-
state traffic, but ii il impossible to separate
either the operations or the earnings OF
the road az between the two kinds of traffic.
Therefore the action Of the State which,
while ostensibly directed against purely
State traffic. necessarily and materially
affects interstate traffic. may well be held
to be in ~derogation of the powers of Con-
grees TO regulate. That is TO say. broadly
speaking. either a State regulation or what
are such in kind or form must be subor-
dinate TO national regulation or the latter
will be seriously impaired.
For example. the State Of Missouri
or the authorities of the State of Missouri.
a while ago reduced railroad rates in that
State. Among the rates so reduced was
the rate on grain from Kansas City 10 st.
Louis. That reduction was binding, of
course. on a road wholly within the State Of
Missouri between the cities named But
other roads operating between the same
cities, not lying wholly in Missouri and there
fore not subject to its jurisdiction, were,
OF course. as a commercial necessity. com
PEELED TO accept the same rates, and thus
the action Of the State of Missouri, whether
right or wrong. had the necessary effect OF
reducing a very large number Of interstate
rates.
In like manner. if the State of Georgia
should reduce the rate on cotton from
Atlanta to Savannah il would virtually
compel a corresponding reduction in all
the important cotton rates of the whole
| country, because the rate from Atlanta
to Savannah il adjusted with reference to
rates TO Mobile and New Orleans and other
points.
Another illustration. Vast Quantities
Of grain come down from the Lakes to
Buffalo. Suppose New York should pre-
scribe a three cent rate on that commodity.
The New York Central, wholly within the
State. would have to carry grain at the
three cent rate. Interstate roads, as a
commercial necessity, would have to meet
that figure.
Under present circumstances the door
Ia wide open for conflict of Federal and
State law At the last session Congress
passed a law prescribing the hours of serv-
ice Of telegraph operators employed on
interstate railroads. Texas has a law
prescribing different hours Of service for
railroad telegraph operators.
Suppose North Carolina should pass n
law requiring different safety appliances
on railroads from those required by the
Federal law. How could a railroad. as
No railroad engaged in both kinds OF traffic,
and most OF them are, could have a certain
equipment for use in State traffic and
another kind of equipment for use in inter-
state traffic.
"The state of Virginia passed a law re-
curing railroads in that State TO move
traffic at the rate Of not less than fifty miles
a day. IL was aimed at the DELAYS incident
to car shortage. At the very time that law
went into effect the conditions were such
that as a matter of fact the railroads in
Virginia were probably not averaging
more than twenty-hv miles a day on all
traffic. II IL were a fact at a given time
hat a given railroad could not average
more than twenty five miles a day On all
its business and the State came in and
compelled it to move State traffic fifty
miles a day. the necessary consequence
ia TO reduce the mileage carried in inter-
state traffic. Does not this put a burden
upon interstate traffic2
As respects all political questio ns no
particular harm results from varying and
inconsistent avs in the different States.
For example, the rate Of interest in Vir-
ginia will be Q per cent. and In North Caro-
lima 7 per cent. without causing any con-
fusion or trouble. Likewise the aualif-
cations OF q voter might be diff in
one State from what they are in another.
All these are laws or regulations which
al ect the political and social relations OF
the people. Blu when you get to their
commercial relations IL is different. Com
merce cannot be localized
Officials here declare that there are many
presidents for the action taken by Judge
Pritchard in North Carolina, notably the
decisions Of Inc courts In the Nebraska
and Texas cases.