The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-07-29
Statement BY B0NAPARTE
RAILROAD RATE FIGHT
No Reason for Any Further
Action in North
Carolina.

Lenox, Mass, July 2S-Attorney-
General Charles ]. Bonaparte who is
at hotel here, gave out statement
tonight on the railway rate situation
in North Carolina. Dispatches from
Raleigh last night announced that the
state of North Carolina had won its
fight to have the IL cent passenger
rate law observed by all the railroads
in the state, pending an appeal to the
courts by the railroad companies. At
torney-General Bonaparte s statement
says:
1T is the duty of the department of
justice to see that process from all fed
eral courts is duly served. This duty
exists without any regard to the ma
ture of thes litigation in which such
process may issue or the parties to
the cause. On July IS the attention of
the attorney-g general was called TO d
reported purpose on the part of certain
state officials in North carolina to dis
regard writs Of habeas corpus issued
by Hon. j. c. Pritchard, circuit Judge
Of the Fourth circuit, on behalf Of
someagents or employees Of the South
ern Railway company who had been
indicted for a violation Of the recent
act of the legislature of North Caro-
lima, fixing maximum rates of fare for
railway passengers. On July 20, AS
slstant Attorney General Edward T.
Sanford was ordered to proceed at
once to North Carolina and report
what action, If any, on the part of
the department was necessary to pro-
cure due respect for the process of the
federal court in that state. In case
Of emergency he was authorized to
take appropriate action without ref
erence.
NO attemput was in fact made to
evade or resist the service of the said
writs, or to obstruct forcibly any other
process Of the United States court and
Mr.. Sanford was assured that no such
| purpose was entertained It was there
fore unnecessary for the department to
| take any further action to guard
against such contingency.
mfr. Sanford found, however, that
there was serious danger of prolong-
ed conflict of jurisdiction between the
! federal and the state tribunals. Such
! incidents have been declared by the
supreme court of the United States and
are regarded by bench and bar as ex-
| tremely unfortunate, tending to impair
the dignity of the judicial office and to
diminish public respect for the court.
ut has been the consistent policy Of
the department to aid in avoiding so
| far as it might have any opportunity
to do so, complications of this char
| aeter, and In accordance with this
| policy, Mr. Sanford suggested to the
parties concerned a reasonable arrange
ment intended to secure an expeditions
determination of the questions at issue
| by the supreme court of the United
States without impairing the ultimate
rights of any party to the litigation.
"It proved impracticable to conclude
such an arrangement while he was in
North Carolina, and he left there FRI
mday afternoon and came to Lenox, to
report personally the situation to the
attorney general
1.-THE department learns through the
newspapers that since his departure an
| arrangement has been executed be-
tween the railroad and the state Off
Gals. AS to the character of this ar
rangement or the attendant circum-
stances and merits of the controversy
it neither entertains nor expresses any
opinion, such matters being entirely
without its province,
| 1T is proper to say that, beyond re-
ceiving and referring to the attorney
! general a single telegram, the president
! has had no personal connection with
the entire transaction, and the printed
reports representing him as giving in
structions in connection with the case
are altogether without foundation. The
suggestions which have appeared in the
press TO the effect that request for
military assistance or other extraorai-
nary measures Of that character were
in contemplation are also entirely
! groundless.
'The department never had any rea-
son to suppose that 1t would find diff
| ficulty in dealing with the situation
| through its accustomed agencies. The
department has had in this matter a
simple, but very important duty to dis
| charge, namely, to see that due effect
was given TO all orders requiring exec
utive enforcement passed by the fed
eral court in the exercise of a turisdic-
ton which it had regularly assumed.
After receiving Assistant Attorney
General Sanford's report, the attorney
general considers that the department s
duty has been fully performed and that
under existing circumstances there is
no reason for any further action on its
part"