The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1907-08-01
STATE RIGHTS AND Federal
tSHRT~


In gnreiug The dissolution Of
Judge pri'chard's lGIuuciiou against
IA. corporations commission Of
North Carolina. Governor Clean has
done more taan sin victory for
state rights Tie has opened the
~sy for wbaI probably sill b. one
OF the most important and far
reaching dee sions ever rendered by
| the suprem. court OF the United
States, says the 81 Louis Republic.
The states aud municipalities OF
/ the entire country. as well as the
federal government. have entered
upon a determined campaign Of res
Mating their transportation service
and other utilities. IL does not seem
! likely that the effort viii be discuu
tinued until fairly perfect system
! is attained BEING. In lis present
shape. comparatively recent move
ment, both The people aud the utili-
ties companies have much to learn.
with possibly few exceptions. II
| Is only within the last twenty-five
or thirty years that the federal
courts have taken up the practice Of
| en- Joining the state laws Within that
| time new meaning has been dis
covered In the first section OF the
fourteenth amendment, and con
siderable body of court decisions has
been formed asserting the right Of
the federal courts to suspend or an
nut state laws in certain cases where
they operate oppressiyely upon the
citizen in his person or property.
State courts also test their own
state laws in measure by the pro-
visions of this amendment. which
prohibits the states from denying
citizen of the United States the pro.
lection of the law or depriving him
of life, liberty or property without
due process of law.
Under this provision a rate for
any public service which does not
yield fair profit Is held to be con
fiscation, and the federal courts as
sert the right to set aside. The eX-
tent to which and the manner III /
which this right shall be exercised /
will. doubtless, be more fully set /.
forth and more clearly defined than
,yer before in the final adjudication,
by the supreme court, of this North
Carolina controversy.
1t does not seem likely that the
court will fully uphold Gov
asses of this sort, state law cannot
De suspended by an interlocutory in
junction, for it is held by many good &
lawyers that court which has pow /,
er to issue a permanent injunction
has the power to grant temporary
one pending inquiry. In the case OF
an inadequate rate, it is likely to be
held that the temporary iniunctionAs
necessary to prevent irreparable in
jury pending the final hearing'
But it may be expected that the
supreme court will clearly define the
! limits within which d federal injunc-
ton may issue against enforcement
of a state law. 1t will be we'll if the
lprinciple is established that the state
lis prima facie right. and that It's law
lcaunot be suspended or anuulled uu-
i'm or unless good cause is shown to
believe that 10 is wrong.
40 such cause was shown before
Judge Pritchard issued his inlunc-
ton BY consenting to enforcement
| of the rate pending the final hearing
lin the supreme court the railroad.
lcuufess that they do not fear great
Injury from it's enforcement
The states look TO the supreme
l,uurt to protect them against uu
warranted invasion of their rights
Iby the minor federal courts Boa th'
future
A,tuuu Died suddenly,