The Washington herald., 1907-08-07
AIabama,s Railroad Controversy.

That any State should confer upon
single one of it's civil officers power 10
suspend the operation of a railroad by a
mere stroke OF the pen seems almost in
credible in view of the quasi-public
functions of a common carrier and the
vital Importance to the community of the
punctual and continuous performance Of
those functions. Yet the secretary Of
state of Alabama has such power, and
his exercise Of it has made it a penal Of
tense for the Southern Railway 10 carry
passengers and freight from one Alabama
town TO another. That road. according b
Gov. Corners view, is an OUTLAW. with no
more rights than a mob seeking 20 burn
and destroy. and the Alabama railroad
commission has decided that it has no
legal status before that body. The gov
ernor, If press dispatches are correct.
stands ready to call out the troops to
compel the Southern to stop serving the
people of Alabama and to suspend the
operation Of all its trains except those
carrying interstate business.
How has this extraordinary situation
arisen? Under a recent act of the Ala
hama legislature nonresident corpora
tons are required to take out licenses TO
do business in the State. This act pro-
vides that the license shall De cancelled
If the iicensee. on being sued in an Ala
bama court, shall petition for the removal
OF the cause TO a Federal court, and that
upon cancellation of the license any con-
tracts or undertakings made by the cor
poration shall be void and its agents
guilty Of q misdemeanOr punishable by
fine and Imprisonment. judge Thomas
G. Jones, in the Federal court, issued a
writ of Injunction against the provision Of
the law relating 10 forfeiture Of charter
for removing a case from State to Federal
courts, holding that it was in violation Of
both the State and Federal constitutions.
It IS contended by the State authorities,
however, that the injunction did not ap-
ply specifically to the secretary of state.
with whom rests the power of revokiag
licenses. When the secretary Of state,
therefore, received official notice that the
Southern Railway had filed a petition for
the removal of a suit from the Circuit
Court of Talladega County, he wrote the
following across the stub of the license is
sued TO the Southern: This license is can
celed for a violation OF the act under
which It is issued by the removal of a
civil cause from the court of this State to
the Federal court" By so doing the sec
rotary Of state made it unlawful for the
Southern to do business in Alabama.
Gov. Corners spectacular assertion of
State rights has an exceedingly fimsy
basis in law, while it has no justif-
cation whatever from the standpoint of
public policy. Fortunately, it will be
easy TO arrange a compromise in the Ala
bama case without loss of dignity. II
the Southern will temporarily withdraw
its petition for removal pending a deter
mination Of the constituuonality Of the
law, its license may be reissued, in which
case it Will be required to pay fne in
cash amounting to one-tenth its capital
stock. Such a course would deprive Gov.
Conner Of opportunity TO display any more
fireworks. except the inevitable announce
ment Of another great victory for State
rights-until the Supreme Court Of the
United States knocks a very foolish piece
OF legislation into cooked hat.