The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-12-09
FRANK 3. HOWE. Editor and Publisher
That Two.cent Law.

there is an Injunction on file i'm the
United States District court restrain
| ing the state of Vermont from put
ting a twO-cent ticket law into effect
The ease with which II. 4l9 passed
| through the House shows the disnos.
! ltion OF the representatives, even If
| the bill does fail to pass the courts
| An expression of public opinion. even
II not In accordance with the edicf of
the highest tribunals, frequently has
an educational value BENNINGTON
! Banner.
The concluding sentence OF the
above paragraph is sufficiently sur.
prising and will not be taken serious.
ly even by readers of the Banner It
means, in effect that no matter how
| absolutely illegal or unconstitutional
the measure, it would be proper for
the state of Vermont to pass it as IAN
expression of public opinion" This
is about as close to socialism as the
Banner man often gets, and the pro
position of passing improper unlaw-
full and useless bills because they may
have IAN educational value" is per
haps as absurd in its legal bearing as
anything ever proposed by any rep
resentative in any legislature in any
state since the first legislature was or.
ganized. 1t is negligible nonsense.
To be specific the injunction refer
red to by the Herald was issued
March IA, 1899 by Judge Hoyt H
Wheeler of the United States District
court in the case of Ball ct al VS.. Rut-
land Railroad company ct al. and is
recorded in Vol. so Of the Federal Re
porter II was brought on account OF
an amendment passed by the legislat-
ure, in 1898 by which section 1898 OF
the Public Statutes was amended to
provide for the sale of coupon books
by state railroad companies at the
rate of two cents per mile The ora
tors were the holders Of large
amounts of the preferred stock of the
Rutland railroad and they sought TO
restrain the issue of the two cent
mileage books by The defendant COM
pany
In brief. the stockholders set up
that the sale of such tickets involved
the exclusion or reduction of their
dividends which I'm 1897 We're only !
per cent and I'M 1898 . per cent Judge
Wheeler In granting the injunction
against the railroad company set mp
some important principles
A provision in the charter of a rail.
road company giving il the right with
in certain limits. constitutes a CON
tract between the state and the corpor
alton.
State legislation reducing the rates
of fare on railroad below what will
permit the railroad company to earn
a reasonable income on the capital in
vested is In violation Of the fourteenth
constitutional amendment. as a taking
of property without due process Of
law.
To the layman. nothing could be
palmer than these words: nothing
could be more idiOtic than the at
tempt Of a Vermont legislature to un-
dertake the passage OF two cent
ticket law with the foregoing in view.
Though directed specifically against
the railroad company. the Injunction
In effect was against the railroad com
missiOners and the states attorneys.
both of whom were named In the case
and mentioned in the report as fol-
lows:
None OF the state officers here are
interfere in any way with the prop
erty or operations Of this railroad com
, pany but through and at the end OF
legal proceedings, etc.
The state was not enioined. appar.
emily because the state had not at.
tempted to enforce an improper stat.
ute. Let the state undertake the pas.
sage and enforcement Of two cent
ticket law today and see what hap.
pens.
, The House and the Senate will do
well to scrutnize bills of this char
: acter with very considerable care
Rutland Herald,
In spite OF the scolding administer
ed by the Herald the Banner still in
b, sists that an expression Of opinion by
a legislative body elected by the peo
4 pie has an educational value, even
though this expression In the end
when enacted into law fails to stand
the test of the supreme court. In thi,
instance the passing OF House bill ~!
by the members of the lower branch
, of the Vermont Legislature demonstra
|, ted that there is q demand by the PEG
y pie OF this state for a two.cent ticke
law, for It must be admitted that oul
, legislature, composed as Il is OF rep
% resentatiycs from every town Is az
: close to the people as IL is possible
to make H. So much for the expires
sion Of opinion
b. To 20 further: should this twocen
y rate bill pass the senate and be sign
ed by the governor and should 60 al
terward. through an attempt at ON
!. forcemont. be found that the law wer'
= unconstitutional the people win have
learned that they cannot legislatc II
\ this direction. they will have obtained
\ knowledge from the highest obtain
able source and they will have oh
tanned Il In the only possible way.
Could Il be known to a certaint
lust what is and Just what is not cor
stitutional the lawmakers Of the mai
q ion would be able to accomplish de-