River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-03-26
MINNESOTA RATE
Law KNOCKED OUT
ATTY GENERAL YOUNG IN CON
TEMPT DECIDES U. S ST.
PREME COURT.
The Decision was by Justice Peckham
and is Against Attorney General
Young on all Points. Extra Leg
islative Session Possible.

washington, March A.-In0 Su~
preme court of the United States de-
MED the petition of Attorney General
Edward t. Young of Minnesota for a
writ of nabeas corpus in the case in
which he is held for contempt of
court by the United States circuit
court of Minnesota because he re-
fused to abide by an injunction issued
by that court forbidding him from
taking any action looking to the en-
forcement of the Minnesota maxi
mum railroad rate law.
The court at the same time pro-
nounced invalid the Minnesota law
regulating both freight and passen-
ger rates.
The opinion was announced by JUS
tice Peckham who held the Minnesota
law to be unconstitutional on it's face
because of the enormous penalties
imposed for violations.
The decision was against Attorney
General Young on all points. Sub
stantially the court decided:
That the circuit court of the United
States had Jurisdiction.
That the proceedings against the
attorney general were against him as
an individual, because he was at
tempting to enforce a law that was
clearly unconstitutional by reason of
the heavy fines imposed, and
That the state law was unconstitu-
tional in that it denied to all persons
the equal protection of the law.
came before the United States su-
preme court when he sued for writ
of habeas corpus on the ground that
he had been illegally restrained by
Judge Lochren from putting into eff
feet the commodity law enacted at
the last session of the legislature, the
principal contention being that the
federal court had no Jurisdiction. Mr..
Young was adjudged in contempt of
the federal court because he had
gone into the district court of Ram
sey county and asked for all order to
compel the railroads to comply with
the state law fixing commodity rates,
after Judge Lochren had issued an
injunction against him. He was
brought before Judge Lochren, ad-
judged in contempt, fined 500, di-
rected to dismiss the mandamus pro-
ceedings in the Ramsey county court,
and committed to the custody of the
United States marshall until the or
der was obeyed. Upon the filing of
the habeas corpus proceedings here,
however, the supreme court directed
his release on nominal bail, pending
the decision on the application for
the writ of habeas corpus.
The commodity rate law was enact
ed by the state legislature April 18,
1907, and it was provided that it was to
go into effect June 1, 1907. On May
81, the day before the law became
effective, nine suits were commenced
in the United States circuit court,
presided over by Judge Lochren.
Each suit was brought by one or more
stockholders of one of the railroad
companies operating in Minnesota,
and in each case, among the defen-
dents named were the railway comp
any of which the complainants were
respectively stockholders, the mem
bers of the railroad and warehouse
commission of Minnesota, and Attor-
ney General Young.
1t was alleged that in practical
operation the act would interfere
with interstate commerce, and that
obedience to the act would constitute
unlawful discrimination, and, further,
that the law was void, inasmuch as
the rates prescribed were SO low as to
deprive the railway company of it's
property without the due process of
law or without just compensation.
Justice Harlan read a dissenting
opinion in the Young case in which
he took the view that the suit was
practically proceeding against the
state and therefore not permissible
under the eleventh amendment to the
constitution.
The only remedy i'll the matter is
is the speedy calling of special ses-
sion of the legislature aud the enact
ment of laws that will stand the test
of constitutionality.
A case from South Carolina involv-
the same principles was decided in
this de cision.