The Boise citizen., 1908-09-15
COURT lPSETS ANOTHER LAW

It's singular trait OF our system Of government that the Unit
,nion OF two Federal judges sitting in a Circuit Cofrt Or even
= nion of single judge in the District Court should override
deliberate Of congress and the president Judges C
:, Dallas who have just repealed Of the most nDorfan
s ii the Hepburn presumably wiser than MANY f
H. senator's and OF the representatives voted Tor it. saws
4s Cgonian The Judges say that the commodity clause Is
unreasonable and invalid The President and Congress held that il
m reasonable and valid The opionon Of the two men prevails o
that the representatives Of the Nation law falls flat In
other country would such thing be permitted Our method OF
ng laws may be better than that which experience Of man
IND everywhere has approved but time has yet to show it. One
6can fact bearing upon the subject the we'll known truth that
nowhere the world law general much dsregarded as
be It may hasy argue that the people are only following
M example which the persisteny them but GER
nmly the example is there
The commodities clause of the Hepburn forbids
road, to manufacture the goods which they transport
The plain for enactng is the unfair advantage which rail-
road owning coal mine for example has who
eno control railroad Naturally the railroad will carry
coal cheaper anybody ee and thus dominate the market In
M words the commodity clause aimed square against money
o Besides declaring that the commodity clause unreasonable
and invalid the Judges add that it nvades the rights the by
striking down the liberty hitherto enjoyed by its citizens under the
laws and usages of the commonwealth engage interstate
merce TO the all harmless articles whether owned
not by the and deprye OF their property the de-
tnans contrary the fifth amendment the Constitution 1t
amazing of the eminent for legal lore did not
perceive these objections which the judges say visible from
every point of view which they have been able approach the
question: What the commodities clause really does to compel
railroads sell their coal mines Judge Gray and his colleague
IDENTIFY this with conscaOn although the government
has shown disposition hasten the Ample time has
been granted to seek the best market 1t be novel doctrine
the law that to compel person sell property the same thing
conscate it. but of Judges in their efforts to prevent
regulation corporations apparently not much frightened al
doctrines which are novel absurd
The view that the commodity clause deprves Citizens OF any
Of their ordinary rights seems TO be little strained It does not
he select De-
comes common carrier does prohibit him. for excellent reasons
from owning the goods which transports in competition with o
The confusion which judges make between citizens m
probably unconscious By judicial construction
citizens but under any rational view OF the law u5
duties are altogether different from those OF natural persons VI
late Years there has been persistent effort make all the protective
phrases Of the Constitution which intended to apply Only
natural persons apply their full extent to corporations nc
have yielded to the tendency alarming degree Dun @
certainly when the tide will turn Corporations "ee
the minds of the fathers when they framed the consuno anu
clearly perverson of that instrument to give tlei "
many OF the protective clauses
Corporations are created by the law and can claim oiN
privileges which the law expressly coners upon ue'"
those privileges should be extensive, because
peabe in modern commerce but it far from Wel 10 l
extensive as to throw all business OF the country n "
the common carriers it well for the courts . i'0
such wav as to set the corporations above the
which hev owe their existence The Rev T. Dewitt lau's
declam that the God who started the universe '' - +b
start million times over. According TO some q o' ~
government which starts the corporations cannot stop %
say nothing OF million times The decision m question ''
ODE passed upon bv the Supreme Court which has 'o
the same terror before GENERALIZATION which be5e o' b
dinates Should the Supreme Court concur NJ s ,at
Cd ali will o,cs more become burning one and the advocates
Government ownership will again push their theory to the front
We are inclined to think that Governor Uoou'S l,,ns coil
asserting that Democratic state senators aieu w. th gov