The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-11
Suits Are Dismissed.

Philadelphia, September 10.-Declar- ing it to be drastic, harsh, unreasona- ble and an invasion of the rights Of the states and therefore repugnant to the constitution, the United States cir cult court for the Eastern district Df Pennsylvania today dismissed the suits of the federal government to enforce the commodities clause of the Hepburn railroad act against the anthracite coal carrying railroads of this state. Judge George Gray and George M Dal- las filed opinions dismissing the suits and Judge Joseph Burlington dissente but did not file an opinion The com- modities clause prohibits railroad com panies to transport in interstate com merce any article or commodity man. ufactured, mined or produced by them or under their auth ority. The case was argued in June, United States Attorney General Bonaparte delivered the prin- cipal argument for the government. The effect of the commodities clause if constitutional, would be to confine the mining of anthracite coal by the railroads for use in Pennsylvania only or compel the railroads to sell all the mining property they are interested in, either directly or indirectly
 The decision of the court did not come as great surprise. It is almost certain
 
 the United States supreme court
 The principal opinion was written by Judge Gray, who, as president of the an- thracite strike commission, has an inti- mate knowledge of the mining of hard coal and of the many ramif1cations in tho ownership of the coal mines. Judge Dal- las said in his opinion that 1t cannot be denied that the commodities clause was enacted mot actually for the regulation of ix.fA nfr,fa r.nr, .arlD 1... the conformity of intrastate business with a policy approved by Congress" Judge Gray in his opinion discussed at great length the limitations put upon Con- gress by the constitution and concludes as follows:
 From every point of view which we have been able to approach the question, the unreasonableness and consequent in- validity of this so-called commodities clause is apparent. It invades the rights of the state by striking down the liberty hitherto innocently enjoyed by it's citizens under the laws and usages of the com monwealth, to engage in interstate com merce to the fullest extent, as to all harmless articles, whether owned not owned by the carrier. and deprives of their property these defendants, contrary to the letter and spirit of the fifth amendment to the constitution. If the enactment in question be warranted by the commerce clause of the constitution it is hard to see what bounds may be set to the exercise of that power. It will indeed be an open door through which the forces of a standardization hitherto un- known may enter at will to the overthrow of that just balance between federal and state powers for which the makers of the constitution so wisely provided as an es- sential to the preservation of our dual form of government.
 we confine ourselves to the concrete facts presented by the pleadings in these cases and intimate no opinion either way as to cases where the property has been acquired by the carriers subsequent to the passage of the act. For the reasons stated, therefore, these bills in equity are dismissed, and the petition for writs of mandamus on the laws of this court are |. denied"