The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-21
ANOTHER RE-
 SPRAYING ORDER
tceatiaaea frs. Page o.e.)

4 all corporstions shall have the right to sue. and shall he subject to be sued in all courts in like eases as natural per sons The court further held that the sum of these provisions is that no bur den can be impoked upon one class of persons. natural or Artlfciai, that is not in like conditions imposed upon all other classes When a constitutional provision has received settled ocn- struction and is Afterwards incorporat- ca Into new or revised consultation, u must be presumed to have been re- tained with knowledge of that con |. struction and the courts will therefore ton.
 Furthef on discussing another nro. Vision of the State Constitution the opiinon says:
 second--The same result is ineyita- ble. If the court gives any sffect 10 section ess of the State Constitution, wnicn reads as follows: Any asso- citation or corporation organized for the purpose. or any indiyiduai, shaii have the right to construct and main tain lines of telegraph and telephone within this State, and connect the same with other lines: and the Leg islature, by general law of uniform operation. shall provide reason able regulation to give full sffsct to this
 The Cooperation Riwsts.
 This section gives any corporation. organized for the purpose, the right to construct and maintain telegraph, lines in this State. This is the right to which the Legislature Is command : ed to give full effect. In compliance with the Constitution foreign teie- graph companies were invested with the power of eminent domain and oth- erwise regulated. The Constitution left no power in the Legislature save l to provide reasonable regulations for conducting the business. The busi- | ness to be regulated is that of con- | structinE and maintaining telegraph lines. The corporation Is not carry ing on that business when 1t seeks justice in the courts! Forfeiture of a I right to do business because the owner resorts to the courts, Is mol reasonable regulation" of the teie- graph business. It is not regulation
 of the business in any sense. It is
 business. The power to destroy q
 business never exists. when the only | grant of authority over the sub jec,
 is to regulate the carrying on of the business.
 It Is an accepted canon of ccnsti. l tutionai Jaw that the exercise Of {
 constitutional right in lawful way can injure no one. whenever and tt whatever extent the Constitution speaks on . particular subject. Co thai extent the police power Is displaced
 and has no function thereafter save
 as it may be useful in furthering th' constitutional policy. The only req | son for the existence of the police | power. and which alone upholds it
 exercise in any case. is that # is ne l cessary or proper for the promotion of the public welfare, and where th' | Constitution has spoken the polic' power must follow and cannot an tagonize its commands. The Consti tuition of the States gives the tele | graph company the right to eonstruc I and maintain lines In Alabama ant the Constitution and laws of the Uni ted States give the telegraph compa
 nies the right to resort to the Fed erai courts. Upon what theory then can the State, under It's police power
 or any other power. interfere, as thu
 statutes here Attempt to do. with thu
 proper enjoyment of either right. oi | lawfully declare that the exercise oi one constitutional night shall wort | for the forfeiture of the othr con X kstitutionai right7 The destruction hert | attempted of these constitutions
 rights can be vindi0ated only on tho theory that the operation of the Con,
 stitution of the state and Of the Uni
 ted states s,aa tns esereiss Of !. risi,t: is.
 we'll being of the state and such . menace to the public welfare. that the police power. which can never come | into existence except to save the State | from harm or promote its welfare. must intervene ana rescue the State