The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-05-04
New Construction, However,
on Commodities Clause
POINT FOR THE RAILROADS
shn Allowed to Hold Stock in Coal
Companies But They Cannot Carry
Their Own Productions--wi Drive
Them Out Of Coal Business.

washington, May 4.--Ihat the com
modities clause 81 the interstate com.
merce act Of 1906, known as the Hep
burn railroad rate law, is constitution.
al was yesterday in effect declared by
the supreme court OF the United tSates.
The decision WAS announced by Justice
White. The court reversed and remand.
ed the decision OF the United States
circuit court, but the only directions
were to enforce aud apply the statute
as IL is now construed
The decision holds the law TO be con-
stitutional but ii does not concede the
contentious Of the government as 10
is scope. An especial exception Is as
TO the ownership Of stock in different
corporations, which II is held does not
prohibit such ownership as would pro-
hibit transportation under the terms Of
the law.
II is also held that ownership Of the
commodity applies only TO the time Of
transportation. Ii the railroad company
had in good faith parted with the com.
modify It may carry n The principal
point Of the decision IA in relation to
railroads holding the stock Of suhordi-
nate companies and on that important
point the finding is favorable to the
roads Justice Harlan dissented on the
stock feature, but otherwise the decision
was unanimous
According TO the decision, the commo.
dities clause only prohibits railroad
companies engaged III Interstate COM
merce from Transporting IN such COM
morce commodities under certain cir
cumstanees and conditions. One Of these
is when the commodity has been manu-.
featured, mined or produced By a rail
way company or under ita authority
and al the time Of transportation the
railway company has not IN good faith
before the ast Of transportation parted
with les interest IN such commodity. II
applies also where the railroad com
pany owns the commodity 10 BE trans
ported, In whole or in part. and when
the railroad company az the time Of
transportation has an interest, direct
or indirect IN legal sense in the com
modify, which last prohibition does not
apply 10 commodities manufactured,
mined, produced, owned. etc, BY a cor
poration because 4 railway company Isl
a stoekhalder Ia such corporation.
IA thus construed the commodities
clause II a regulation Of commerce With
in the powers 81 Congress to enact. Tho
contentious elahqpstely argued for the
railroad companies that the clause, II
applied t. pre- existing rights viii OPP
crate to take property If railroad com
panies and therefore Violate the due
process clause Of the FIFTH amendment,
were al based upon the assumption
that the clause prohibited apd restrict
ed in accordance with the construction
which the government gave that clause
and for the purpose III enforcing which
prohibition these suits were brought
"As the construction which the gov.
eminent placed upon the act ard seeks
to enforce i now held to be unsound
and a. none 0f the contentious relied
upon are applicable 60 she act as now
construed tie act merely enforces
regulation Of commerce BY which car
riers are compelled to dtsassociate
Themselves from the products which
they carry and does not prohibit where
the carrier Il not associated with the
carried. il follows that the
contentious on the subject Of the fifth
amendment are without merit
"The exemption as % timber, etc.
confined III the clause Is not Fepugnant
10 the constitution
"Ihe provision IS to penalties, etc,
separahle from the other provisions Of
the act IA no recovery OF penalties
was prayed, no issue concerning them
Is here presented II win b tiBe en-
ough to consider whether the right TO
recover penalties exists when an at
tempt to collect penalties Is made.
As the construction now given the
set differs ~ widely from the construe
ton which the government gave To the
act and was The purpose q these suits
10 enforce. Il is held that Il is not nee
assary. reversing and renanding, to d
rect the caasacter Of DEGREES which /
shall b. entered, bus simply to reverse
ana remand the case with instructions
10 enforce and apply the statue rs il is
now construed
@As the Delaware & Hudson COM
oany Is engaged rs a common carrier
by raj in the transportation Of coal in 4
The channels Of interstate commerce.
It Il railroad company within the pur
view Of the commodities clause and is