The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-01-09

ordinary remedies, simply because his
| decree, if resisted, may be enforced
by the agency of federal troops.
| Lawyers remember with what
unamimity federal district judges held
the employers liability act constitu-
tional after the president had public
| ly and so severely criticised the first
| few decisions holding it unconstitu-
| tional.
Federal Judiciary.
For many year past the federal
courts have been regarded as the I'M
| failing shelter of corporate wealth. 1t
| is a common charge that the more i'm
| portant business enterprises exert en-
tirely too much influence in the Sc
| lection of the federal judiciary. It has
| been noted that a large percentage OF
! the federal judges have been chosen
| from the attorneys of these interests.
| Lawyers of experience in both state
| and federal courts know that federal
! decisions are generally much more
favorable to the public service cor
porations and other large enterprises
| than are state decisions. They also
know that large nonresident business
! interests flee from the state courts to
! the federal courts whenever conditions
are such as to enable them to do so,
! that is, when the adverse litigant is
| citizen of the state where the suit
! is brought, and when the amount in
| volved is over $4,000. This is not so
much on account of the prejudice OF
| local juTies, the theory upon which the
law authorizes a removal, because the
| jurieS in the federal courts are chosen
| from among the people of the district
and frequently the jury is entirely
made UP of citizens of the county of
the resident litigant. The change from
state to federal courts is not, there
| fore, on account Of supposed local pref
udices of jurors, but it is to secure the
advantage of the more favorable deci-
sions of the federal courts. For in
stance, an insurance company which,
under nearly all state decisions, is
| held liable for loss under policy
containing certain provisions is en-
tirely freed from az liability under the
same circumstances by the federal
courts. IT, under the circumstances
referred to, a nonresident insurance
company is sued in a state court,
where it would be held liable, all it
has to do to escape all liability is to
remove the suit to the federal court.
The same is true in certain actions
against railroad companies for loss
of goods by fire while in the custody
of the company.
We have seen the combines, seek
! ing monopoly, drive out competitors
and absorb their business. We have
seen these same combines extending
their operations to new and indepen-
dent businesses. The railroad COM
panies have already acquired through
| out the entire country, all coal fields
accessible to their lines and have
! formed subsidiary corporations now
engaged in operating them. These SUD-
sldiary corporations have been favored
b. these roads in the use of cars and
other facilities to the destruction OF
their competitors. In this way other
investors in this enterprise are driven
from the field. The United States SUI
preme court has recently held uncon-
stitutional an act of congress which
prohibited these railroad companies
! from holding stock in these subsidiary
corporations, thereby leaving all their
| competitors at their mercy, The fed
! eral courts have held that when the
! railroads have not sufficient cars and
| facilities for the transaction of the
| business required of them, they may
apportion their cars and facilities
among their own subsidiary corpora
! tions and their customers.
| If these public service highways can
go into other channels of commerce and
withdraw their service from the public
and devote it to their own private
/ businesses, the timber interests, and all
other important interests of the coun-
! try may be jeopardized at any mo-
ment these companies may think it
profitable to engage in these bust
nesses. In this way these highways
can absorb all important business in
terests dealing in the necessaries of
! life. Other businesses dependent upon
these common carriers cannot COM
pete with these subsidiary corpora
| lions in whose interests these common
carriers are operated.
The Plight in Which a Federal Deci-
| sion Has Placed Pensacola.
There is but one line of railroad of
any Importance leading into the city
/ of Pensacola. The docks Of this COM
pany are situate at the foot of streets
and were built entirely upon soil be-
| longing to the state. The state, in
+ IldAIuS d grant vi tue " HOIS "dIGI
front, granted to this company the
soil upon which its docks were erect
ed, together with other water front in
use by the company, under the as
sumption that these docks were being
used by it as a part of its facilities as
a common carrier. All freights COM
ing by rail into the port and intended
for continuous tfans-shipment by wa
ter, or coming in by water and in
tended for continuous trans-shipmert
! by rail, was regularly received and
discharged by the company over these
docks, its tracks upon the docks being
used for this purpose.
These docks were the only means
by which such freights could be de-
livered to or received from. vessels
and we're constructed and equipped,
and had always been used, for this
purpose. They were the only means
by which timber brought in by this
company could be discharged into the
bay and they were equipped and had
always been used, for this purpose,
and this was true of cotton, phosphate,
coal and other commodities.