The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-25
The Constitutional status of cOrre-
spondcnce schools.

prieed to learn that correspondence
schools in this country are instrument
talities ~ interstate commerce, vet that
In their legal status ~ defined in an
important dccision just rendered nv
the Supreme Court Of tho United States
The importance of the decision lies in
the fact thar IL makes the operations
ofthese comparatively novel and useful
educational institutions subject 10 reg
ulation nv the national Government
through Congress, and absolves them
from any interference by tn" States OK
oept in reference TO transactions wholly
within the State where the school j.
situated.
The most notable establishment ~
this character is what il known a. the
International Correspondence Schools
af Scranton in Pennsylvania These
schools are conducted nv the lnterna-
tional Text Book Company. "A corpora
ton organized under tho laws ~ Penn
sylvania. and they provide courses ~
study in architecture. chemistry. civil.
mechanical. electrical and steam en-
gineeFinG. English French. German.
mathematics. mechanics, pedagogy.
plumbing. heating, telegraphv and many
Other branches 81 learning The head
quarters II the institution are NJ Scran-
ton, where the principal Offices are sit
unfed and where the instructors reside
and do their work The teaching is
conducted wholly nv correspondence
through the mails. a. the name II The
institution indicates. Text books and
instkuction papers are prepared by the
teachers ut Scranton and forwarded 90
the students az regular intervals. to-
gether with illustrative apparatus to be
employed in the studies which re1uirc
such apparatus For the purpo-" ~
carrying on it, work the several States
are deemed divided into districts. for
each IT which local or travelling agent
IN appointed. called a Solicitor-cols,'-
tor. who procures and forwards 20 the
Offices az Scranton applications for
Scholarships in the correspondence
schools and Win alsO collects and trans
mits deferred payments from students
The case which came before rho
laNANNFAtlN N'AlN W " hA~Nl y
I'm Kansas which Includes the CITY 81
Topeka. The correspondence SCHOOLS
maintained no office of their own in Kan
sas. hut their SolicitOr-'ollecto or for that
district received "a fiNcd salary and
commission ON the applications and
collections passing through his hands
The aggregate collections at the time II
a.. = Itatrg.s
mated S5nO n month This solicitor
collector instituted suit in The nam. II
the International Text Book Company.
the proprietor of tho correspondence
schools in a city court ~ Topeka against
a student To- recover a small balance due
from him upon subscription for a
course of int ruCtion hv correspondence
in commercial law. Judgment was rem
dered in favor ~ the defendant on the
ground that the plaintiff corporation
was prohibited by the statutes IT Kansas
from prosecuting any suit IN the courts
OF that state hsszInse II had not obtained
n certificate from the Secretary ~ state
that IL had filed with him certain state
ments prescribed by law The judg-
meut was affirmed by the supreme Court
Of Kansas. and upon the appeal tn the
Supreme Court II the Uni,ed States the
QUESTION presented for deci-iOn was
whether IL N competent for a State to
prescribe ~ n condition II the right 81
the correspondence schools to do an
interstate business in the State that the
schools sho'Ild file any prescribed T,ap.r
with the state officers. This question
has been answered by the supreme
Court in the negative.
The important feature ~ the decision
b the Adjudication that instruction car
red on through the agency of the mails
by correspondence from one State to
another constitutes interstate commerc.
within tho meaning Of the Constitution
of the United States, which confer.
upon Congress the exclusive right to
regulate Such commerce.
There h m doubt that NJ the time
when tho Fe'icral Constitution was
adopted tho commerce which itA fra
mers had chiefly in mind was traffic in
material goods and merchandise II -
extremely improbable thar they COM.
tenplated the transmission nf ItfcIIi-
sencs as an integral part - foreign or
interstate commerce. When. however
thirty years ago the puc-t,nn arr,-a A.
% whether a Telegraph line Operating
between New York and FLORIDA was
engaged in interstate commerce IN
transmitting electric telegraphic mc.-
sages from n point in one state 20 a
point in another, and this QUESTION was
answered in the Affirmative by the SUI