Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-10-02
sAMsoRN RUIlNa osLlrEaArEs
STATE LINES IN MATTER OF
STATE POLICE POWERS.
ATTORNEY GENERALS WILL
MAKE STRONG SHOWING
Case Promisss TO es ore Of Greatest
Law Questions in Many Ysars-sim.
liar Questions Confront Many States
Will Argue Against "Twilisht
Zone"
Special to Times Republican.

Des Moines, Oct. 2.-Will the federal
courts be permitted to read into the
statutes a meaning that will in effect.
completely obliterate state lines In the
matter Of the exercise Of the police
power of the several states?
That ia, in brief. the major ques-
ton upon which a committee OF law
yers, under the chairmanship Of Clif-
ford Thorne of the Iowa railroad COM
mission, is at work In the state law IL
hrary this week They are preparing
an argument to 60 to the United States
supreme court lin support of the exer-
else Of the authority of the several
states.
This is going to be the grea test law
suit that has reached our highest court
in many years." said one of the COM
mittee. looking up from mountain Of
law books.
Many Cases Combined.
There will be three main briefs pre-
scented aside from those by the attor-
neys for the various parties in direct
interest. The main cases are those
known as the Missouri and Minnesota
rate cases Of which there are good
many; and with these are sundry
cases from Oregon, Kentucky, and Ar
kansas. while other cases are headed
for the high court from Iowa, Kan
sas, Nebraska. Oklahoma, and South
Dakota. Some Of these cases had al
ready been submitted to the supreme
court prior to the decision of Judge
Sanborn in the Minnesota cases, but
the submission was recalled and all are
now to be submitted together. The
three briefs will be:
BY committee OF attorney generals
and commerce counsels for six west
ern states. OF which Attorney Cen
eral George E. Cosson is the head:
BY committee Of attorneys for and
Of the railroad commissions of five
states. Of which Clifford Thorne is
chairman;
A committee representing the con-
vention Of governors Of states. Of which
Gov Judson Harmon, Of Ohio. is the
head
The brief Of the attorney generals on
behalf Of the states directly concerned
was first to be completed. This makes
book Of 1853 pages In which is dis
cussed almost every phase Of the sub
ject as directly affecting the states.
Take Issue With sanborn.
The attorney generals. in their brief.
take issue with Judge Sanborn and
point out that II his decision stands 1T
leaves the whole matter of regulation
Of intrastate rates to the mercy Of the
railroad rate makers. ITO assert that
the state can not regulate interal
rates because such rates do OF might
interfere with interstate competing
rates. they say, lis to assert that
states can not regulate rates at all,
because all rates do or might compete
with others including interstate rates"
Governor Hadley Of Missouri, in his
address on the subject, printed copies
Of which will go along with the briefs
to the supreme court referred to this
inevitable confusion this way:
Under our system of government
there are certain rights and authorities
which can be clearly assigned to the
states and others which are clearly
national in their scope. There are
some that either sovereignty can exer-
else. But when the nation acts with
in the limits of the powers conferred
upon it. such action Is, Of course. su-
preme, and to 1t the states action must
yield. But there is an authority con-
corning which 1t is hard to say wheth-
ed it Is state or national in its char
acter. The twilight zone between
state and federal authority is the zone
in which those business enterprises
like to dwell which desire to escape
regulation and to defeat the authority
Of both sovereignties.''
Argue Against "Twiiisht Zone"
The committee of railroad commits
sioners will insist in their argument
that there is no such twilight zone"
or should not be any SUCH zone, but
that directly one authority ceases the
other should commence and that the
point Of division should be clearly
marked. The Sanborn decision, they
will say. leaves very broad twilight
zone or else gives it all to the federal
authority.
The attorney generals go even fur
ther than to assert that the elimintion
Of state authdUity leaves the state
helpless in regard to rate making. 1t
affects everything.
ITO assert that states can not reg
ulate internal rates is to assert that
state governments can not regulate In
ternal business of any character" they
say, because all internal business does
or might compete with Interstate bust