The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-22
Ne1u Book on 14th Amendment

action, that is to say about nine per cent.
 There are seven charts showing geo. graphical chronological, statistical, phases and spheres of activity in litlga- tion, under the amendment that are highly interesting.
 Mir Collins presents very profound and logical propositions under the cap ton of Stare Decisis'' (stand by pre- cedents) MT Justice Holmes is quoted. in rendering a case, after 567 cases had been considered by the court involving the due process of law" as saying: What is due process of law depends on circumstances (212 '. $. S4)'
 The most startling proposition in the book is that whereas the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted as social and political expedient formulated into law, under 1t, the great corporations have sue ceeded in creating a Twilight Zone.
 Briefly stated: Tn 1886 the supreme court declared a corporation person within the meaning of the equal protee- ton of the Amendment" We read fur ther Nearly all of the important cases under the amendment are in some way concerned with the question of state res ulation of corporations.
 Empbasis is laid by the author upon the temporary advantages gained to corpora tions by the three or four years delay in reaching decision by the supreme court.
 The chapter, Failure of Constitutional Ideais presents a summing up of the legislative mistakes; the-incongruous legal propositions under it, born of the brain of "Ilnscrupulous lawyers: the far reach ing and many threaded -ramiflcations of all sorts of economic and corporation contentious, until the multifarous de- mands for invoking the Fourteenth Amendment are beyond the possibility Of pre-determining. No one can tell what question may be sprung upon an un- favorable state or. inferior federal court. to seek delay by appeals to the Supreme Court on the part of the attorney or L corporation, according to Mir. Collins.
 Proposed Remedies
 The Proposed Remedies" are seemingly worthy of careful and respectful consiG- eration. There are three specific proposs tions in the remedies suggested.
 l. No appeal to be from a state colrt where the court is unanimously of the opinion that the state law or procedure in question is not repugnant to the Fourteenth Amendment.
 .. Prohibit federal inferior courts CT district judges the power to assume juris- diction of injunctions, "habeas corpus or any other extraordinary proceedings by way of restraint upon or intervention in- to the activities of the states"
 3. Provide that no state law or pro- ceedure shall be declared unconstitutior T by the Supreme Court of the Unis.'d States as being repugnant to the provis- ions of the Fourteenth Amendment cx- cept by unanimous opinion of that court"
 In arguing this last proposition MT. Collins says:
 Thus five men have the power to de- clare null and void on the ground or governmental policy, a state law which is upheld bv four members of the Su- preine Court of the United States. me unanimous opinion Of the Supreme Court of the state: the maiority--or even unan- imous opinion-'of both houses of the state legislature
 MT. Collins has shown a fine analytical temper all through the book. and his los ic. reasoning and array of facts are bound to win for him a wide circle Of readers. He is young Alabamian. born in the black belt, q sometime residen. of Birmingham. The future holds for him high honors either in the field of le;- ters or in the highest places of his chosen profess ion--in fact. both.