Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-14
FEDERAL DICTATION

From the Philadelphia Tnquirer1
! Has the Commonwealth of Penn
sylVania the right and the power to
regulate its own domestic affairs
and to enact and administer its own
| laws, or must it submit to the dicta-
ton and control of the Federal auth
! critics? That is the question which
has now been clearly and inescapably
raised in connection with the case
| of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
Vania eN rel. William |. Schaffer,
Attorney General. plaintiff, VS.. The
Bell Telephone Company of Penn
sylvania. defendant.
AS The Inquirer recently explain
ed. the Attorney General in this
| case filed a bill in equity praying
for an injunction to restrain the de-
fendant company from charging.
for the use of it's lines within the
State, rates different from those ap-
proved by the Public Service Com
mission. A preliminary injunction
was granted, and on a motion for its
continuance an answer was entered
by the defendant company in which
it disclaimed responsibility upon the
ground that it was acting under the
direction and orders of the Post
master General
Was that good defense? The
County Court of Dauphin county.
before which the equity proceedings
were instituted, adjudged not After
| listening TO Attorney General
| Schaffer's learned and convincing
| argument, that tribunal decided that
| in issuing the orders upon which the
| defendant company rested its eXcul-
patory plea, the Postmaster General
had exceeded his lawful authority.
1t found that he had not been en-
| n
| did by the Congressional resolution
under which he acted, and it also
held that his procedure could not
be justified upon the ground the
President. in the exercise of MS war
power, had sanctioned the steps
which had been taken, and That the
Presidential discretion in the prem :
ises was not subject to judicial
review. The court found that
whether in any particular case the
President possessed the power which
he assumed to use was n question OF
fact determinable form the purposes
| of the use.
In these circumstances, as Post
master General Burleson could not
claim intangibility as an official for
an act which, being unwarranted,
was done as an individual, the pre-
liminary injunction was continued
until final hearing, and the sound
ness of the principle upon which the
petition filed by the Attorney Gen
eral was based having thus been
recognized, notice was served by him
on all the other telegraph and tele-
phone companies in the State 10
continue the rates fixed by the Pub
lie Commission and to disregard
those which Mr.. Burleson had com
manded them to adopt. Immediately
counsel for the Postmaster Genera
went into court and applied tc
Judge Dickinson for an order re-
straining Attorney General Schaf'
fer. the Public Service Commission
and its individual members from IN
terfering with Mr.. Burlesons opera
ton of the telephone and Telegraph
companies of this State upon the
ground that he is acting as Fresl
dent Wilson's representative.
Judge Dickinson may well have
hestated, as he is reported to nave
done, about complying with this ap'
plication, not only because 1t mac
been made without notice to AT
torney General Schaffer, and there
fore without giving him any oppor'
tunity to resist it, but on account o.
the larger issues involved; but now
ever reluctantly, the restraining
orders asked for were granted VIII
the result that the decree of tn'
Dauphin County Court has been in
directly repudated and that thou,
sands of dollars will be collected
from the public in excess of what Is
rightfully due.
1t is a pity that such a conflict
as this should have arisen, but now
it will have to be fought out, ano
Attorney General Schaffer may DC
trusted TO make the strongest pos
sible defense of Pennsylvania
:, rights.