Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-01-28
The Constitution During the
War and AfterWGrd.
BY Henry Wollman, in the Annalist.
PART II.

war measures that it could. however, with some
added restrictions and with ample provisions
for the protection OF the citizens, have Done n
times Of peace. The most notable OF these is
the Selling" of the railroads and telegraph and
telephone lines.
/ assume that the federal government has
the constitutional right to acquire and operate
railroad telegraph and telephone lines, just as
il operates the mails. / do not, at the moment,
recall any decisions directly on this point but
! assume that with the present disposition OF
the courts not to let constitutional provisions
interfere any further than possible with progress
sive legislation, the United States supreme
court would decide that the government had the
power to acquire the railroads, etc. II could
not in time of peace do so by Selling" them.
1t would have to pass law establishing
proper tribunal which, after full and fair
hearing, should assess the value of them, giving
the owners and the government the right OF APP
peal to the courts The government however,
could, after such law were passed and such
a tribunal established, take possession OF the
railroads before the value was determined, pro-
vided ample and proper provision were made
for the payment TO the owners of assessed
value, as the same should be finally fixed by the
courts. | do not believe that the government
could appropriate to itself simply the use of
the railroads for a definite or indefinite time,
except in times of emergency
If the government desires to acquire the rail-
roads, the question will arise must it pay for
securities? | am inclined to believe that while
a corporation like a street railroad, for the use
of which property is condemned, can pay only
in money, where the government takes property
under its power of condemnation, it can pay tor
it in bonds or securities that would be regarded
as the equivalent of money. What have said
and will say about railroads, does and will apply
equally to telegraph and telephone companies.
Personally am opposed to any government
owning and operating anything that can be
operated as we'll and efficiently by individuals,
with no great expense to the using or consum-
ing public. l believe that in a republic, which
is and always should be the land of opportunity,
no avenue of competition that can safely be
kept open should be closed, and that no chance
for the individual to climb by his own exer-
TONS from the very bottom to the very top,
should be taken away hope It will always be
possible in this country that boy can start in
with railroad as messenger or water boy, or
something else equally as unimportant, and in
IS or 20 years, become the president of the
road, as is the case with more than two-thirds
of the present presidents of railroads IN this
country. The public will get better service
where the individual operates the railroads than
where any government operates them. be-
lieve that private corporation could take
contract to operate various departments OF the
city of New York or the United States at rs per
cent of the present cost and, although calling
on the employees to work exactly the same num-
Der of hours, could do the work as we'll or better
than it is now DONE and yet earn very hand
some profits. No one who has had occasion to
use government-operated railroads or telegraph
lines in Europe could or would, on the ground
of service to the patron favor governmental
ownership OF railroads and telegraph companies
iii this country. Let the railroads and telegraph
companies fight and compete with each other as
to who can give the best service, and, by thus
winning favor with the public obtain the great
est patronage
The government, after the close of this war,
should return the railroads to their owners, but
treat them with justice, which it has not done
for quite few years. j. e. it should give them
a decent chance to live.
While | believe that the government should
not acquire these public utilities l am of the
opinion that it has the legal right to do so. Has
the government, however, the right to continue
to operate the railroads 10 years or even five
years after the close of the war, as it has
been suggested that it should do? think not.
If the government wishes to continue to operate
them, for anything beyond an absolute neces-
sary period after the termination of the war,
it must acquire the actual ownership of them
under proper legal proceedings.
Many conservative, high-cass financiers
would like to see the capital issues committee,
which decides what stocks and securities may
be issued or may not be issued, continued for all
time by the federal government. l do not see
how ii can be done constitutionally. Every law
yer must however. hesitate greatly in express
ing an opinion as towhether a proposed meas
ure viii be declared to be constitutional or un-
constitutional. What would have been held to
be rankly and shockingly unconstitutional in
1900 might be decided to be perfectly all right
in 1919.
AS to whether law will be declared to be
constitutional or otherwise depends to no little
extent on the personnel of the tribunal that
passes upon the question. | believe that if
Judge Hughes had not resigned from the bench
of the United States supreme court the Adam
son eight-hour law, which, by narrow ma
jority, was declared constitutional would have
been declared invalid Many important laws
that have been adjudged constitutional we're so
verse of that is equally true The margin be-
tween deciding it one way or the other was al
most toss up" So, how can any one, in an
age like this, say with any degree of positveness
or assurance that any law is constitutional or
unconstitutional?
Some of the states have passed what are
called "blue-slly laws" prohibiting the wild and
reckless creation and sale of stocks, the value
of which was to be found only in the blue skies.
A state may lawfully enact laws that the fed
eral government, under its much more limited
Legislative powers could not pass. The blue
sky laws" passed by the states were deemed
by some to be infractions of the state constitu-
tons, and the federal constitution as we'll, but
they were sustained by the state courts, and re-
Gently sustained by the United States supreme
court. AS grcBld for sustainingsthe constitu-
tionality of federal law creating a capital is
sues committee in times of peace it might be
claimed that as long as the government may be
compelled to issue Liberty bonds it ought to
have the right to protect itself against unfair
competition from wildcat issues of stocks and
bonds.
ITO Be Contnued)