Year: 1874

Senator Carpenter, IN response to an invita-
ton from the Ripon Agricultural Association,
addressed the people yesterday at that place.
giving at considerable length his opinion as
to the right of the State to control railroad
and other corporations. The Senator main
tains that the right is absolute and unquall-
fed. The following brief passage gives
good idea of the tone Of the speech %


I am requested TO discuss here the potcer Of the
Legislature over railroad and other corporations. The
mower Of the Legislature Ia one thing-a consttu
tona question the propriety OF its exercise and the
extent to which It should be exercised very different
ouestions falling entirely within the domain OF public
policy shall therefore, open with one hand the great
armory OF sovereign power and In doing 80 shall expose
many weapons which wisdom and prudence an enlight
ened sense justice and Of the public good VIII dictate
should never be used except in Of dire necessity
and with the other hand shall open the charnohouse OF
corporations and bid these companies


Where hey must shortly He"


~ tbev persst i'm a struggle with the powers Of
sovereignty; reminding them, In the language OF DICK
swiveler, "thst no obscure individual ever set up
against fate and succeeded"


Nevertheless, Mr. Ca. penter shrewdly con-
fines his attention solely to the power of the
State over the corporations it has created. The
propriety of the exercise of that power is
topic which receives but passing notice,
being a question which, in the orators opinion,
discretion admOnishes him to avoid. The
power of the State to regulate the corporations
is made to rest on the authority of various
opinions delivered by the courts, which, being
more or less familiar to all lawyers who have
investigated the subject, need not be quoted
here. The Senator further maintains that the
real and personal property necessary to the
establishment and management of the
railroads, though vested IN the corpora
tions, is really held only in trust
for the public, and that the Legis-
lature may from time to time regulate
the amount Of tolls which it shall be lawful
to take, in the same manner as they may reg
ulate the amount of tolls to be taken at
ferry, or for grinding at mill, unless they
have deprived themselves of that power by
legislative contract with the owners of the
road He then quotes from the Constitution
of the State of Wisconsin a provision to the
effect that all general or special acts creating
corporations may be altered or repealed by
the Legislature at any time subsequent to
their passage. This reservation he holds
to be unqualified and absolute, and
he declares that it is impossible for
one Legislature to pass an act cre-
ating a corporation and granting it any favor,
privilege, right, or franchise which subse-
quent Legislature may not amend or totally
repeal.


Having thus satisfactorily established the
precarious status of railway property in Wis
censin, Mr.. Carpenter briefly considers whether
it is just or wise for the State to exercise its
extensive powers. He concludes that it is just
and wise, and would be beneficial to the COM
panies, for the somewhat singular reason that
it would "rescue them from the popular dis
=" favor into which they have fallen |" And
that is pretty much the whole extent of Mr.
Carpenters views as to the expediency of
regulating railroad rates in the interest of
those who purchase their services.