Monopolies -- United States; Railroads and state -- United States
At this juncture, one of the judges of the supreme court of New York
issued a solemn injunction upon the general assembly of Iowa, forbidding
that body to legislate, in any way, upon the matters I have above
recited. Some of us, not having the fear of New York courts nor the
majesty of Judge Cardozo before our eyes, fairly laughed at that
judicial functionary's lordly impudence. We thought that the grand
opportunity had now arrived when the state could justly step in and pass
an act compelling the company to construct the road, for the sake of the
extraordinary relief sought, and in that act _reserve, in "express
terms,"_ as a matter of _contract_, the right to control the tariff
rates of at least one powerful corporation, connecting with the Pacific
railroad at Council Bluffs, and thereby control the rates of other
lines crossing the state with similar connections. This express
reservation of right, in the form of what was known as the "Doud
Amendment," was inserted in the act in relation to the Chicago, Rock
Island, & Pacific railroad company, and will be found as the first
proviso in the second section of that act (chapter 13, on page 14, Acts
of Twelfth General Assembly), and is in the following words:
"_Provided_, said railroad company, accepting the provisions of this
act, shall at all times be subject to such rules and regulations, and
rates for the transportation of freight and passengers, as may, from
time to time, be enacted by the general assembly of Iowa."
The company, through its proper officers, accepted the terms of this
act, and filed that acceptance in the office of the secretary of state,
thus closing _a contract_ between the state and the company, and setting
at rest forever the question of controlling and regulating the charges
for freight and passengers in favor of the state. The same proviso was
afterwards inserted in the act in relation to the Des Moines Valley
railroad company (chapter 57, page 63); also in the act relating to the
McGregor Western railroad company (chapter 58, page 67); also, in the
act relating to the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad company (chapter 124,
page 164); all acts of the twelfth general assembly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account