CHARTERS AND CONTRACTS. 253 



require that our officers do their duty. The unjust judge that de 

 cides that the people have 110 rights that the railroad corporations 

 are bound to respect, should be retired to private life. The legisla 

 tive railway attorney should be excused from further service. It is 

 certain that all who falter or fear must make way for better men, 

 and our courts, our legislatures, and our executive officers should 

 be required to be a unit in making the railway corporations what 

 they were intended to be the servants of the public, doing fair 

 work for fair pay.&quot; 



CHARTERS AND CONTRACTS. 



An earnest discussion ensued on charters and contracts. 

 Mr. H. C. Lawrence, of McDonough County, held that the 

 charters granted the railroads under the old constitution of 

 Illinois were in the nature of contracts, and, therefore, the 

 evils complained of could not feasibly be corrected by litiga 

 tion. He did not favor the project of a grand competing 

 trunk line to the seaboard. He thought the State had the 

 power of condemnation of the roads. He would rather re 

 sort to this power, and pay for them what they were worth, 

 but not the fictitious values placed on them by the excessive 

 watering of stock. 



Mr. J. H. Rowell, one of the volunteer counsel in the fa 

 mous McLean County (Illinois) Suit, gave, at some length, a 

 history of the case. The points of his address were sub 

 stantially as follows : 



The power of eminent domain, and the power of taxation, 

 have been lawfully used in the construction of railways. 

 They are, therefore, public highways. The corporators are 

 the trustees of the public engaged in administering a public 

 trust. They are a part of the machinery of the State are 

 political officers as truly as are the sheriff and circuit clerk. 

 Like them, they receive compensation for their tima and 



