Kucker v. Sunlight Oil & Gasoline Co.

Citations

• 230 Pa. 528
• 79 A. 747
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 647

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional law — Statutes—Delay in raising question as to constitutionality.</p> <p>1. While a court should hesitate to declare a statute unconstitutional until clearly satisfied of its invalidity, and where it has been on the statute books for many years the hesitation should be all the greater, yet, if such an act is plainly in conflict with the organic law of the state, old age cannot give it life, and when the issue of its constitutionality is properly raised, it must be declared void.</p> <p>Constitutional law — Inspection of merchandise — Oil—State offices— Article III, sec. 27, of the constitution — Act of May IS, 1874, P- L- 1S9.</p> <p>2. The Act of May 15, 1874, P. L. 189, entitled, “An Act for the better security of life and property from the dangers of coal and petroleum oils” and providing for the inspection of oils, and the appointment of inspectors, violates sec. 27 of art. Ill of the constitution which provides that “no state office shall be continued or created for the inspection or measuring of any merchandise, manufacture or commodity, but any county or municipality may appoint such officers when authorized by law.”</p> <p>3. Even if the act should not bo construed as establishing a system of state inspection, and should be construed as an attempt to provide for county inspection, it would infringe the prohibition against local and special laws contained in sec. 7, art. Ill, of the constitution, and would contravene sec. 5 of art. XIV, which provides that in counties containing over 150,000 inhabitants, county officers shall be paid by salary, and not by fees.</p> <p>Equity — Costs—Constitutional law — Division of costs.</p> <p>4. Where in an equity suit the only question involved is the constitutionality of a statute, and it appears that the constitutionality of the statute had never been challenged before, and that the defendant had acquiesced in its validity for many years, the Supreme Court in reversing a decree of the court below uphol