Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Commercial Milling Co.

Citations

• 218 U.S. 406
• 31 S. Ct. 59
• 54 L. Ed. 1088
• 1910 U.S. LEXIS 2036

Syllabus

<p>Intercourse between the States by telegraph is interstate commerce. Telegraph Co. v. Texas, 105 U. S. 460; Western JJn. Tel. Co. v. Pen-dleton, 122 U. S. 347.</p> <p>While a state statute which imposes positive duties and regulátes the performance of business of a telegraph company is void as a direct regulation of interstate commerce, as decided in Western Un. Tel. Co. v. Pendleton, 122 U. S. 347, a statute which imposes no additional duty but gives sanction only to an inherent duty and declares, as to a public service, the public policy of the State, does not entail any burden on interstate commerce and is not void under the commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States.</p> <p>Public service Corporations are subject to police regulation, and while the police power is not unlimited it does include provisions, in pursuance of the public policy of the State, against such a corporation limiting its liability, for its own negligence, and a statute to that effect does not deprive the public service’ corporation affected thereby of its property without.due process of law.</p> <p>A classification of telegraph companies in a statute prohibiting limitation of liability is reasonable and does not deny equal protection of the law to telegraph companies because it does not apply to common carriers.</p> <p>The statute of Michigan of 1893, fixing the liability of telegraph companies for non-delivery of messages at the damages sustained by the sender, is not, as applied to interstate messages, unconstitutional as a burden on, or regulation of, interstate commerce, or as depriving telegraph companies of their’ property without due process of law or denying them the equal protection of the laws.</p> <p>The common law does not become a part of the law of a State of its own -vigor but is’ adopted by constitutional provision, .statute or decision; it expresses the policy of the State for the time being only and is subject to be changed by the power that adopted it. It h