New Mexico Ex Rel. E. J. McLean & Co. v. Denver & Rio Grande Railroad

Background

A local merchant company delivered a bale of hides at Santa Fé to be shipped to Denver, but the railroad refused because the hides lacked inspection tags required by a New Mexico law of March 19, 1901. The company sought a writ ordering the railroad to carry the hides. The District Court and the Supreme Court of the Territory sustained a motion to quash the writ, and the shipper appealed to this Court. The appealability of the case was questioned because the disputed sum was under $5,000, but the Court found the case raised the validity of a territorial statute and involved a money value in the right to have goods transported.

Reasoning

The central question was whether the territorial inspection law unlawfully regulated interstate commerce or otherwise violated the Constitution. The Court reviewed earlier territorial statutes protecting cattle ownership and explained that the inspection and tagging of hides was aimed at preventing fraudulent appropriation of cattle and preserving evidence of ownership. The Court held that the law was a legitimate exercise of the Territory’s police power, not primarily a regulation of interstate commerce, and not in conflict with federal law in the absence of Congressional action. Claims that the inspection fee was an improper tax or unreasonably large were rejected as legislative matters not shown to be bad faith. The Court therefore affirmed the lower courts.

Real world impact

The ruling means railroads may lawfully refuse uninspected hides for shipment beyond the Territory. Shippers must obtain inspection and pay the fee to move hides interstate. The decision aims to protect cattle owners by making it harder to remove hides covertly.