Kentucky Whip & Collar Co. v. Illinois Cent. R. Co.

Decision Date03 October 1935
Docket NumberNo. 992.,992.
Citation12 F. Supp. 37
PartiesKENTUCKY WHIP & COLLAR CO. v. ILLINOIS CENT. R. CO.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of Kentucky

Charles I. Dawson and Woodward, Dawson & Hobson, all of Louisville, Ky., for plaintiff.

Trabue, Doolan, Helm & Helm, of Louisville, Ky., for defendant.

Bunk Gardner, U. S. Dist. Atty., and Eli H. Brown, III, Asst. U. S. Dist. Atty., both of Louisville, Ky., amicus curiæ.

HAMILTON, District Judge.

On August 28, 1935, a preliminary mandatory injunction was issued in this action in accordance with the prayer of the petition, and since that date has been in full force and effect. The case is now finally submitted on the motion of the plaintiff for a perpetual injunction, and motion of the defendant to dismiss the bill.

The plaintiff, Kentucky Whip & Collar Company, is a corporation organized under the laws of the commonwealth of Kentucky, with its principal place of business at Eddyville, Ky. It has been for many years, and is now, engaged in the business of manufacturing in the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville, Ky., with convict labor, horse collars and strap goods, and has marketed and sold its products throughout the states of the Union.

The defendant, Illinois Central Railroad Company, is a corporation incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois, and is a citizen of that state. It is engaged in the business of a common carrier by rail and is the principal carrier of the plaintiff's products to its customers.

The amount involved in this action exceeds $3,000.

The plaintiff enjoyed a very large trade in several states of the Union. Its products are useful articles of commerce and are not in any particular harmful to the health, peace, or good order of the communities into which they are shipped.

The plaintiff, on August 13, 1935, tendered to the defendant, the Illinois Central Railroad, at its freight station at Eddyville, Ky., without any brand or mark thereon, certain of its manufactured goods which had been produced in their entirety with prison labor under contract with the commonwealth of Kentucky in its penitentiary at Eddyville, Ky. These articles had been previously sold to customers and consigned to them for shipment by the defendant to the states of Arizona and Pennsylvania, which states at the time the shipment was tendered, by their laws, prohibited the sale within their borders of goods or merchandise manufactured in whole or in part by convict labor anywhere, other than by convicts or prisoners on parole or probation; to the state of North Carolina, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, prohibited the sale within its borders of any goods or merchandise, other than farm products, coal, and chert, manufactured in whole or in part by convict labor anywhere, other than by convicts or prisoners on parole or probation; to the state of Illinois, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, prohibited the sale within its borders of goods, or merchandise, other than agricultural limestone produced in the penal and reformatory institutions of that state, manufactured in whole or in part by convict labor anywhere other than by convicts or prisoners on parole or probation; to the states of Ohio, Kansas, and Texas, which states at the time the shipment was tendered, by their laws, prohibited the sale within their borders of goods or merchandise produced or prepared wholly or in part by convicts or convict labor of other states, other than by convicts or prisoners on parole or probation; to the state of Nebraska, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, prohibited the sale of any convict-made or produced goods or merchandise, other than farm supplies, machinery, and equipment, manufactured in whole or in part by convict labor anywhere, other than by convicts on parole or probation; to the state of Virginia, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, prohibited the sale of any goods or merchandise convict made, unless made or produced in the state of Virginia; to the state of Michigan, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, prohibited the sale of any goods or merchandise, other than binder twine, rope, and cordage, manufactured in whole or in part by convict labor; to the state of Indiana, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, required all convict-made goods sold or exposed in that state to be labeled "convict-made"; to the state of Iowa, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, required each article of prison or convict-made merchandise sold or exposed for sale to be plainly labeled to indicate same was made by convict or prison labor; to the state of Wisconsin, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, required all convict-made merchandise, other than those made in Wisconsin, to be plainly labeled "convict-made," together with a statement of the year when made and the name of the prison where made; to the state of Minnesota, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, required all convict-made merchandise brought into that state and exposed for sale to be labeled "prison-made," together with a statement of the year of manufacture and the prison at which produced; to the state of Georgia, which state at the time the shipment was tendered, by its laws, required all convict-made goods exposed for sale in that state to be plainly labeled so as to indicate they were convict made; to the states of West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Mississippi, which states at the time the shipment was tendered had no law in any wise restricting the shipment of convict-made goods from other states or requiring them to be labeled so as to indicate that said goods were convict made.

Defendant refused to accept said shipments and to transport same and upon the bills of lading indorsed the following words: "Shipment refused because prohibited by Act of Congress approved July 24, 1935." Said act, which is entitled "An Act To prohibit the interstate transportation of prison-made products in certain cases," is as follows:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to transport or cause to be transported, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, or aid or assist in obtaining transportation for or in transporting any goods, wares, and merchandise manufactured, produced, or mined wholly or in part by convicts or prisoners (except convicts or prisoners on parole or probation), or in any penal or reformatory institution, from one State, Territory, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or from any foreign country, into any State, Territory, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, where said goods, wares, and merchandise are intended by any person interested therein to be received, possessed, sold, or in any manner used, either in the original package or otherwise in violation of any law of such State, Territory, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous but subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Nothing herein shall apply to commodities manufactured in Federal penal and correctional institutions for use by the Federal Government.

"Sec. 2. All packages containing any goods, wares, and merchandise manufactured, produced, or mined wholly or in part by convicts or prisoners, except convicts or prisoners on parole or probation, or in any penal or reformatory institution, when shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce shall be plainly and clearly marked, so that the name and address of the shipper, the name and address of the consignee, the nature of the contents, and the name and location of the penal or reformatory institution where produced wholly or in part may be readily ascertained on an inspection of the outside of such package.

"Sec. 3. Any person violating any provision of this Act shall for each offense, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000, and such goods, wares, and merchandise shall be forfeited to the United States, and may be seized and condemned by like proceedings as those provided by law for the seizure and forfeiture of property imported into the United States contrary to law.

"Sec. 4. Any violation of this Act shall be prosecuted in any court having jurisdiction of crime within the district in which said violation was committed, or from, or into which any such goods, wares, or merchandise may have been carried or transported, or in any Territory, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, or the District of Columbia, contrary to the provisions of this Act." 49 USCA §§ 61-64.

Plaintiff prays for a binding declaration of rights between this plaintiff and defendant, decreeing and adjudging the act violative of the Constitution of the United States (1) because said act is not a valid exercise of the power conferred upon Congress by the Constitution to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the several states, but is an unconstitutional attempt by Congress to prohibit, regulate, and interfere with the purely local business of manufacturing and producing useful and harmless articles of commerce; (2) said act is an unconstitutional attempt on the part of Congress to deal with matters reserved to the states and the people by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; (3) that it is violative of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, in that it deprives the plaintiff of its property, including the right to do business in interstate commerce, without due process of law; (4) that it is an...

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5 cases
  • Lorenzetti v. American Trust Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • 19 Mayo 1942
    ...16 S.Ct. 1086, 41 L.Ed. 166." The field of interstate commerce is an ever broadening one. It was said in Kentucky Whip & Collar Co. v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., D.C., 12 F.Supp. 37, 41, 44, affirmed 299 U.S. 334, 57 S.Ct. 277, 81 L.Ed. "New necessities, new evolutions of society into more comp......
  • Kentucky Whip Collar Co v. Illinois Cent Co
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • 4 Enero 1937
    ...of convict-made goods into states which proscribed sale or possession, but sustained the provision which required labeling. 12 F.Supp. 37. The Circuit Court of Appeals sustained the act in its entirety. 84 F.(2d) 168. This Court granted certiorari. 299 U.S. 525, 57 S.Ct. 19, 81 L.Ed. —-. Oc......
  • United States v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • 31 Enero 1980
    ...welfare in every particular, including health, morals, public safety, peace and good order . . ." Kentucky Whip & Collar Co. v. Illinois Cent. R. C., 12 F.Supp. 37 (D.D.Ky., 1935), aff'd. 84 F.2d 168, aff'd. 299 U.S. 334, 57 S.Ct. 277, 81 L.Ed. The promotion and improvement of health is a f......
  • Kentucky Whip & Collar Co. v. Illinois Cent. R. Co.
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • 1 Junio 1936
    ...not labeled any of the packages so as to indicate that the articles therein contained were convict made, and dismissed the bill. (D.C.) 12 F.Supp. 37. The decree is attacked on the ground that it gives effect to a statute which the Congress had no power, under the commerce clause of the Con......
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