David Josiah Brewer

“ It may be stated as a general rule that an act which puts in one class all engaged in business of a special and public character, requires of them the performance of a duty which they can do better and more quickly than others, and imposes a not exorbitant penalty for a failure to perform that duty within a reasonable time, cannot be adjudged unconstitutional as a purely arbitrary classification. ”

“ We know there are limits beyond which penalties may not go even in cases where classification is legitimate; but we are not prepared to hold that the amount of penalty imposed is so great, or the length of time within which the adjustment and payment are to be made is so short, that the act imposing the penalty and fixing the time is beyond the power of the state. ”

“ It is not an act leveled against corporations alone, but includes all common carriers. The classification is based solely upon the nature of the business, that being of a public character. It is true that no penalty is cast upon the shipper, yet there is some guaranty against excessive claims in that, as held by the supreme court of the state in Best v. Seaboard Air Line R. Co. supra, there can be no award of a penalty unless there be a recovery of the full amount claimed.
Further, the matter to be adjusted is one peculiarly within the knowledge of the carrier. ”