New York Telephone Co. v. Public Service Commission

The general constitutional background of the problem is set forth in the opinions of Presiding Justice Poster and Justice Bergan but, in view of the fact that we are here concerned with the construction of a statute enacted in 1910, it may be useful to trace the development of the “fair *44value” doctrine in greater detail, with emphasis upon the dates of the relevant decisions.

In 1898, in Smyth v. Ames (169 U. S. 466, 547) the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion by Mr. Justice Harlan, held that, under the due process clause of the United States Constitution, a public utility company was…