City of Portland v. Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co.

MeNARY, District Judge (after stating the facts as above).

The one important question presented by the demurrer is whether the Oregon Legislature is empowered to confer upon municipalities the authority to exact compensation for the use of their streets by a privately owned public utility without franchise. A determination of this question requires merely the application of primary principles.

It is elemental that the control of all highways of the state, including streets and alleys in incorporated cities, resides primarily in the people, and may be exercised through the initiative amendment…