itution, whose purpose was to preclude the repudiation of debts and
just contracts, protects and perpetuates the evil."[186]

Any government framed and set up to guard and promote the interests of
the people generally ought to have full power to modify or revoke all
rights or privileges granted in disregard of the public welfare. But the
Supreme Court, while permitting the creation or extension of property
rights, has prevented the subsequent abridgment of such rights, even
when the interests of the general public demanded it. The effect of this
has been to make the corporations take an active part in corrupting
state politics. Special legislation was not prohibited. In fact, it was
a common way of creating property rights. If a bank, an insurance
company, or a railway corporation was organized, it was necessary to
obtain a charter from the legislature which defined its powers and
privileges. The corporation came into existence by virtue of a special
act of the legislature and could exercise only such powers and enjoy
only such rights and privileges as that body saw fit to confer upon it.
The legislature might refuse to grant a charter, but having granted it,
it became a vested right which could not be revoked. The charter thus
granted by the legislature was a special privilege. In many instances it
was secured as a reward for political services by favorites of the party
machine, or through the corrupt expenditure of money or the equally
corrupt distribution of stock in the proposed corporation among those
who controlled legislation. Not only did this system invite corruption
in the granting of such charters, but it also created a motive for the
further use of corrupt means to keep possible competitors from securing
like privileges. It was worth the while to spend money to secure a
valuable privilege if when once obtained the legislature could not
revoke it. And it was also worth the while to spend more money to keep
dangerous competitors out of the field if by so doing it could enjoy
some of the benefits of monopoly. By thus holding that a privilege
granted to an individual or a private corporation by special act of the
legislature was a contract which could not be revoked by that body, the
courts in their effort to protect property rights opened the door which
allowed corporation funds to be brought into our state legislatures
early in our history for purposes of corruption.

But little attention has been given as yet