Harry Herndon v. Chicago, Rock Island Pacific Railway Company
| Citation | 30 S.Ct. 633,54 L.Ed. 970,218 U.S. 135 |
| Decision Date | 31 May 1910 |
| Docket Number | No. 150,150 |
| Parties | HARRY T. HERNDON, Prosecuting Attorney of Clinton County, Missouri, and John E. Swanger, Secretary of State of the State of Missouri, Appts., v. CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND, & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY |
| Court | United States Supreme Court |
Messrs. James T. Blair, Elliott W. Major, and Charles G. Revelle for appellants.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 136-140 intentionally omitted] Messrs. M. A. Low and E. C. Lindley for appellee.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 140-146 intentionally omitted]
This suit was brought by the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railway Company in the circuit court of the United States for the western district of Missouri, to enjoin the execution of certain provisions of the acts of the legislature of the state of Missouri, as violative of complainant's rights under the Federal Constitution. The bill was filed against Harry T. Herndon, prosecuting attorney of Clinton county, Missouri, and John E. Swanger, secretary of state of the state of Missouri.
The bill is very lengthy, and as the decision of the court was made upon demurrer to it, will be necessary to call attention to some of its pertinent allegations. Complainant avers that it is a duly organized corporation of the
state of Illinois, operating a railroad in certain states; among others, in the state of Missouri; and is engaged in both state and interstate commerce. It sets forth in detail the acts of the state of Missouri authorizing the consolidation, extension, and operations of the railroads under which it claims to have acquired its system of railroads in that state. It avers that it duly filed with the secretary of state of the state of Missouri a copy of its charter, in compliance with the laws of the state, and received a certificate, November 22, 1902, in all respects in compliance with the laws of the state, authorizing the complainant to carry on business in said state for the term ending April 3, 1930, which certificate is in full force, never having been canceled or withdrawn.
The bill sets forth the act of March 19, 1907, amending § 1075 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, requiring railroad companies to perform certain duties, among others, to stop passenger trains at the junction or intersecting points of other railroads. As that amended section is one of the acts complained of, it is set forth in the margin.
Sec. 1075. Every railroad corporation in this state which now is, or may hereafter be, engaged in the transportation of persons or property from one point in this state to another point in this state, shall give public notice of the regular time of starting and running its cars, and shall furnish sufficient accommodations for the transportation of all such passengers, baggage, mails, and express freight as shall, within a reasonable time previous thereto, be offered for transportation at the place of starting, at the junctions of other railroads, and at the junction of branch railroads of the same system, as herein defined, carrying passengers, and at the several stopping places; and shall, at all crossings and intersections of other railroads, where such other railroad and the railroad crossing the same are now, or may hereafter be made, upon the same grade, and the character of the land at such crossing or intersection will admit of the same, erect, build, and maintain, either jointly with the railroad company whose road is crossed, or separately by each railroad company, a depot or passenger house and waiting room or rooms sufficient to comfortably accommodate all passengers awaiting the arrival and departure of tains at such junction or railroad crossing, and shall keep such depot or passenger house or rooms warm, lighted, and open to the ingress and egress of all passengers for a reasonable time before the arrival and until after the departure of all trains carrying passengers on said railroad or railroads; and they are hereby required to stop all trains carrying passengers at the junction or intersection of other railroads, and they are further required to receive all passengers and baggage for, and to stop, on a flag or signal, all trains carrying passengers, at the junction of all branch railroads of the same system, which said branch railroads are 18 miles or more in length, and at the terminus of which is located any county seat town of any county in this state, a sufficient length of time to allow the transfer of passengers, personal baggage, mails, and express freight from the trains of railroads so connecting or intersecting; or they may mutually arrange for the transportation of such persons and property over both roads without change of cars; and they shall be compelled to receive all passengers and freight from such connecting, intersecting, or branch roads whenever the same shall be delivered to them. And every railroad company or corporation owning, operating, or leasing any railroad in this state shall keep all its depots, stations, or passenger stations, whether located at the crossing or
Concerning this section, and the requirement to stop trains at junction points, the bill sets out that the complainant has traffic rights over the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railway track between Cameron Junction and Kansas City; that the town of Lathrop is a town of about 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Clinton county, Missouri, between Cameron Junction and Kansas City, on said line of railway; that complainant, for the purpose of carrying on its business as a common carrier, at the said station of Lathrop, stops a morning and evening passenger train each way, two west bound, and two east bound, and, in addition thereto, stops two passenger trains, one east bound and one west bound, which are local freight trains regularly carrying passengers. Complainant further sets forth that it runs a fast through passenger train between Chicago, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Texas, by means of connecting carriers in the state of
Texas, and a fast through passenger train between Chicago and the Pacific coast by means of connecting carriers beyond the territory of Oklahoma, neither of which stop at the station of Lathrop to take on or let off passengers; that said trains which do not stop at Lathrop are immediately preceded by trains that do stop there, and which are maintained for the purpose of collecting passengers from local stations and conveying them to nearby stations on the line of the road of the complainant, where both of said fast through trains do stop for the purpose of taking on and letting off passengers.
The complainant further avers that the tracks of the complainant cross and intersect with the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Company at the said station of Lathrop; that the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway runs two trains each way every day, all of which stop at the station of Lathrop, and which make close and direct connection with the trains which the
complainant stops at the station of Lathrop; that except under unusual circumstances passengers seldom find it convenient to change from the complainant's railway to that of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe line at the station of Lathrop. Complainant avers that to stop the through interstate trains running between Chicago, Fort Worth, and Dallas, Texas, and between Chicago and the Pacific coast, would be a direct, unreasonable, and unwarrantable interference with its interstate business, and that said through trains are maintained for, and are essential to the purpose of, transporting interstate passenger traffic, and for the carriage of the United States mails. The complainant avers that the facilities for the interchange of passengers at the station of Lathrop are amply sufficient to accommodate the public, and that the service is both convenient and satisfactory to the public. The bill further avers that if the said through trains are required to stop at all junctions with other railways and there interchange passengers with such road, their usefulness as through trains will be destroyed, and the interstate business of the complainant interfered with to an unwarranted extent without any corresponding benefit to the traveling public; that the law of March 19, 1907, as applied to said trains which do not stop at the station of Lathrop, is a serious burden upon interstate commerce so conducted by said trains, and an unlawful and unreasonable interference therewith, and in violation of the Constitution of the United States and the acts of Congress regulating commerce. Complainant avers that the act of March 19, 1907, requiring trains carrying passengers to stop at the junction or intersections of other roads for the purpose of interchanging passengers and baggage at such junction points, was not passed in the exercise of the police power of the state of Missouri to protect the traveling public, but solely for the purpose of increasing traveling facilities, and to provide a more convenient and satisfactory
train service at such junction points. Complainant avers that it installed an interlocking plant and an automatic signal device at the intersection with the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway at the station of Lathrop, and thereby provided an absolutely safe method for its through trains to pass over the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe road without stopping. The bill avers that Harry T. Herndon, as prosecuting attorney for the county of Clinton, Missouri threatens to and will, unless enjoined, put in motion the special provisions of the act of March 19, 1907, for the enforcement of penalties of $25 per day since July 21, 1907, which penalties in a short time would amount to many thousands of dollars.
Complainant further avers that defendant John E. Swanger, secretary of the state of Missouri, under and by authority of said act of the ...
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