Winona and St Peter Railroad Company v. Blake

Decision Date01 October 1876
Citation24 L.Ed. 99,94 U.S. 180
PartiesWINONA AND ST. PETER RAILROAD COMPANY v. BLAKE
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

ERROR to the Supreme Court of the State of Minnesota.

Mr. B. C. Cook and Mr. C. B. Lawrence for the plaintiff in error.

Mr. W. P. Clough, contra.

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE delivered the opinion of the court.

By its charter, the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company was incorporated as a common carrier, with all the rights and subject to all the obligations that name implies. It was, therefore, bound to carry, when called upon for that purpose, and charge only a reasonable compensation for the carriage. These are incidents of the occupation in which it was authorized to engage. There is nothing in the charter limiting the power of the State to regulate the rates of charge. The provision in the act of Feb. 28, 1866, that the 'company shall be bound to carry freight and passengers upon reasonable terms,' and that in the Constitution of Minnesota (art. 10, sect. 4), that 'all corporations being common carriers, . . . shall be bound to carry the mineral, agricultural, and other productions or manufactures on equal and reasonable terms,' add nothing to and take nothing from the grant as contained in the original charter.

This case, therefore, falls directly within our rulings in Munn v. Illinois; Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad Company v. Iowa; Peik v. Chicago & North-western Railway Company; and Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad Company v. Ackley, supra.

For the reasons stated in the opinions in those cases, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Minnesota is

Affirmed.

MR. JUSTICE FIELD and MR. JUSTICE STRONG dissented.

NOTE.—In Southern Minnesota Railroad Company v. Coleman, error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Minnesota, which was argued by Mr. H. J. Horn and Mr. G. E. Cole for the plaintiff in error, and by Mr. E. C. Palmer for the defendant in error, MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WAITE, in delivering the opinion of the court, remarked: This case, in all its essential facts, is precisely like that of Winona & St. Peter Railroad Company v. Blake, supra. The judgment of the Circuit Court is, therefore, affirmed upon the authority of that case, and for the reasons stated in the opinions which have just been read.

MR. JUSTICE FIELD and MR. JUSTICE STRONG dissented.

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  • George Simpson v. David Shepard No 291 George Simpson v. Emma Kennedy No 292 George Simpson v. William Shillaber No 293
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • June 9, 1913
    ...B. & Q. R. Co. v. Cutts) 94 U. S. 155, 24 L. ed. 94; Peik v. Chicago & N. W. R. Co. 94 U. S. 164, 24 L. ed. 97; Winona & St. P. R. Co. v. Blake, 94 U. S. 180, 24 L. ed. 99, and other cases, following Munn v. Illinois, 94 U. S. 113, 24 L. ed. 77. The question was presented by acts of the leg......
  • Home Tel. & Tel. Co. v. City of Los Angeles
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
    • July 8, 1907
    ...... city, and lower than any other company than plaintiff now. charges for telephone service in said ...We. . . [155 F. 563] . said in the Railroad Commission Cases, 116 U.S. 307, 325, 6. Sup.Ct. 334, 342, ... telephone service ( Winona, etc., Co. v. Blake, 94. U.S. 180, 24 L.Ed. 99), and ......
  • R.R. Comm'n Of Ga. v. Louisville & N. R. Co
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • November 18, 1913
    ...& Northwestern R. Co., 94 U. S. 164, 24 L. Ed. 97; Railroad Co. v. Richmond, 96 U. S. 521, 529, 24 L. Ed. 734; Winona & St. Peter R. Co. v. Blake, 94 U. S. 180, 24 L. Ed. 99. Of the three propositions above stated the first remains undisputed. The third has been considerably modified or cha......
  • Railroad Commission of Georgia v. Louisville & N. R. Co.
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Georgia
    • November 18, 1913
    ...... the same on the train of the company selling the same, when. presented by the holders for transportation ... Railroad Co. v. Richmond, 96 U.S. 521, 529, 24 L.Ed. 734; Winona & St. Peter R. Co. v. Blake, 94 U.S. 180, 24 L.Ed. 99. Of the three ......
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