Belt Ry. Co. of Chicago v. United States

• Decision Date: 03 February 1909
• Docket Number: 1,475.
• Citation: 168 F. 542
• Parties: BELT RY. CO. OF CHICAGO v. UNITED STATES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

168 F. 542

BELT RY. CO. OF CHICAGO v. UNITED STATES.

No. 1,475.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

February 3, 1909

On Rehearing, March 18, 1909.

William J. Henley, for plaintiff in error.

James H. Wilkerson, Luther W. Walter, Philip J. Doherty, and Edwin W. Sims, U.S. Atty., for defendant in error.

Before GROSSCUP, BAKER, and SEAMAN, Circuit Judges.

BAKER Circuit Judge.

The writ is addressed to a judgment assessing a penalty against plaintiff in error for an alleged violation of the provisions of the Safety Appliance acts in relation to power brakes. Act Cong. March 2, 1893, c. 196, 27 Stat. 531 (U.S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3174); Act Cong. April 1, 1896, c. 87, 29 Stat. 85; Act Cong. March 2, 1903, c. 976, 32 Stat. 943 (U.S. Comp. St Supp. 1907, p. 885). Certain questions relating to the purpose, scope, and validity of this legislation are considered in Wabash R. Co. v. U.S., and Elgin, etc., R Co. v. U.S. (herewith decided), 168 F. 1.

The only assignments presented and discussed by plaintiff in error are that the court erred in refusing to direct a verdict of not guilty, and in giving the following instruction:

'The question therefore presents itself, and it is a legal question, was the Belt Company, at the time it moved this string of 42 freight cars, containing a car originating in Illinois and destined to Wisconsin, engaged in interstate commerce? I charge you that when a commodity originating at a point in one state and destined to a point in another state is put aboard a car, and that car begins to move, interstate commerce has begun, and that interstate commerce it continues to be until it reaches its destination. If, between the point of origin of this commodity and the point of destination of this commodity, the car in which it is being vehicled from origin to destination passes over a line of track wholly within a city, within a county, or within a state, the railway company operating that line of track while moving this commodity, so originating and destined from one point to another point, intrastate, is engaged in interstate commerce.'

Was there sufficient evidence to warrant the jury in finding that in hauling the train in question plaintiff in error as a common carrier was 'engaged in interstate commerce by railroad'?

The railroad tracks of plaintiff in error lie wholly within Cook county, Ill. There are 21 miles of main line and about 90 miles of switching and transfer tracks. The main line constitutes a belt that intersects the trunk lines leading into Chicago. By leads and Y's direct physical connection with the trunk lines is maintained.

Plaintiff in error's business consists in transporting cars between industries located along its line, between industries and trunk lines, and between trunk lines. The first two kinds need not be noticed, as the transportation here involved was between trunk lines. The train in question contained, among others, a car laden with lumber, and consigned from a point in Illinois on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois to a point in Wisconsin on the Chicago & Northwestern. This car was taken by plaintiff in error from the tracks of the Eastern Illinois over the Belt Line and put on the tracks of the Northwestern. For services of this kind plaintiff in error makes arbitrary charges of so much a car, which are collected monthly from the railroad companies for which the services are rendered. In such operations plaintiff in error has no dealings with the shippers, and pays no attention to the class of traffic. Its relation to the traffic was stated by the general superintendent, as follows:

'The Belt Company acts practically as an agent for the trunk lines in the handling of cars from one connection to another through its yards.'

In United States v. Geddes, 131 F. 452, 65 C.C.A. 320 defendant as receiver was operating a narrow-gauge railroad that lay wholly in Ohio. 'At Bellaire it connected with the Baltimore & Ohio Road, in the sense that it received from the Baltimore & Ohio freight from other states marked for points on its line, and delivered to the Baltimore & Ohio freight from points on its line marked for other states, in the following manner:...