Chicago, M. & St. P. Ry. Co. v. Becker

• Decision Date: 01 January 1887
• Citation: 32 F. 849
• Parties: CHICAGO, M. & ST. P. RY. CO. v. BECKER and others.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

32 F. 849

CHICAGO, M. & ST. P. RY. CO. v. BECKER and others.

United States Circuit Court, D. Minnesota.

December Term, 1887

Flandrau Squires & Cutcheon, for complainants.

Moses E. Clapp and Geo. P. Flanery, for defendant.

NELSON J.

This suit is brought by the complainant against the railroad commissioners of the state of Minnesota, and a motion is made for an injunction on the bill of complaint and supporting affidavits to restrain the defendants from enforcing an order made by them fixing the maximum charge for certain services rendered in the city of Minneapolis called 'switching.'

The bill of complaint is as follows, in substance: First, it alleges that the complainant is a railway corporation created, organized, and existing by and under the laws of the state of Wisconsin. That said defendants compose and are a body politic, created under an act of the legislature of the state of Minnesota, approved March 7, 1887, and entitled 'An act to regulate common carriers, and creating the railroad and warehouse commission of the state of Minnesota and defining the duties of such commission in relation to common carriers,' and that said defendants are vested with all the powers granted by said act, and none other. The bill then sets out that the complainant has constructed and owns a railroad from Chicago to Minneapolis, Minnesota, with many other lines running through other states and territories, and is a common carrier of passengers and freight; that at Minneapolis it is compelled, in the ordinary transaction of its duties and business, to receive and deliver many cars from and to shippers of freight, and from and to other railroads, many of which pass through said city and are also common carriers; that in the receipt and delivery of such cars it is compelled to move them short and long distances, and take them out of the trains of cars, and put them into other trains of cars destined for other points, and to deliver them to consignees of freight, and receive them from shippers of freight, all of which requires many movements of such cars by the aid and use of locomotive engines, and many men engaged in such service; that such work is known as and called 'switching,' and is usually performed in and about the yards and terminal grounds of complainant, but in many cases requires such cars to be moved and hauled to considerable distances outside of and beyond such yards and terminal grounds, and over other tracks of complainant and of other railroad companies; that to enable this switching to be properly and satisfactorily performed complainant has built many railroad tracks in and about said city of Minneapolis, and provided many locomotives, and employs many crews of men, and has provided and furnished large yards and terminal grounds, and many other instrumentalities necessary, all of which involve and continually necessitate the expenditure of very large sums of money; that for the performance of this switching work the complainant has always charged a reasonable and fair compensation to those for whom said work was done, to-wit, $1.50 per car, and never charged more than a reasonable and fair compensation therefor; that the said defendants on the seventh day of July, 1887, acting as such railroad and warehouse commissioners of the state of Minnesota, in the exercise of a pretended power and authority claimed by them to be conferred upon this commission by the laws of the state of Minnesota, but, as complainant asserts and avers, without any power, right, authority, or jurisdiction whatever, issued an order which is in the words and figures following; that is to say: 'STATE OF MINNESOTA.

'OFFICE OF WAREHOUSE & RAILROAD COMMISSION.

'ST. PAUL, July 7, 1887.

'To the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company : Whereas, all railroad companies owning and operating terminal and switching facilities at or within the city of Minneapolis within this state, with the exception of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, pursuant to subdivision 'D' of section 8 of an act entitled 'An act to regulate common carriers, and creating the railroad and warehouse commission of the state of Minnesota, and defining the duties of such commission in relation to common carriers,' approved March 7, 1887, have filed with this commission copies of their several schedules of rates and charges for switching cars on their respective tracks at and within said city; and whereas, it appears from the said schedules that the rates and charges made by said companies vary from 25 cents per car for empty cars to two dollars per car for loaded cars; and whereas, said commission, after due and careful inquiry and consideration, do find that each and every charge in excess of one dollar per car for switching within the limits of said city of Minneapolis is unreasonable and excessive compensation for the service performed : now, therefore, it is ordered and determined by this commission, pursuant to the authority in them vested by the aforesaid legislative act, that all such schedules be changed by striking therefrom all charges or rates in excess of one dollar per car for the switching or transfer thereof, and inserting in room of the words and figures stricken out the words 'one dollar,' or the appropriate sign or figures therefor. It is the object and purpose of this order to establish one dollar as the maximum charge for the switching or transfer of any car at or within the limits of said city, without regard to distance, or the kind of goods or merchandise with which the car so switched or transferred may be loaded.

'By order of the commission.'

The complainant further alleges that the defendants claim and insist, and will attempt to enforce their claim against the complainant; and that the charges made and fixed by the defendants for these services are utterly inadequate to compensate the complainant for the performance of such switching services. They further allege that they have procured appliances and instrumentalities for this switching work, and that, if said order were enforced, it would amount to a confiscation and destruction of said tracks, appliances, yards, instrumentalities, so procured for the purposes of switching, and would damage this complainant many thousands of dollars; further, that it would involve complainants in numerous lawsuits, and would hinder and obstruct the complainant in the performance of its duties to the public as a common carrier. They also allege that fully three-fourths of all such switching done by the complainant is of cars to be transported to other states, and that this is an act of interstate commerce, subject to the control of congress alone.

A plea to the jurisdiction of this court is interposed by defendants, and an answer has been filed by the commissioners denying substantially all the allegations in complainant's bill.

The plea to the jurisdiction, alleging as a reason for a dismissal of the bill of complaint that the complainant, by virtue of the act of the Minnesota legislature, (Laws 1881 p. 782,) is a domestic...