Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company v. State

• Decision Date: 01 June 1908
• Citation: 111 S.W. 456,86 Ark. 412
• Parties: CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY v. STATE
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

111 S.W. 456

86 Ark. 412

CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY v. STATE

Supreme Court of Arkansas

June 1, 1908

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

Appeal from Pulaski Circuit Court; Edward W. Winfield, Judge affirmed.

STATEMENT BY THE COURT.

This appeal involves two cases, but only one will be stated, as there is no material difference between them. The Prosecuting Attorney of the Sixth Judicial Circuit filed complaint against the defendant, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company, a foreign corporation alleging a violation of act No. 116 of 1907, which is as follows:

"Sec 1. No railroad company or officer of court owning or operating any line or lines of railroad in this State and engaged in the transportation of freight over its line or lines shall equip any of its said freight trains with a crew consisting of not less than an engineer, a fireman, a conductor and three brakemen, regardless of any modern equipment of automatic coupler and air brakes, except as hereinafter provided.

"Sec. 2. This act shall not apply to any railroad company or officer of court whose line or lines are less than fifty miles in length, nor to any railroad in this State, regardless of the length of said lines, where said freight train so operated shall consist of less than twenty-five cars, it being the purpose of this act to require all railroads in this State whose line or lines are over fifty miles in length engaged in hauling a freight train consisting of twenty-five cars or more to equip the same with a crew consisting of not less than an engineer, a fireman, a conductor and three brakemen, but nothing in this act shall be construed so as to prevent any railroad company or officer of court from adding to or increasing its crew beyond the number set out in this act.

"Sec. 3. Any railroad company or officer of court violating any of the provisions of this act shall be fined for each offense not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and each freight train so illegally run shall constitute a separate offense. Provided, the penalties of this act shall not apply during strikes of men in train service of lines involved.

"Sec. 4. All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are repealed, and this act shall take effect and be in force thirty days after its passage."

The answer was in six paragraphs, and was as follows:

I.

"For answer defendant says: It admits that it is a corporation engaged in the railroad business and in the transportation of freight over railroad lines in the State of Arkansas. It admits that on the 5th day of May, 1907, it operated and ran a freight train, containing more than twenty-five cars, in Pulaski County, without having equipped the same with as many as three brakemen. It admits that said train was a freight train, No. 42, engine No. 1836, and that said train was operated in an easternly direction from Argenta, Arkansas, to Hopefield, Arkansas, and over a railroad of more than fifty miles in length, but defendant states that said train was engaged in carrying interstate commerce, and was, in fact, being operated from the city of Argenta, in the State of Arkansas, to the city of Memphis, in the State of Tennessee; that Hopefield is an intermediate station between Argenta and Memphis, and it was therefore necessary for said train to pass through Hopefield on its journey from Argenta to Memphis, as aforesaid. It denies that the operation of said train, in the manner aforesaid, without having equipped said train with as many as three brakemen, was in violation of law; and denies that by so operating said train it became indebted to the State of Arkansas in the sum of $ 500.00 or in any other sum.

II.

"And for further defense defendant says: That the act of Arkansas, No. 116, entitled, 'An act to prescribe the minimum number of employees to be used in the operation of freight trains in this State, and providing a penalty for the violation of this Act,' approved March 28, 1907, under which it is sought to recover from the defendant in this suit, is unconstitutional and void for the following reasons:

"(a) Said act, in requiring that each freight train consisting of more than twenty-five cars in length, and exempting freight trains of less than twenty-five cars in length, grants privileges and immunities to companies and officers of court operating freight trains of less than twenty-five cars in length which are not granted to companies and officers of court operating freight trains of more than twenty-five cars in length, and grants privileges and immunities to conductors and brakemen employed on freight trains of more than twenty-five cars in length which are not granted to conductors and brakemen employed on freight trains of less than twenty-five cars in length, and is therefore contrary to and in conflict with section 18, article 2, of the Constitution of Arkansas.

"(c) Said act, in applying to freight trains of more than twenty-five cars in length, and exempting freight trains of less than twenty-five cars in length, is a denial of the equal protection of the laws to companies and officers of court operating freight trains of more than twenty-five cars in length and to conductors and brakemen employed by companies and officers of court operating freight trains of less than twenty-five cars in length, and is, therefore, contrary to and in conflict with section one of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

III.

"(a) Defendant states that there are in the State of Arkansas many companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad more than fifty miles in length and operating thereon freight trains of more than twenty-five cars, and that there are many companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length and operating thereon freight trains of more than twenty-five cars. That, while this defendant owns and operates more than fifty miles of railroad, it also owns and operates, in the State of Arkansas, many branches less than fifty miles in length, over which it operates freight trains of more than twenty-five cars; that the operation of said freight trains over said branches is in all respects similar to the operation of freight trains over lines of railroads of companies and officers of court owning and operating railroads less than fifty miles in length.

"(b) Said act, in applying to companies or officers of court owning or operating lines of railroad more than fifty miles in length, and exempting companies or officers of court owning or operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length, grants privileges and immunities to companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length which are not granted to this defendant and to other companies and officers of court owning and operating line of railroad more than fifty miles in length, and grants privileges and immunities to conductors and brakemen employed by companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad more than fifty miles in length which are not granted to conductors and brakemen employed by this defendant and other companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length, and is therefore contrary to and in conflict with section 18, article 2, of the Constitution of Arkansas.

"(c) Said act, in applying to companies or officers of court owning or operating lines of railroad of more than fifty miles in length and exempting companies or officers of court operating lines of railroad of less than fifty miles in length, is a denial of the equal protection of the laws to this defendant and other companies and officers of court operating lines of railroad more than fifty miles in length, and is contrary to and in conflict with section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

"(d). Said act, in applying to this defendant and to other companies and officers of court operating lines of railroad more than fifty miles in length and exempting companies and officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length, is a denial of the equal protection of the laws to conductors and brakemen employed by companies or officers of court owning and operating lines of railroad less than fifty miles in length, and is therefore contrary to and in conflict with section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

IV.

"Defendant alleges that it operates within the State of Arkansas six hundred and fourteen miles of railroad; that said line of railroad consists of main track and several branches of less than fifty miles in length; that it operates over said lines of railroad an average of thirty-five freight trains per day many of which trains are of more than twenty-five cars in length; that some of said trains are operated upon its main line, and some of said trains are operated upon its branches of less than fifty miles in length; that the fines imposed by said act of Arkansas, No. 116, approved March 28th, 1907, are such that if defendant failed to comply with said act on each of its freight trains over twenty-five cars in length operated in the State of Arkansas, the fines to which it would be subject would amount to a large sum, towit, about $ 12,500 per day, and, if continued during the time necessary to test the validity of said act, would amount to a confiscation of its entire property within the State of Arkansas; that the fines imposed by said act are therefore so excessive and burdensome as to deprive the defendant of its right to have the validity of said act tested by the...