Savannah Electric Co v. Lowe

• Decision Date: 23 August 1921
• Docket Number: (No. 11760.)
• Citation: 27 Ga.App. 350,108 S.E. 313
• Parties: SAVANNAH ELECTRIC CO. v. LOWE.
• Court: Georgia Court of Appeals

27 Ga.App. 350

108 S.E. 313

SAVANNAH ELECTRIC CO.

v.LOWE.

(No. 11760.)

Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2.

Aug. 23, 1921.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

[COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED]

Error from City Court of Savannah; Davis Freeman, Judge.

Action by Genevive Lowe against the Savannah Electric Company. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant brings error. Reversed.

Lawrence & Abrahams, of Savannah, for plaintiff in error.

Oliver & Oliver, of Savannah, for defendant in error.

JENKINS, J. P. [1-7] The plaintiff was a passenger of the defendant street railway company. She brought suit for damages on account of her alleged unlawful arrest by the conductor of the defendant company. The company entered a plea of justification based on the ground that the plaintiff had violated the regulations pertaining to the separation of the races. No objection was made as to the sufficiency of the plea of justification, but the case was tried upon the theory set up by a defense of that character. The jury found a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the sum of $537, and the defendant company brought its exceptions to this court.

Section 2717 of the Civil Code (1910) provides that—

"All railroads doing business in this state shall furnish equal accommodations, in separate cars, or compartments of cars, for white and colored passengers; but this section shall not apply to sleeping cars."

This section manifestly does not apply, however, to street cars. These are dealt with in the next section (section 2718), which provides:

"All conductors or other employees in charge of such cars shall be required to assign all passengers to their respective cars, or compartments of cars, provided by the said companies under the provisions of the preceding section; and all conductors of dummy, electric, and street cars shall be required, and are hereby empowered, to assign all passengers to seats on the cars under their charge, so as to separate the white and colored races as much as practicable; and all conductors and other employees of railroads and all conductors of dummy, electric, and street cars shall have, and are hereby invested with, police powers to carry out said provisions."

For a failure to obey the requirements of this section passengers are penalized by section 2719, as follows:

"Any passenger remaining in any car, or compartment, or seat, other than that to which he may have been assigned, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

The court on the trial gave in charge to the jury these two latter sections of the Code, and also the rule of the railroad commission of Georgia quoted in the fourth headnote, to the effect that conductors of the Savannah Electric Company should require "colored passengers, beginning with the first seat in the rear, to occupy such seat to its capacity before taking the next seat in front, and so on." The plaintiff in her petition pleaded certain municipal ordinances of Savannah, the provisions of which she contended had been violated by the defendant company. These ordinances were read in the presence of the jury, without objection, and were treated in the charge of the court as indicated in the syllabus. They read as follows:

"All companies, persons, firms, and associations operating street cars in the city of Savannah are hereby required to furnish separate accommodations for white and colored passengers, and all white and colored passengers occupying seats in street cars in the city of Savannah are hereby required to occupy the respective cars or divisions of cars provided for them, so that the white passengers shall occupy only the cars or division of cars provided for white passengers, and the colored passengers shall occupy only the cars or divisions of cars provided for the accommodation of colored passengers. All companies, firms, persons, and associations operating street cars in the city of Savannah shall furnish such separate accommodations, at their option, by the operation together of two or more cars, providing separate cars for white passengers and separate cars for colored passengers, or by furnishing separate accommodations for white and colored passengers in the same car. When separate accommodation is furnished for white and colored passengers in the same car the front part of the car shall be designated for white passengers, and the rear part of the car for colored passengers. When two or more cars are operated together, thus providing separate car or cars for white passengers, and separate car or cars for colored passengers, the front...