State v. Wiggins Ferry Co.

• Decision Date: 24 December 1907
• Citation: State v. Wiggins Ferry Co., 208 Mo. 622, 106 S.W. 1005 (Mo. 1907)
• Parties: STATE ex rel. HAMMER, Revenue Collector, v. WIGGINS FERRY CO.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

106 S.W. 1005

208 Mo. 622

STATE ex rel. HAMMER, RevenueCollector, v.WIGGINS FERRY CO.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 2.

December 24, 1907.

1. STATUTES—CONSTRUCTION.

That which is within the meaning of a statute is as much a part of it as if it were written therein.

2. TAXATION — RAILROADS — STATUTES — CONSTRUCTION.

Rev. St. 1899, c. 12, § 1163 [Ann. St. 1906, p. 988], provides that the term "railroad corporation" shall mean all corporations, companies, or individuals now owning or operating any railroad in this state.Section 9338[Ann. St.1906, p. 4294] provides that all railroads now constructed, or which shall hereafter be constructed, in the state, and all other property hired or leased by any railroad company in the state, shall be subject to taxation.Section 9339[Ann. St.1906, p. 4295] requires every railroad company to annually furnish the State Auditor a statement of the total length of its road, including branch or leased roads, the length of double or side tracks, etc., the total number of engines and cars, etc., and the actual cash value thereof.Section 9344[Ann. St.1906, p. 4296] directs the state board for the assessment and equalization of railroad property to assess and equalize at its annual meeting the aggregate valuation of the property of each one of the railroad companies specified in section 9339.Held that, construed together with section 1163,sections 9338,

9339, and 9344 are not restricted to railroads owned by railroad companies or railroad corporations, but include all corporations, companies, or individuals owning or operating a railroad, and hence a railroad composed of short tracks, and used in connection with a ferry for the purpose of hauling cars of other railroads to and from the ferry, and owned by the ferry company, was subject to assessment by the State Board of Equalization, and not by the city assessor.

3.RAILROADS — WHAT CONSTITUTE — LENGTH OF ROAD—OWNERSHIP OF ROLLING STOCK.

There is no legal requirement that a railroad shall be of any particular length, nor is it essential that it should own rolling stock.

4.TAXATION — RAILROADS — WHAT CONSTITUTES A RAILROAD.

A ferry company operated in connection therewith a number of tracks over which steam cars were drawn to and from the ferry; such tracks being the only ones over which cars could pass to the ferry and be carried over the river to other tracks.The tracks were also used for storage, for loading and unloading, and for regular traffic and switching purposes.Held, that the tracks constituted a railroad within Rev. St. 1899, c. 149, art. 8[Ann. St.1906, pp. 4293-4315], providing for the assessment and taxation of railroads.

5.COMMERCE — INTERSTATE COMMERCE—TAXATION—POWERS OF STATE.

Neither the Constitution nor laws of the United States prohibit a state from taxing the property of persons and corporations engaged in foreign and interstate commerce where the property is located in such state.

6.SAME—INTERSTATE COMMERCE.

The national government alone has power to tax and regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

7.EVIDENCE—OFFICIAL ACTS—PRESUMPTIONS.

The law presumes that the State Board of Equalization properly performed its duty in assessing property for taxation.

8.SAME—METHOD OF ASSESSMENT.

A ferry company incorporated in Illinois owned all the stock of a steam railroad corporation formed in the state for carrying cars of other roads to and from the ferry, and also all the stock of a corporation organized in Missouri for similar purposes.By an agreement between the three corporations, the ferry was consolidated with the railroads into one continuous system of transportation with various railroad branches, switches, side tracks, and turnouts at each terminus thereof connecting with various railroads on each side of the river, for the purpose of receiving from and delivering cars to such roads, and for the purpose of furnishing its customers storage and side tracks for loading and unloading cars.For this service but one tariff was charged and went into one and the same treasury.Held, that in estimating the value of the property of the ferry company in this state it was proper to take into consideration the value such property derived from its use in a system of doing business by reason of its connection with and relation to other property of the corporation located in Illinois.

9.SAME — COLLECTION OF TAXES — ACTIONS — EVIDENCE.

In an action by the state to collect taxes assessed by the State Board of Equalization against the ferry company, it was error to exclude evidence offered by the state that the company owned all the stock of the two railroad companies, and that all three were working in unison as one transportation company, although those facts were established by evidence subsequently admitted.

Appeal from St. Louis Circuit Court; Horatio D. Wood, Judge.

Action by the state, on the relation of Ludwig F. Hammer, Jr., collector of revenue of city of St. Louis, against the Wiggins Ferry Company.Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals.Reversed.

This is an action which was instituted in the circuit court of the city of St. Louis by the state, at the relation of the collector of revenue of said city, to collect certain taxes assessed by the State Board of Equalization against 3.702 miles of railroad tracks, owned and used by the Wiggins Ferry Company in the city of St. Louis.A jury was waived, and the cause was tried by the court.The finding and judgment of the court were for the defendant, and the plaintiff duly prosecuted its appeal to this court.

There is no dispute about the facts of the case, except in one particular, which will hereafter be mentioned in paragraph 2 of this opinion, and they are substantially as follows: The defendant, the Wiggins Ferry Company(which will hereafter be called the "Ferry Company"), is a corporation, and was duly incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois on the 11th day of February, 1853, and was empowered, among other things, as follows: "(4) To survey and lay off said lands, or any part thereof, into blocks, lots, streets and alleys, and grade and pave said streets and alleys, or any part thereof, and to lay off and dedicate to public use, grounds for market places, schools, churches and parks, and to sell, lease and donate any part of said lands, in such manner and upon such terms as said company may deem proper, and execute conveyances for the same, and to subscribe for, take and buy and hold, and sell stock in any railroad or plank or turnpike road company, and issue bonds bearing such rate of interest, and payable at such times and places as the company may think proper, not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars.(5) To keep a ferry or ferries at and from any point or points on said lands, across the Mississippi river, to St. Louis, in the state of Missouri, and to remove the same from place to place on said lands as necessity or convenience may require, and use boats or other crafts propelled by steam, heat, or other power, and possess, use and enjoy all the rights, privileges, franchises and emoluments recited in the preamble of this act as having been heretofore granted to the said Samuel Wiggins, his heirs and assigns, on and from the lands to be purchased as herein provided for and generally to do and perform all things in reference to the ownership, control management, use and disposition of said ferry franchise, ferry and lands, and of the business carried on thereat, which a natural person might or could do."That, under the powers thus granted, the defendant, either by purchase or lease, acquired real estate on the east and west banks of the Mississippi river, at the points designated in its charges, for wharves and landing purposes.At first the ferry company, by means of boats, engaged in the carriage and transfer of freight and passengers over the Mississippi river, without the intervention of railroads and cars, and received and discharged same at the aforesaid wharves.In the course of time the public demands upon the defendant were such as to require it, in addition to the duties it was then performing, to handle and transfer freight over the river in car load lots.This new demand necessitated the construction and operation of a railroad at each end of the ferry; one in Illinois, and one in Missouri.In order to meet this new condition, the ferry company organized and incorporated, or has organized and incorporated, under the laws of Illinois, the East St. Louis Connecting Railway Company(which will hereafter be called the "Connecting Company"), and under the laws of Missouri the St. Louis Transfer Railway Company(which will hereafter be designated the "Transfer Company"); the ferry company owning all the stock of both of said railway companies.Each of these railway companies constructed tracks connecting the east and west termini of the ferry with the various railroads and other business institutions which terminate at or which are located near said termini.In addition to those tracks, the transfer company constructed a number of switch tracks, side tracks, and storage tracks on the Missouri side of the river.When this system or scheme was completed, the connecting company, by means of its engines, would receive from other railroads all cars of freight destined to St. Louis via the ferry, and would haul them over its tracks and deliver them to the ferry company, which company would receive and transfer them, in boats, across the Mississippi river to St. Louis, where they were delivered to the transfer company.The latter company would receive and deliver them to the various railroads and business institutions to which they were consigned.The car lots of freight destined from St. Louis to East St. Louis via the ferry company went through the same routine as those from East St. Louis to St. Louis, but were first received by the transfer company, and by it delivered to the...