CHAPTER XIII. THE TENURE OF RAILROADS UNDER THE LAW-THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE LAW OF THE UNITED LAW. The railways of the United States are incorporated under general or special laws. Permission is first granted to subscribers to the capital stock to form a company. Thus incorporated, the personal responsibility of the owner is limited. Attached to incorporation is the right to sue and be sued; to acquire, by condemnation, land and property situated theron; to charge for services performed; to enforce rules and regulations, and do other things that the business requires. The various States have, from the first, exercised the right to enforce such regulations as seemd to be necessary to the convenience and safety of the people. The conditions under which capital was induced to subscribe to railway enterprises, have been generally respected by the government. Some of the notable exceptions to this rule I have noticed. The inception of railway enterprise is so recent, and its development so great and unexpected, that it is unavoidable the government should not, in every case, have apprehended fully the situation of affairs; that it should not have always under Of the sensitiveness of private management to public criticism, whether just or unjust, there can be no doubt. The constant improvements taking place and the thought given public comfort and convenience by railroad companies in the United States, proves this, and if, hereafter, through consolidation or otherwise, they become monopolies or disregardful of public rights or conveniences the Government should and must regulate them along drastic lines; but leave the ownership and management in private hands that the world may continue to derive the great benefits that attend individual initiative and effort animated by selfish interests. CHAPTER XIII. THE TENURE OF RAILROADS UNDER THE LAW-THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE LAW OF THE UNITED LAW. The railways of the United States are incorporated under general or special laws. Permission is first granted to subscribers to the capital stock to form a company. Thus incorporated, the personal responsibility of the owner is limited. Attached to incorporation is the right to sue and be sued; to acquire, by condemnation, land and property situated theron; to charge for services performed; to enforce rules and regulations, and do other things that the business requires. The various States have, from the first, exercised the right to enforce such regulations as seemd to be necessary to the convenience and safety of the people. The conditions under which capital was induced to subscribe to railway enterprises, have been generally respected by the government. Some of the notable exceptions to this rule I have noticed. The inception of railway enterprise is so recent, and its development so great and unexpected, that it is unavoidable the government should not, in every case, have apprehended fully the situation of affairs; that it should not have always under stood the reciprocal relations that exist between the people and the carrier, and the necessity of their being based on natural laws, and, because of this lack of comprehension, should have made mistakes. Such mistakes were not only to be expected, but were excusable. But when blindly adhered to, after having been demonstrated to be so, they become political crimes. The legal incorporation of railroads is only a feature. Legislative action affects them in every direction. The provisions of the law reach, directly or indirectly, every nook and crevice of the service, take cognizance of every act. The government concerns itself, not only with the relation of the carrier to the public and the State, but also to his employes. It takes notice of the fiscal methods of railroads, and in many cases the price they shall charge for their services. It prescribes in certain directions the physical appliances they shall use. It imposes the duty of transporting persons and property, including the mails, and fixes the responsibilities and liabilities attached thereto. Legislation affecting railroads divides itself under natural heads, such as taxation; the safety of the public and the employe; limitations of franchise; right to construct; property rights; the rates that shall be charged; the supervisory power of the government. This volume refers to the last two.* *In reference to the others, they are so diffuse, vary so greatly in different States and countries, are so intertwined Those who require a technical knowledge of legislation affecting railroads, their rights, limitations, and responsibilities, must go to the fountain-head to obtain it; to the statutes, the decisions of the courts, the rulings of the State, common practice, the advice of lawyers, etc. They can not be embodied in any volume or series of volumes, because each day brings with it some withdrawal, addition, or modification of right, privilege, immunity, penalty, duty, or responsibility. In all legislative supervision and practice, this fact in reference to commercial affairs should be borne in mind, namely, that no enterprise can or will be prosecuted successfully that does not remunerate all parties concerned; that does not pay the proprietor, as well as his patron and employe. In the case of railroads, we must not expect of them safe or adequate accommodation, if we deny them due compensation. The owner, like every other manufacturer, expects and is entitled to a return proportionate to the value of his property. His method of remuneration is through the right accorded him to charge for his services. To qualify this right, or seriously limit it, is to cripple him, and through him the State. The interests of the two are co-existent. They can not be of precedents and common practice, that to attempt a description of them in detail would confuse rather than enlighten. I shall, therefore, not attempt it here. They are referred to in other volumes of "The Science of Railways" series devoted to the subjects of financing, organizing, constructing, main |