modations, but he need not receive those who cannot pay, and he may require payment to be made in advance.

When he is not paid in advance, the law gives him a lien for all unpaid charges upon the property which the guest has brought into the house and placed in the custody of the innkeeper or bailee.

The innkeeper can detain the property until he is paid, but if he voluntarily surrenders it, the lien is lost. Statutes in most of the states now give boarding-house keepers a like lien, but by common law it extended only to innkeepers.

1. Who is an innkeeper?

QUESTIONS

2. What is the difference between an innkeeper and a boardinghouse keeper?

3. Who is a guest?

4. What is the difference between a guest and a boarder?

5. To what extent is an innkeeper liable for the property of his guest? 6. Are there any circumstances under which an innkeeper would be relieved from liability in case of a loss of his guest's property? Explain. 7. Is an innkeeper responsible for the acts of his servant? Explain. 8. In what way may an innkeeper relieve himself from liability? Explain.

9. Explain the innkeeper's right of lien.

10. When is the relation of a guest of a hotel said to be terminated?

6. COMMON CARRIERS

Carriers of Goods. A carrier of goods is one who undertakes to transport personal property from one place to another. He may be either a private carrier who comes under the class of ordinary bailees or a common carrier who is subject to special rules. A common carrier is one whose regular calling is to transport chattels for hire for all who may choose to employ him, while a private carrier is one who transports goods gratuitously or only in special cases.

A carrier may be one who operates by land or by water, the laws regulating their liability being much the same. Express, railroad, and steamboat companies are everyday examples of common carriers. In order to constitute one a common carrier

two things are necessary: first, a continuous offer to the public to carry, and second, the charge of a compensation for the service.

Goods and Payment for Carriage. - Common carriers are said to be carriers of "goods," and this term includes animals, money, and in fact any article of personal property that is subject to transportation. Generally speaking, a common carrier is bound to receive whatever may be offered him for transportation, when the charges are paid or offered to be paid. Payment must be offered, as the carrier is under no obligation to carry free or upon credit. If he does not obtain his pay upon receipt of the goods, he may hold them until his charges are paid, the law creating a lien upon the goods for the charges and expenses in favor of the common carrier. This compensation is sometimes termed "freight" when applied to the charge for carrying goods. After the goods have been delivered to the carrier the shipper cannot retake them without paying the freight, and if they are intercepted before reaching their destination, the full freight can be recovered by the carrier. The consignor or shipper is the party primarily liable for the freight and not the consignee or the person to whom the goods are shipped, unless the consignee expressly agrees to pay it.

Regulation of Charges. Under the common law a carrier could charge different rates to different shippers for the same article, provided that all charges must be reasonable. Generally throughout the United States, statutes have provided that uniform rates must be charged and have created Commissions which must fix or approve all rates.

Right to Refuse Goods. As we have said, a

common

carrier is generally bound to receive whatever is offered to him to carry. This rule is subject to three qualifications, viz.: first, the carriage of the chattel must be for hire; second, the carriage must be within the carrier's facilities for conveyance; third, the carriage must be in the line of the carrier's vocation.

We have already discussed the first qualification. As to the second, it is but reasonable that the carrier may refuse to receive goods when he has not sufficient room or adequate facilities for carrying them safely. He is under no obligation to

furnish extra equipment to satisfy an unusual demand. So, if the article carried be larger or heavier than the carrier can handle, he may refuse it on that ground. Furthermore, he may decline to receive particular property which may at the time be exposed to extraordinary danger or hazard on his route.

The fact that the Illinois Central Railway was under the military control of the officers of the United States Army was a sufficient excuse for the road to refuse to receive freight while it was under such a control, it not being safe for the road to undertake the carriage of freight.

Phelps v. Illinois Central Railway, 94 Ill. 548.

The article offered for transportation may not be in the line of the carrier's vocation. A freight carrier may not necessarily hold himself out to carry passengers. He need carry only the class of goods included in his public profession.

This was an action for damages against the Midland Railway Co. for refusing to transport five tons of coal. The railway company never carried coal and did not hold itself out for any such business, and could not, unless it gave up its passenger traffic. Held, that a common carrier is not bound to carry every description of goods, but only such goods, and to and from such places, as he has publicly professed to carry, and for which purposes he has conveyances.

Johnson v. The Midland Railway Co., 4 Exch. (Eng.) 367. Interstate Commerce Act. The carrier may prescribe reasonable rules as to the time and manner of receiving goods. He cannot be required to receive them at an unreasonable hour or place, and he may insist that the goods be packed in a reasonable way. By statutes passed in most of the states the carrier is prohibited from discriminating in favor of one customer over another either in rates or privileges of any kind. The common carrier must not select his patrons arbitrarily, but must furnish equal facilities to all.

To further this object a statute was passed by the Congress of the United States in 1887 which is known as the Interstate Commerce Act. This law was designed to regulate the commerce between the states and applies to all common carriers, either by land or water, who transport persons or property from one state to another or between the United States and foreign countries. It provides that no discrimination shall be made between large or small, constant or occasional, shippers, and that no charges shall be unjust or unreasonable. It also

provides that proportionate charges shall be made for long and short distances. The law further requires that the schedule of rates shall be published and filed with commissioners who are appointed to oversee the enforcement of the law and are known. as the Interstate Commerce Commission. The law also makes it unlawful for any common carrier who comes under its provisions to enter into any combination or agreement by which the continuous carriage of freight from one point to another shall be delayed or interrupted.

All of the large railroad and express companies come within the provisions of this law.

QUESTIONS

1. Who is a common carrier of goods?

2. What is the difference between a common carrier and a private carrier?

3. Give some examples of common carriers.

4. What is necessary to constitute one a common carrier?

5. What does the term "goods" as applied to common carriers include?

6. What are the rules governing the carriage of goods?

7. How are charges usually regulated? Explain.

8. Under what conditions has a common carrier a right to refuse goods?

9. What is the purpose of the Interstate Commerce Act?

10. What are the main provisions of this law?

II. What carriers are subject to the provisions of this law?

7. LIABILITY OF COMMON CARRIERS

When Liability Begins. The common carrier becomes responsible for the goods when they are delivered to him for carriage and accepted by him in the capacity of a carrier. The delivery should be made to the agent or person whose business it is to receive freight, not to any one who may be about the place of delivery.

In the case of expressmen and other carriers who go after the goods and receive them at the shipper's residence or place of business, their liability begins when they receive the goods.

Receipts. It is always prudent for the shipper or sender of the goods to demand of the carrier a receipt for the articles

delivered. This is termed a freight receipt or bill of lading. Originally a bill of lading was given only by a carrier by water, but it is now given by all carriers. It consists of a writing showing the receipt of the goods and the terms of the contract of carriage in brief form.

Limits of Liability. As in the case of the innkeeper, the liability of the common carrier is exceptionally great. He is held liable as an insurer of the goods against all risks of loss or injury, except when the loss arises from the following causes: (1) by an act of God, or by a public enemy, (2) by the act of the shipper, (3) by the act of the public authority, (4) from the nature of the goods. In the early times this strict measure of responsibility was placed upon the carrier for reasons of public policy. In an age of thieving and lawlessness the carrier had many opportunities to defraud his customers, and, by collusion with thieves and robbers, to cause the shipper to be defrauded. To this absolute liability as an insurer there were only two exceptions under the common law, and these were losses occasioned either by act of God or the king's enemies. But modern methods make the reason for the rule less urgent, and modern legislation has relieved the carrier's liability in the other cases just specified.

Loss or Injury by Act of God. This includes those causes which man neither produced nor can contend against; as, accidents caused to the goods while the carrier is within the line of duty, by lightning, tempest, earthquake, flood, sudden death, snow, rough winds, freezing, and thawing.

It was held that an injury to property in transit, caused by an earthquake, was the result of an act of God and the So. Carolina Ry. Co. was not liable for the injury. — Slater v. So. Carolina Ry. Co., 29 S. Č. 96.

But a prudent man will foresee the less violent of these causes, such as snow and freezing, and a carrier will not be excused for loss in such cases, unless he has exercised prudence and foresight in regard to them.

Fruit trees shipped on the Pacific R.R. were frozen while en route, and the freezing was held to be an act of God for which the company was not liable, unless caused by unnecessary delay in transporting the trees or by their careless exposure to the cold. — Vail v. Pacific Railroad, 63 Mo. 230.