CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL R'Y Co., ] Petition for authority to con VS. DANIEL SUGHRUA AND BRIDGET SUGHRUA, demn a fractional lot in the city of Ottumwa by virtue of chapter 190, Laws of the Twentieth General Assembly. DES MOINES, October 4. 1884. And now on this fourth day of October, A. D. 1884, comes John W. Cary, General Solicitor of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, and presents to the Board of Railroad Commissioners the petition of the said C., M. & St. P. R'y Co., which is as follows: TO PETER A. DEY, J. W. MCDILL AND L. S. COFFIN, Railway Commissioners of the State of Lowa: The undersigned, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company respectfully shows to your honors that it has completed and now owns and operates a railway from the city of Milwaukee in the State of Wisconsin, and the city of Chicago in the State of Illinois, by way of Sabula, Marion and Cedar Rapids to Ottumwa, and that it has located its principal depot and station grounds in the city of Ottumwa on the north side of the Des Moines river, between Green and Union streets; that it has made arrangements with the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company that the grounds leased and occupied by that company, and the grounds owned by this company shall be used jointly by said companies in said city of Ottumwa for station purposes; that the plat hereto annexed shows the grounds so selected and aiready acquired by this company for such station grounds, and its main track as originally located through the same. It also shows the track of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway and the grounds occupied by that company in the city of Ottumwa, so far as the undersigned has knowledge of said grounds. The grounds owned and acquired by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company are colored red on said plat, and the grounds occupied by the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company are owned by the St. Louis, Ottumwa & Cedar Rapids Railway Company, and are colored yellow. That it is necessary for the proper transaction of the business of the said Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company at Ottumwa, that said company should own and acquire the northwest one half of lot four hundred and four of block thirty-four in said city represented on said map, except that portion owned by said St. Louis, Ottumwa & Cedar Rapids Railway Company, in addition to the grounds now owned by it. That, as the undersigned is informed and believes, the said part of the said lot is now owned by one Daniel Sughrau, and that there is standing thereon a small frame house, in which the said Sughrua and family are living. That the undersigned has acquired and is now the owner of all the lands adjoining said lot, except those owned by the said St. Louis, Ottumwa & Cedar Rapids Railway Company. That it has been unable to agree with said Daniel Sughrua, the owner of said lot for the purchase thereof, or the compensation to be paid therefor; that a portion of said lot is more than one hundred feet distant from the main track of the said Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, as located through said station grounds, and for that reason the undersigned is unable to condemn said lot under the provisions of chapter 4, title 10, of the Code of Iowa, without the certificate of your honors as provided by chapter one hundred and ninety of the laws of the Twentieth General Assombly of the State of Iowa. The undersigned therefor applies to your honors that you will give notice to said Sughrua, that at a certain day and place named in said notice you will examine into the matter and report by certificate to the clerk of the circuit court in the city of Ottumwa, as required by the provisions of said chapter one hundred and ninety, the amount and description of the additional lands necessary for the reasonable transaction of the business of the undersigned, present and prospective. (Signed,) CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY COMPANY, STATE OF WISCONSIN, SS. John W. Cary, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is General Solicitor of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, and has signed the foregoing application and that the same is true to the best of his knowledge and belief. (Signed,) Subscribed and sworn to before me this 30th day of September, 1884. (Signed,) [L. S.] JOHN W. CARY. G. E. WEISS, Notary Public, NOTE.-Attached to the petition is a map showing a section of the city of Ottumwa, adjacent to the bank of the Des Moines river, and described as blocks 34 and 35, having the lands owned by complainant colored red, and those owned by the St. Louis, Ottumwa & Cedar Rapids Railway Company colored yellow, and respondent's lot is shown and described as a part of the northwest one-half of lot number four hundred and four (404), of block number thirty-four (34), in the city of Ottumwa, Iowa. Whereupon the Board of Railroad Commissioners made the following order, a copy of which was sent duly attested to the sheriff of Wapello county, Iowa, to be served upon the respondents herein named: STATE OF IOWA, CITY OF DES MOINES, October 4, 1884, 1o Daniel Sughrua and Bridget Sughrua: WHEREAS, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company has this day under the provisions of chapter one hundred and ninety (190), Laws of the Twentieth General Assembly, filed in our office an application asking the Railway Commissioners to examine into and report to the clerk of the circuit court of Wapello county, State of Iowa, the amount and description of grounds necessary for depot purposes, in addition to those already acquired by said Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company in the city of Ottumwa, county and State aforesaid, and specially with reference to the northwest one-half of lot 404, block 34, in Ottumwa, owned by you. Now, therefore, under the terms and requirements of chapter one hundred and ninety (190), of the acts of the Twentieth General Assembly, you are hereby notified that the Railway Commissioners will, on Saturday the 18th day of October, A. D. 1884, at 9 A. M., at Ottumwa, county of Wapello, and State aforesaid, proceed to examine into the above matter with a view to making report thereon as required by law, at which time and place you can appear in person or by attorney and make such showing as you may deem fit and proper. Ordered, also that this notice be served on the above named Daniel Sughrua and Bridget Sughrua by the sheriff of Wapello county, Iowa, and that due return of service be made hereon at Ottumwa, on Saturday, October 18, A. D. 1884. By order of the Railroad Commissioners. E. G. MORGAN, Secretary. On Saturday the 18th of October, 1884, the Commissioners met in pursuance of the above notice at Ottumwa. Petitioner appeared by McElroy & Chambers, and defendants by their attorneys H. B. Hendershott and Mr. Raridan, and the evidence and arguments of counsel being heard, rendered the following decision: DECISION OF THE COMMISSIONERS. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway vs. Daniel Sughrua and Bridget Sughrua. In the matter of the application of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, under chapter one hundred and ninety (190), of the acts of the Twentieth General Assembly, it is the view of the Commissioners after hearing the evidence and inspecting the premises that it is necessary for the applicant to acquire the premises belonging to the respondents Daniel Sughrua and Bridget Sughrua, as additional depot grounds for reasons briefly stated as follows: The grounds chosen for depot purposes seem to be very favorably located for the business of the railway and its patrons in Ottumwa. They lie between Green and College streets and along the Des Moines river. Taking into consideration the growing importance of Ottumwa as a commercial city the amount of territory comprised within the proposed limits of the depot or station does not seem too great. The Sughrua property is so located as to bisect and totally deprive the railway company of any great benefit from the land lying south of said property and extending to the bridge, if it should be held by the Sughruas. It was contended by counsel for the respondents that the notice was defective and failed to give the Commissioners jurisdiction. In the absence of any construction of the act (Chap. 190, Laws of Twentieth General Assembly), the Commissioners are compelled to be guided by their own view of the meaning of the law. In their view the requirement of the notice is for the purpose of giving the owner of the lands in question an opportunity of being present to cross-examine the witnesses, and to hear and contest any statements or claims made by the applicant, to the end that the Commissioners may not be influenced by an ex parte and one sided showing, to certify a necessity when upon a fair and full hearing no such necessity would be found to exist. In this case the respondents were present by counsel, heard and cross-examined applicant's witnesses, and were given full opportunity to offer any evidence desired. It might probably with safety be assumed that under such circumstances the notice, however defective, had performed its work. An inspection of the notice, however, leads us to hold it sufficient. It recites the filing of the petition asking the Commissioners to examine and report the amount and description of grounds neces * sary for depot purposes in addition to those already acquired by the applicant, and specially describes the premises in question. It seems to us to be amply sufficient, and having found the necessity for the condemnation of the grounds we have certified the fact to the clerk of the circuit court as required by the law. Des Moines, Iowa, October 21, 1884. J. L. BOYD, HERNDON, Iowa, VS. CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY COMPANY. Filed October 10, 1884. For violation of J. L. Boyd, of Herndon, Iowa, made complaint that on October 9, 1884, freight train No. 7, carrying passengers, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway failed to stop at the depot at that place, or within four hundred feet of the crossing of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway, as required by law. In reply to this charge, Roswell Miller, Assistant General Manager of the respondent railway, stated to the Commissioners that their freight No. 7 was a way freight, and was accustomed to carry passengers under the conditions of a notice posted in all stations as follows: "Freight trains carrying passengers cannot in all cases stop at depots or platforms of statioņs, and passengers are hereby notified that in riding on these trains they must assume all risk of accident and injury in getting from and to and on or off these trains." As Herndon is situated at the foot of a very heavy grade it is a source of great difficulty and delay for freight trains to stop at the passenger depot in addition to stopping at the crossing. Complainant's allegation was in part denied by Mr. Miller, he stating positively that the train in question came to a full stop about six hundred feet east of the crossing, but there being no freight to unload there was no reason for stopping at the station. Complainant was informed by the Board that in their opinion no cause of complaint in this case seemed to exist, it appearing to them that the regulations of the company regarding the transportation of passengers on freight trains were just and proper. FRED. A. KEEP, ROCK RAPIDS, IOWA, VS. Dangerous highway. CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY COMPANY. Filed October 20, 1884. DECISION OF THE COMMISSIONERS. The substance of the complaint is that the railway company in constructing its road along and through the southwest quarter of section 5, 97, 48, Iowa, ran its line over and upon the public highway for some 60 rods, more or less, throwing the public travel between the railroad track and the bluffs and within the fifty feet claimed by the railroad as its right of way. A personal examination of the ground shows that the railroad runs through a cut at this place, varying from one to six feet deep, and that the only place for the public to use as a highway is along on a narrow shelf, on the east side of and close to the track of the railroad. This makes a very dangerous place for teams, as a bend in both the highway and railroad renders it impossible to see approaching trains from either direction. The complaint is well founded, and the decision of the Commissioners is that the railway company construct a suitable highway in the side of the hill, east of where the traveled highway now is, and build a strong post and board fence, not less than five feet high, between the railroad track and the proposed highway, the latter to be of sufficient width between the fence and bluff to readily admit of the meeting and passing of loaded wagons. Des Moines, Iowa, January 15, 1885. ROBERT RYAN, LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, VS. Inquiry as to lease. KANSAS CITY, ST. JOSEPH & COUNCIL BLUFFS RAILROAD Co., Filed October 20, 1884. Mr. Ryan in a letter to the Commissioners asked for information relative to the leasing of the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, or any other similar agreement for the operation of the line of the former company by the latter. He was informed that the records in the office of the Railroad Commissioners did not disclose the existence of such lease or contract between the rail |