APPENDIX F. THE GOVERNMENT-AIDED RAILROAD AND TELEGRAPH LINES. ' (1) ACT OF AUGUST 7, 1888. AN ACT supplementary to the act of July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes," and also of the act of July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and other acts amendatory of said first-named act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all railroad and telegraph companies to which the United States has granted any subsidy in lands or bonds or loan of credit for the construction of either railroad or telegraph lines, which, by the acts incorporating them, or by any act amendatory or supplementary thereto, are required to construct, maintain, or operate telegraph lines, and all companies engaged in operating said railroad or telegraph lines shall forthwith and henceforward, by and through their own respective corporate officers and employees, maintain, and operate, for railroad, Governmental, commercial, and all other purposes, telegraph lines, and exercise by themselves alone all the telegraph franchises conferred upon them and obligations assumed by them under the acts making the grants as aforesaid. SEC. 2. That whenever any telegraph company which shall have accepted the provisions of title sixty-five of the Revised Statutes shall extend its line to any station or office of a telegraph line belonging to any one of said railroad or telegraph companies, referred to in the first section of this act, said telegraph company so extending its line shall have the right and said railroad or telegraph company shall allow the line of said telegraph company so extending its line to connect with the telegraph line of said railroad or telegraph company to which it is extended at the place where their lines may meet, for the prompt and convenient interchange of telegraph business between said companies; and such railroad and telegraph companies, referred to in the first section of this act, shall so operate their respective telegraph lines as to afford equal facilities to all, without discrimination in favor of or against any person, company, or corporation whatever, and shall receive, deliver, and exchange business with connecting telegraph lines on equal terms, and affording equal facilities, and without discrimination for or against any one of such connecting lines; and such exchange of business shall be on terms just and equitable. SEC. 3. That if any such railroad or telegraph company referred to in the first section of this act, or company operating such railroad or telegraph line shall refuse or fail, in whole or in part, to maintain, and operate a telegraph line as provided in this act and acts to which this is supplementary, for the use of the Government or the public, for commercial and other purposes, without discrimination, or shall refuse or fail to make or continue such arrangements for the interchange of business with any connecting telegraph company, then any person, company, corporation, or connecting telegraph company may apply for relief to the Interstate Commerce Commission, whose duty it shall thereupon be, under such rules and regulations as said Commission may prescribe, to ascertain the facts, and determine and order what arrangement is proper to be made in the particular case, and the railroad or telegraph company concerned shall abide by and perform such order; and it shall be the duty of the Interstate Commerce Commission, when such determination and order are made, to notify the parties concerned, and, if necessary, enforce the same by writ of mandamus in the courts of the United States, in the name of the United States, at the relation of either of said Interstate Commerce Commissioners: Provided, That the said Commissioners may institute any inquiry, upon their own motion, in the same manner and to the same effect as though complaint had been made. SEC. 4. That in order to secure and preserve to the United States the full value and benefit of its liens upon all the telegraph lines required to be constructed by and lawfully belonging to said railroad and telegraph companies referred to in the first section of this act, and to have the same possessed, used, and operated in conformity with the provisions of this act and of the several acts to which this act is supplementary, it is hereby made the duty of the Attorney-General of the United States, by proper proceedings, to prevent any unlawful interference with the rights and equities of the United States under this act, and under the acts herein before mentioned, and under all acts of Congress relating to such railroads and telegraph lines, and to have legally ascertained and finally adjudicated all alleged rights of all persons and corporations whatever claiming in any manner any control or interest of any kind in any telegraph lines or property, or exclusive rights of way upon the lands of said railroad companies, or any of them, and to have all contracts and provisions of contracts set aside and annulled which have been unlawfully and beyond their powers entered into by said railroad or telegraph companies, or any of them, with any other person, company, or corporation. SEC. 5. That any officer or agent of said railroad or telegraph companies, or of any company operating the railroads and telegraph lines of said companies, who shall refuse or fail to operate the telegraph lines of said railroad or telegraph companies under his control, or which he is engaged in operating, in the manner directed in this act and by the acts to which it is supplementary, or who shall refuse or fail, in such operation and use, to afford and secure to the Government and the public equal facilities, or to secure to each of said connecting telegraph lines equal advantages and facilities in the interchange of business, as herein provided for, without any discrimination whatever for or adverse to the telegraph line of any or either of said connecting companies, or shall refuse to abide by, or perform and carry out within a reasonable time the order or orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission, shall in every such case of refusal or failure be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall in every such case be fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, and may be imprisoned not less than six months; and in every such case of refusal or failure the party aggrieved may not only cause the officer or agent guilty thereof to be prosecuted under the provisions of this section, but may also bring an action for the damages sustained thereby against the company whose officer or agent may be guilty thereof, in the circuit or district court of the United States in any State or Territory in which any portion of the road or telegraph line of said company may be situated; and in case of suit process may be served upon any agent of the company found in such State or Territory, and such service shall be held by the court good and sufficient. SEC. 6. That it shall be the duty of each and every one of the aforesaid railroad and telegraph companies, within sixty days from and after the passage of this act, to file with the Interstate Commerce Commission copies of all contracts and agreements of every description existing between it and every other person or corporation whatsoever in reference to the ownership, possession, maintenance, control, use, or operation of any telegraph lines, or property over or upon its rights of way, and also a report describing with sufficient certainty the telegraph lines and property belonging to it, and the manner in which the same are being then used and operated by it, and the telegraph lines and property upon its right of way in which any other person or corporation claims to have a title or interest, and setting forth the grounds of said claim, and the manner in which the same are being then used and operated; and it shall be the duty of each and every one of said railroad and telegraph companies annually hereafter to report to the Interstate Commerce Commission, with reasonable fullness and certainty, the nature, extent, value, and condition of the telegraph lines and property then belonging to it, the gross earnings, and all expenses of maintenance, use, and operation thereof, and its relation and business with all connecting telegraph companies during the preceding year, at such time and in such manner as may be required by a system of reports which said Commission shall prescribe: and if any of said railroad or telegraph companies shall refuse or fail to make such reports or any report as may be called for by said Commission, or refuse to submit its books and records for inspection, such neglect or refusal shall operate as a forfeiture, in each case of such neglect or refusal, of a sum not less than one thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, to be recovered by the Attorney-General of the United States, in the name and for the use and benefit of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the Interstate Commerce Commission to inform the Attorney-General of all such cases of neglect or refusal, whose duty it shall be to proceed at once to judicially enforce the forfeitures hereinbefore provided. SEC. 7. That nothing in this act shall be construed to affect or impair the right of Congress, at any time hereafter, to alter, amend, or repeal the said acts herein before mentioned; and this act shall be subject to alteration, amendment, or repeal, as, in the opinion of Congress, justice or the public welfare may require; and nothing herein contained shall be held to deny, exclude, or impair any right or remedy in the premises now existing in the United States, or any authority that the PostmasterGeneral now has under title sixty-five of the Revised Statutes to fix rates, or, of the Government, to purchase lines as provided under said title, or to have its messages given precedence in transmission. Approved, August 7, 1888. INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION, To the : Your attention is called to the provisions of the act of Congress approved August 7, 1888, entitled "An act supplementary to the act of July 1, 1862, entitled 'An act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes,' and also of the act of July 2, 1864, and other acts amendatory of said first-named act." Certain duties are devolved by this act upon the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the railroad and telegraph companies referred to in the act are required to file with the Commission copies of all contracts and agreements described in its provisions. Section 6 of the act contains this provision: That it shall be the duty of each and every one one of the aforesaid railroad and telegraph companies, within sixty days from and after the passage of this act, to file with the Interstate Commerce Commission copies of all contracts and agreements of every description existing between it and every other person or corporation whatsoever in reference to the ownership, possession, maintenance, control, use, or operation of any telegraph lines, or property over or upon its rights of way, and also a report describing with sufficient certainty the telegraph lines and property belonging to it, and the manner in which the same are being then used and operated by it, and the telegraph lines and property upon its right of way in which any other person or corporation claims to have a title or interest, and setting forth the grounds of such claim, and the manner in which the same are being then used and operated. The duty imposed by this section has not yet been complied with by your company. The Commission calls your attention to this omission, and urges your compliance with the duty enjoined upon you as speedily as possible. The first section of the act is as follows: That all railroad and telegraph companies to which the United States has granted any subsidy in lands or bonds or loan of credit for the construction of either railroad or telegraph lines, which, by the acts incorporating them, or by any act amendatory or supplementary thereto, are required to construct, maintain, or operate telegraph lines, and all companies engaged in. operating said railroad or telegraph lines shall forthwith and henceforward, by and through their own respective corporate officers and employees, maintain and operate, for railroad, governmental, commercial, and all other purposes, telegraph lines, and exercise by themselves alone all the telegraph franchises conferred upon them and obligations assumed by them under the acts making the grants as aforesaid. You will also report to the Commission to what extent, and in what manner, the provisions of this section are complied with by your company. Pursuant to the third section of said act you will also report to this Commission whether you maintain and operate a telegraph line as provided in the acts of Congress, for the use of the Government, or the public, for commercial and other purposes, without discrimination, and whether you have made, and continue, such arrangements for the interchange of business with any connecting telegraph company. It is important that the matters herein brought to your attention should be communicated to the Commission with all reasonable promptitude. By order of the Interstate Commerce Commission: Very respectfully, EDW. A. MOSELEY, Secretary. LIST OF CARRIERS SUBJECT TO SAID ACT. The following railroad and telegraph companies have been granted by the Government subsidies or rights of way to assist in building telegraphs: REFERENCES TO ACTS IN THE UNITED STATES STATUTES AT LARGE IN RELATION TO RAILROADS AND TELEGRAPHS AIDED BY GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES OR GRANTS OF RIGHTS OF WAY. Volume 12, United States Statutes at Large. Act of June 16, 1860 (page 41): An act to facilitate communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States by electric telegraph. Right of way given to telegraph companies. Transmission of messages shall be impartial. Act of January 31, 1862 (page 334): An act to authorize the President of the United States in certain cases to take possession of railroad and telegraph companies, and for other purposes. Original act of July 1, 1862 (page 489) in regard to Pacific Railroads: SEC. 1. The telegraph to extend from the 100th meridian between the south margin of the valley of the Republican River and the north margin of the Platte River in Nebraska, to the western boundary of Nevada. SEC. 2. Right of way through public lands is granted for the construction of railroad and telegraph; and the company has the right to use such materials adjacent to the line of railroad as is necessary for the construction of the road and telegraph line; right of way is granted for 200 feet on each side of railroad, including all lands for stations, shops, etc. SEC. 3. There is granted to the company for the construction of the railroad and telegraph line every alternate section of public land designated by odd numbers to the amount of five alternate sections per mile on each side of said railroad within the limits of 10 miles on each side of said railroad, not sold or otherwise disposed of by the United States and to which no pre-emption claim is attached at the time line of road is definitely fixed, provided they are not mineral lands. SEC. 6. Grants aforesaid are made on condition that the railroad and telegraph are kept in repair and use, and shall at all times transmit dispatches over said telegraph line, and the Government shall have preference in their use. SEC. 7. Railroad and telegraph to be completed before the 1st of July, 1874. SEC. 8. The line of telegraph to commence at a point on the one hundreth meridian within the boundaries above named to be fixed by the president; then to run westerly upon the most direct, central, and practicable route through the Territories of the United States to the western boundary of Nevada, there to connect with the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. SEC. 9. The Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad Company of Kansas are authorized to build road and telegraph line from Missouri River at mouth of Kansas River west to connect with the Pacific Railroad of Missouri on the one hundreth meridian. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California are authorized to construct a railroad and telegraph line from San Francisco to the eastern boundary of California, upon the same terms as the Pacific Railroad Company of Missouri, to connect with the same on the eastern boundary of California. SEC. 10. The Hannibal and Saint Joseph and the Pacific Railroad of Missouri may unite with the Kansas Company upon the same conditions as above specified. SEC. 13. The Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad Company is authorized to construct an additional line from Saint Joseph via Atchison, to connect with the roads through Kansas upon filing its assent to the provisions of this act, upon same terms as are provided for the construction of the ra road and telegraph line first mentioned. SEC. 14. That the said Union Pacific Railroad Company is authorized and required to construct a single line of railroad and telegraph from a point on the western boundary of Iowa to connect with the lines of said company at some point on the one hundredth meridian. Power given Pacific Railroad Company to build railroad and telegraph from Sioux City to a connection with the Union Pacific. SEC. 17. If the road or telegraph is not completed within a reasonable time, or not kept in repair and use, Congress shall pass an act to insure its speedy completion or put it in repair and use and the expenses of the same shall be paid out of income of railroad. SEC. 19. That the several railroad companies named are authorized to enter into an arrangement with the Pacific Telegraph Company, the Overland Telegraph Company, and the California State Telegraph Company, so that the present line of telegraph between the Missouri River and San Francisco may be moved upon or along the line of said railroad and branches as fast as said railroad and branches are built; and if said arrangement be entered into, and the transfer of said telegraph line be made in accordance therewith to the line of said railroad and branches, such transfer shall, for all purposes of this act, be held and considered a fulfillment on the part of said railroad companies of the provisions of this act in regard to the construction of said line of telegraph. And, in case of disagreement, said telegraph companies are authorized to remove their line of telegraph along and upon the line of railroad herein coutemplated, without prejudice to the rights of said railroad companies named herein. Act of March 3, 1863 (page 772): That there be granted to the State of Kansas for the purpose of aiding in the construction, first, of a railroad and telegraph from the city of Leavenworth via Lawrence and via Ohio City Crossing on the Osage River to the southern line of the State in the direction of Galveston Bay, in Texas, and with a branch from Lawrence by the valley of the Wakarusa River to a point on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé Railroad, where said railroad intersects the Neosho River, every alternate section of public land for ten sections in width on each side of said road and branches. Volume 13, United States Statutes at Large. Act of July 1, 1864 (page 340): Grant was given to Perry McD. Collins for right of way in the construction of a telegraph line to British America. Act of July 2, 1864 (page 362), amending act of July 1, 1862: SEC. 15. The several Pacific roads and telegraph lines are to be used as one continuous line. Each of the several roads must have equal facilities and advantages. The proprietors of any line of telegraph authorized by this act must transmit messages for all persons. Upon failure, subject to fine of $100 for each offense and to other damages the party may suffer. SEC. 16. The several companies may consolidate and construct the road and telegraph together. Act of July 2, 1864 (page 366), incorporating the Northern Pacific Railroad Company: SEC. 1. Telegraph line to extend from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. SEC. 2. The company has right of way through the public lands and it can take such material adjacent to the road as is necessary for its construction. Every alternate section of land granted to aid in construction. SEC. 5. There shall be constructed a telegraph line to be operated along the entire route. The Government must not be charged higher rates than individuals. Act of July 2, 1864 (page 373): The United States Telegraph Company is authorized to construct a telegraph line from the Missouri River to San Francisco. The company is given right of way and land for establishment of stations, not exceeding at any one station one quarter-section of land, such stations not to exceed one in every fifteen miles; also given privilege to erect telegraph from Fort Hall to Portland, with same privileges as to right of way. This company must accept dispatches from other lines established by authority or aid of Congress to connect with lines authorized by the English or Russian Governments, and such dispatches shall be transmitted in the order of their reception. SEC. 4. The several railroad companies authorized by the act of July 1, 1862, are authorized to enter into arrangements with the United States Telegraph Company. Volume 14, United States Statutes at Large. Act of July 3, 1866 (page 80): The Union Pacific Railroad Company (Eastern Division) shall connect their line of railroad and telegraph with the Union Pacific at a point not more than fifty miles westwardly from the meridian of Denver. The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific are authorized to continue building their lines so as to meet. Act of July 13, 1866 (page 94): Right of way granted to the Placerville and Sacramento Railroad Company (now Sacramento and Placerville) for the construction of a railroad and telegraph; material given for construction from side of road; 100 feet on each side of road given; necessary ground for stations, etc.; alternate sections of land granted; the telegraph line to be established of the most substantial kind and of the most approved description and to be operated on entire route; both railroad and telegraph to be finished by July 4, 1869. Railroad to run from Folsom to Placerville in the State of California. Act of July 24, 1866 (page 221): Telegraph companies may construct lines of telegraph over public domain. Telegrams of Government must have preference. SEC. 3. Rights and privileges hereby granted can not be transferred to any other corporation, association, or person. Government can purchase such lines. Act of July 26, 1866 (page 286): Public lands granted to the State of Kansas to aid the Union Pacific Railroad, Southern Branch, to construct a railroad and telegraph from Fort Riley, Kansas, to the southern line of the State of Kansas. If not completed within ten years unpatented lands to revert to Government. Act of July 27, 1866 (page 292): The telegraph line of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Company to commence at a point'near Springfield, Missouri, and to extend to the Pacific. SEC. 2. Right of way granted and materials necessary to its construction given. |