Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-18
For State Omcers.
AN IMPORTANT DECISION.

An important decision to telegraph com panies concerning their rights on the high ways has been given by a Massachusetts court The city marshal of Taunton brought civil suit against employe of the Balti- more and Ohio Telegraph company for in turing and defacing certain trees contrary to the form of the statutes of the common wealth and the ordinances of the city.
 The counsel for the telegraph company argued that under the United States statutes at large all telegraph companies have the right to construct, maintain and operate lines of telegraph through, over and along any post roads of the United States, so as not to interfere with the ordinary travel on such roads. The statute defines as post roads all letter carrier routes established in any city or town for the collection or delivery of mail matter The streets of Taunton, he urged, are post roads, hence, under the fed eral laws, the telegraph company had right to be in the streets. Under the statutes of the commonwealth, it is stated that select men and aldermen must grant loca- tion to telegraph company when it applies for one, and the telegraph company must construct and maintain it as directed by these officials; these officials can change the location, but not without granting new one It was further argued that in very recent case not yet reported Judge Devens decided that the owner of the fee in & high way cannot recover damages on account of the erection of telegraph posts; that when the public took the highway it had it for all highway purposes known at the time or sub sequently found to be needful to the highest public use; that the telegraph companies quired no right as against the owner of the fee by it's enjoyment, is there any pre- sumption of a grant raised; the telegraph company is only given the right to use the land by permission of the municipal authorities, who have it in charge for public uses. When the land was taken for a highway, that which was taken was not merely the privilege of travelling over it in the then known vehicles. or of using it in the then known methods, for either the conveyance of property or transmission of intelligence. The discovery of the telegraph developed new and valu- able mode of communicating intelligence The use was similar to, if not identical with,
 
 for which the highway was originally taken, even if the means adopted are quite different from the post boy or the mail coach. It is newly discovered method of exercising the old public easement and all appropriate meth ods must have been deemed to have been paid for when the road was laid out Under the clause to regulate commerce among the States, conferred on Congress by the Con stitution of the United States, although tel egraphic communication was unknown when it was adopted, it has been held, that it is the right of Congress to prevent the obstruc- ton of telegraphic communication by hostile State legislation, it has become an in dispensab1e means of inter-communication
 The judge decided in favor of the telegraph company without hesitation, finding that the trees were injured and defaced under sufi- cient excuse and authority.