, 1884-01-26
Liability Of Railroads

"A utOCA man uSinN hcAt Dh'oSe 49,
COW run over by locomotive and killed.
He urots n once TO the Northern Pacihc
authorities, and has received the following
reply:
l End your letter on my desk On
investigation, 6nd that your COW uss
living down behind the fence near our
railroad track, 90 that she could MT be
seen until she got up and vent onto the
track when the engine was about one
hundred feet off. The engineer applied
air breaks and did his best TO stop IN
season to prevent accident. The COW
stood on the track until the engine gDt
almost up to it. and then turned to leave,
but uas caught by the hind legs. In
casss like the above . railroad company
is never liable for damages The Cow
was trespAssing upon our rieh. ct way,
where you snould not have allowed her
10 90. II shs had thrown our train from
she track, damaged our cars or injured
our employees, you would have been
liable for heavy damages. Our engineer
did all the Law required of him under
the circumstances. You did not obey
the requirements Of the Law in allowing
your stock to 90 upon our track We
deny ali liability In this case.
Respectfully yours,
D. r. FoRD,
Assistant General Claim Agent.
We find the above in an exchange.
Assistant General Claim Agen, Ford Is
. genius He is rare and radiant eI-
FOUNDER of Law. He ought to be appoint
cd to deliver the sentences in cases OF
capital punishment, SO that the poor
devil going.to the scaffold would be made
to believe the Government was doing
him an act Of condescendins kindness in
strangling the life out Of him. II seems
the stock man is not only short q COW
that WAS run over and killed by North
ern Pacific engine, but tha; were 1t not
for the loving kindness and magnificent
magnanimi;y of that gigantic and incor-
perated embodiment of philanthropy
known a. the Northern Pacific Railroad
Company, the said stock man would be
liable to be sold sut of house and home
and tNo-y old steers for letting the
aforssaid COW get on the unfenced right
of-Esy of the aforesaid company. Per
haps the Assistant General Claim Agent
thinks there is "no fencr" law in Mon
tana, and contemplates instituting suits
for trespass asains, all persons who per-
nit their stock to Craze on that sacred
four hundred feet right-of-wsy that eI-
tends seven hundred miles through Mon
tana. He says, "You did not obey the
requirements of the Law in allowing your
stock to go upon our trackF What
lAwl Again he says the COW was caught
by the hind legs and 'In cases like the
above the company is never liable for
damages." From this it might be in
ferred that if she had been caught by the
fore legs the company would have been
liable Stock men should therefore edu-
cate their cattle that in case of being
run over by locomotive, to always ar
range it so that the engine shall pass over
their fore legs. He also makes the point
that the Cow "s.ood" on the track. Per-
haps if she had laid down the legal con-
ditlons might have been different. In
fact it might be well for stock men in
the vicinity of Billings to procure from
Agent Ford a memoranda of conditions
under which he thinks any responsibility
would attach TO the railroad company for
killing stock. To shorten up proceed
ings in the case referred TO, salt against
the railroad company under the laws of
Montana would do, and perhaps the As
sistant General Claim Agent would find
the courts put somewhat different con-
struction on the statutes from that which
he has evolved If not, il might not be
bad idea for the Legislature to enact
Law requiring railroad companies to fence
their tracks.