The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-09-10

nGilA OA H440
When the. Petersburg Hallroa1
wanted to cross over the river aHu
have its terminus on the south sac 9.
the Roanoke river; they claimed that
# was for the public good, .andzthe
State. at their request EXTENDED tn 5,
line of road to the s Weldon p basil
The charter as it.stands eompels the
railroad company to take up ano snip
onv nrodnce or commodities that may
he niaced convenient to the said rail-
rood The charter also does not say
or imply that freight must be placed
At. their otoll gates.n The ineorpora-
tors had no idea of a modern railroad.
The steamboat, canal boat, sallooat
and turnpike furnished models Tor
comparison and thought, and because
STEAMBOATS, always stopped at land
mos convenient places to load IL
was expected that railroad wagons
would stop and take on freight
To prove this statement to be true
without reciting cotemporaneous his
tory. | note from. their charter stsey;
~They (the railroad company shall
have the right to purchase and place
on the track, wagons vehicles, car
riaees and teams, and after the com,
pletion of 10 mics of the road, 1.-THE
company fails to transport any com
modities which shall be deposited con-
venient to the said railroad, the COM
PAM shall become liable to prosecu'
ton for ~damages"' a. y
The railroad companies want heir
pound of flesh. So do we.
Our tram roads to saw mills gives
Won a perfect fac Simie of the rail-
roads as our. fathers first saw Them
Hpassenger traffic Das intended, the
charter makes no provisions for IT..
IF the railroad companies want to
charge. enormous rates because their
charters sayt they may do SO, let it be
so: but let us demand allthe privileges
the charter gives US. Let us see:
thew have no privileges their charter
does not expressly grant them.
The owners of produce yer re-
ouired to tender to the railroad COM
panies, at their toll gates, the toll due
upon said produce.
In a speech made on the subject by
a (then) great authority, it was held
"That unless such tender vas made
that the wagoners of the railroad COM
PAW could not know where to stop or
whether the shipper desired his COM
modities removed on that particular
day." Hence the charter says Equal
and impartial justice to ALL" so that
each citizen could deposit his freight
at the most convenient place.
1t is a correct principle of interpre-
tation that all language, either words
OF sentences, shall be held to mean,
as was meant at the time the words
or sentences were spoken or written.
Follow up this principle and how
fares it with the Petersburg Railooad?
Let US re-read the charter: Cor
porate powers granted for sixty years
and no longer, without q renewal of
its charter.
Not that the company has a right
to swallow another railroad company
whose charter extends longer, but by
renewal.
Let me cite a case in point: A.
rents of b. his farm for a term of ten
years, and at the expiration of the
term A. is to give up the farm to B.,
unless they again contract. At the
end of eight years A. comes to B. and
says: 81 have made sundry improve
ments on your farm, and I would like
to enjoy the fruits of my labor for
five years from date. Should B. ac-
coed to the proposition, would you
not expect that he would pay B. for
the extra five years 2.
In the year 1890 the charter of the
Petersburg Railroad Company ex-
pires by limitation. Suppose for the
sake of the argument that the absorb
ton of the Greenville Company ex-
tends their charter, cannot the citizens
along the line of road, over whose
lands the railroad passes, compel the
railroad in question to pay them dam
ages for the further occupany of their
lands p E3a 81 - wcls
The charter was granted for sixty
years, and no longer.
The land along the line of road was
either given or condemned under the
charter" Those whose duty it was to
assess damages had the charter only
for their guide. That instrument
read sixty years, not ninety. They
could not assess damages for a term
of years other than the number stated
in the charter. This applies to all
roads whose time has been extended.
if to the one in question.
Passing over the various amend.
ments as not affecting the principles
involved, we turn back to the 1883
'S4. The Legislature of North Caro-
lima granted the year just named a
charter to the Greenville and Roam
oke COMPANY, pivinpit the RIGHT tn