The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-04-02

! TO exceed fees as now prescribed by law for
similar services
Sec a. If any railroad company subject
10 this act, or its agent or officer, shall
hereafter charge, collect, demand or receive
from any person, company, firm or corpora
ton, a greater rate, charge or compensation
than that fixed and established by the rail
road commission for the transportation of
freight. passengers or cars, or for the use
of any car on the line Of its railroad, or any
lire operated By it, or for receiving, for
warding, handling or storing. any such
performed or to be performed by it, such
! railroad company and its said agent and
officer shall be deemed guilty Of extortion,
and shall forfeit and pay to the state OF
Texas sum not less than $100 nor more
than 5000.
Sec, Is. If any railroad subject hereto,
directly or indirectly, or by any special
rate, rebate, drawback or other device,
shall charge, demand. collect or receive
from any person, firm or corporation
greater or less compensation for any serv-
ice rendered or 20 be rendered by it than it
charges, demands, collects or receives from
any other person, firm or corporation for
doing like and contemporaneous service,
such railroad shall be deemed guilty Of IN
just discrimination, which is hereby pro-
hibited
(a) II shall also be an unjust discrimina-
ton for any such railroad to make or give
any undue or unreasonable preference or
advantage to any particular person, COM
pany, firm, corporation or locality, or to
subject any particular description Of traffic
to any undue or unreasonable prejudice,
delay or disadvantage in any respect what
ever.
3D. Every railroad company which shall
fail or refuse under such regulations as
may be prescribed by law or by the COM
mi n
delay or discrimination the passengers, ton
mage and cars, loaded or empty, of any con-
Meeting line Of railroad, and every railroad
which shall. under such regulations as may
be prescribed by the commission fail and
refuse TO transport and deliver without de-
/ lay or discrimination any passengers, ton
mage or cars, loaded or empty, destined to
any point on or over the line Of any con-
Meeting line Of railroad shall be deemed
guilty of unjust discrimination. Provided
perishable treights Of all kinds and live
, stock shall have precedent Of shipment.
(c.) 1t shall also be an unjust discrimina-
ton for any railroad subject hereto to
charge or receive any greater compensation
in the aggregate for transportation OF like
kind of property or passengers for shorter
than for Il longer distance over the same
line. Provided that upon application TO the
commission any railroad may in special
cases, TO prevent manifest injury, be au-
thorized by the commission to charge less
for longer than for shorter distances for
Transporting persons and property, and the
commission shall from time to time pre-
scribe the extent 10 which such
designated railroad may be relieved
grom the operations of this provision.
Provided, that no manifest injustice shall
be imposed upon any citizen at intermediate
points. Provided, further, that nothing
herein shall be so construed as to prevent
the commission from making what are
known as group rates" on any line or lines
of railroad in this state.
ID Any railroad company violating any
provision of this section shall be deemed
guilty of unjust discrimination, and shall
for each oifense pay to the state of Texas 4
penalty Of not less than $500 uor more than
5000.
(h) Nothing herein shall prevent the
carriage, storage or handling of freight
free or at reduced rates for the state or for
any city, county or town government, or
for charitable purposes. or to and from
fairs and expositions for exhibition thereof
or the free carriage of destitute and in
digent persons, or the issuance of mileage
or excursion passenger tickets; nor to pre-
vent railroads from giving free transpor-
tation to ministers Of religion. or the free
transportation of the inmates of hospitals,
eleemosynary and charitable institutions,
and to the employees of the agricultural and
geological departments of this state, or to
peace officers of this state, and nothing
herein shall be construed to prevent rail-
roads from giving free transportation to
any railroad officers, agents, employees, at
torneys, stockholders or directors, or to
the railroad commissioners, their secre-
tary clerks and employees herein provided
for, or 10 any person not prohibited by law,
provided they or either of them shall not
receive from the state mileage when such
pass is used.
Sec l6 Any officer or agent of any rail-
road subject to this act who, by means OF
false billing, false classification, false
weight or by any other device, shall suffer
or permit any person or persons to obtain
transportation for property at less than the
regular rates then in force on such rail-
road, or who, by means of false billing,
false classification, false weighing, or by
any device whatever, shall charge any per-
son, firm or corporation more for the trans
portation of property than the regular rates
then in force on such railroad shan be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction
thereof fined in a sum of not less than 500
nor more than $1,000. a
Sec. II. In case any railroad subject Na
this act shall do, cause to be done or pe&
nit to be done, any matter, act or thing M
this act prohibited or declared to be IN
lawful, or shall omit to do any act, matter
or thing herein required to be done by it,
such railroad shall be liable to the person
or persons, firm or corporation injured
thereby for the damages sustained in con-
sequence of such violation; and in case
said railroad company shall be guilty of
extortion or discrimination as by this act
defined, then, in addition to such damages,
such railroad shall pay to the person, firm
or corporation injured thereby penalty of
not less than $l25 nor more than $500, to be
recovered in any court of competent iuris-
diction in any county into or through which
such railroad may run provided that such
road may plead and prove as defense to
the action for said penalty that such over
charge was unintentionally and innocently
made, through mistake of fact, provided
that any such recovery as herein provided
shall in no manner affect a recovery by the
state of penalty provided for such viola
lation. \
Sec. IS. If any railroad, as aforesaid,
shall willfully violate any other provisjoIs
of this act, or shall do any other act h6re2
prohibited, or shall fail or refuseH6 paE
form any other duty enioined upaft, m
which penalty has not herein en- pre-
vided, for every such act of q jon Il ]
shall pay the state of Texas a. hAlnpG
not more than 5000.
Sec. 10. All of the penalties herein pro-