St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-03-31
Macintosh Coats. 1.-The Boston,"
CONTRACT ANNULLED.
The Supreme Court Rules on a
Peculiar Case

The Supreme Court Rules on a
Peculiar Case.
WASHINGTON, March 80. = Justice
Brewer, of the United States supreme
court, sitting as judge for the circuit
court embracing the district of Nebras-
ka, today rendered decision in the
suit brought by the United States
against the Western Union Telegraph
company and the Union Pacific Rail-
way company to have declared illegal
and ahnulled the contract between the
Western Union and Union Pacific by
which the former operates the telegraph
line along the line of the railroad. This
suit was brought by the United
States under all act of con-
gress passed in 1883, declaring
that all railroads which had received
government aid and were required
under their charter to maintain tele-
graph lines shall hencef0rward main
tain and exercise by themselves alone
all the telegraph franchises conferred
upon them. Under this act the govern
ment sought to have cancelled and an
nulled contract made July l. 1881, be-
tween the Western Union and Union
Pacific, by which, as was claimed, tele-
graphic franchises granted to the rail-
road company had been improperly
transferred to the telegraph company.
Justice Brewer in his opinion says the
Geographic franchise granted the rail-
way company by the charter act was
not the mere right to place tele-
graph wire along the railroad for
its use. A telegraph wire is as much
part of railway as depots or wreck
telegraph line for public and commercial
uses, as independent and complete in
itself as though not built along the rail-
road right of way, or used at all in con-
nection with its operation. The con-
tract between the telegraph company
and the railroad. Justice Brewer says,
operates 10 transfer this telegraphic
franchise to the former, and was in
tended to make it the exclusive bene-
ficiarv thereof. The contract pro-
visions mean that the telegraphic bust
ness should be exercised by the Western
Union alone. and that no other company,
railway or telegraph, should touch it,
The purpose, as disclosed in every line
of the contract, was that the public and
CONNER cial use OF the telegraph wires
should belong to the Western Union,
leaving to the railway company only so
much use of them as was necessary for
j is own business.
Justice Brewer said he had no doubt
this transfer was beyond the authority
conferred by the granting acts of 1862
and 1864; but, if there were any doubt,
1t had been removed by the act of 1888,
passed in the exercise of the reserved
power to alter or amend the charter,
commanding the railway company to
exercise all the duties of its telegraph
franchise. The justice said he was in
cined to assume that the contentious
of the counsel for the corporations that
the contract was pecuniarily beneficial
to the railway company, and also that
the public interests are in fact sub
served by placing the commercial teIe-
graph business in the hands of the tele-
graph company ale sustainable. but
SAID that the court could not by reason
of this fact decline to enforce the plain
mandate of the government, which
created the corporation and gave it its
powers. 1t was for congress and not
the courts to decide the question of
policy.
In accordance with its opinion the
court directed that an order be entered
setting aside the contract of 1881 and
putting an end to the relations created
by and subsisIipg under it between the
two companies, with mandatory in
junction upon the railroad company to
hereafter. by its own agents and en-
ployes. and not through the instru-
mentality of the Western Union Tele
graph company, exercise all its duties
created by its telegraphic franchises
and directing the Western Union to va
cate all the offices Of the railway COM
pany with leave to the Western Union
to apply for and have stated an account
between it and tine railroad company as
to the value of its property along the
line of the railroad and jointly used by
the two companies. and for such other
relief as equity and good conscience re-
Quire.