The Portland daily press., 1896-03-06
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT.

A decision in a case against one of the
conductors of the Maine Central railroad
has been sent down from the Law court,
and is of interset to travellers who hold
mileage books, and ara finical as to the
way tue coupons are detached. The full
text of the opinion follows:
Walton, J.--ThlS is an action of trOver
against railroad conductor for the al
legged conversion of mileage Look.
The plaintiff handed this mileage book
to tue conductor and requested him tn
take his fare from the back part Of it.
Tho conductor complied with the re-
quest in part and disregarded it in part.
That is. he took part Of the plaintiff S
fare from the back part of the book and
part from the front. The plaintiff claims
tnat he had right to determine from
which part of the book mis- fare should be
taken, and that the act of the conductor
in detaching coupons from the front part
of the book, contrary to his (the plain
tif's request, was an unlawful exercise
Of dominion over the book; and, in law,
Il conversion of it to the defendants use.
We do not think this proposition can
be sustained. We think it was the right
of the conductor to determine from what
part or parts of the look he would take
the plaintiffs fare. The contract of the
parties annexed to the book, and signed
by the plaintiff, ex pressly provides that
the coupons shall pe detached by the con-
ductor, and we think this fairly implies
that the conductor shall have the right
to determine from what part or perts of
the book they shall be taken. The work
of collecting fares must sometimes be
performed cry rapidly; and to compel
conductors to listen to the requests of
passengers as to the manner in which
the work shall be performed would neces-
sarily he attended with some inconven-
fence and delay; and, so far as we can
discover, with very little, if ssany, benefit
to the passengers. 1t therefore seems to
US that upon principle the right to deter
mine from what part or parts of rail
road mileage hook a sufficient number of
coupons shall be taken to pay passen-
gers fare, ought to belong to the con-
ductor. The act is his, and it seems to
us that, upon principle, the choice
should be his. And this conclusion is
supported by what has heretofore been
customary. The evidence shows. what
our own observation confirms, that ever
since these mileage books came into use,
the custom has been for the conductor to
detacn a sufficient number of coupons to
pay the passengers fare from the front
part of the book. Not always taking the
entire number consecutively; but by de-
taching whole leaves and such fractions
of leaves as he deems bGst calculated to
make the computation easy and the re-
moval convenient. And what is custom
airy is generally lawful. Custom makes
law. AS said by Chief Justice Whitman
more than half a century ago, and con-
firmed by multitude of cases since that
time, ''every contract must have an in
depreciation governed in some measure
by the subject matter to which it relates
and, at the same time, with reference to
any known usage connected with 1t. -
Robinson VS.. Fiske, 25 Maine, 401. Judg-
ment for the defendant.
Peters, G. j., and Emery, Haskell,
Whitchouse and Wiswell, J.J., concurred.
ANDROSCOGGIN COUNTY.
j P. Darlington VS.. Albert G. Moore
and buildings.
Rescript by Haskell, J. The lien of q
laborer upon "a building lost by the lapse
of time cannot be revived by subsequent
labor upon the building not performed
by virtue of contract with the owner.
Exceptions sustained.