The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1896-08-27

on the road. and following them up.
handling and delivering them, on the
plan then coming into use, OF which
the first OF note WIS Adams Express
Company. Every line Of this nine
tenth section implies this, and moth
ing more. II eontempIst=s more than
one such sub-contractor for the privi-
lege of transportation. The section
declares. land said company. and every
person who may have received from
them the right of transportation Of
goods, wares and produce, shall" &c.
These words Of the section demon
strate that the charter contemplated
nothing more than that the company
might farm out the right Of shipping
goods to individuals, or companies,
although companies are not mention
ed. The claim set up by the parties
to the lease, that the section confers
the right to lease the road for ninety
nine years, or for any other term, is
manifestly without foundation. Forty
eight years ago when the charter was
made it was not the custom for great
railroad companies to absorb smaller
ones, by long or short leases. Indeed.
there were then no great railroads in
the country. The Pennsylvania Road,
and the Baltimore and Ohio were then
in their teens as it were. There were
no roads in the country, North or
South, above two or three hundred
miles in length; while in the country
west Of the Allegheny mountains, the
| people had just begun to build rs1l-
roads. No one then dreamed of such
other; and these indisputable facts
serve to show why it was that the
nineteenth section of the North Caro-
lima railroad charter uses the phrase
"farm out" their right of transporta.
tion, and farm it out to persons" and
not to a company. The word lease
was far from their thoughts. The
right to farm out is clearly given in
terms implying that it might be in "a
vor Of more than one person; and thii
farming out the right to transport
goods, wares and merchandise to NOR.
than one farmer, is wholly incOnsist
ent with the idea of lease of the en-
tire road, to one party, who is to taxi
complete control of the road and op
crate it. 1t is a fact not to be los
sight of, that the charter confers NJ
right to farm out" the privilege 0
transporting passengers. What is t.
become of the travelling public, undo
lease rigidly restricted to the lette
of the charter, in this particular?
! Another feature of this nineteenth
section is equally inconsistent wit
the assumption that it conveys powe
, to lease the entire road, and the con
, troll of it, to another company. For
is provided that-"the said compan
and every person who may have re
ceived from them the right of trans
portation of goods, wares and produc'
shall be deemed and taken to be
common carrier, as respects all good
t wares, produce entrusted to them fo
/ transportation"
Y This clause demonstrates that til
u North Carolina Railroad, notwitl
. standing it might have farmed out til
= right of transportation to any numbt
of persons, was still held by the cha
ter as the responsible operator of tt
road, and was still to be held respol
Is sible, along with its numerous farm
l. ers, as a common carrier.
g Now this is not the case under
n valid lease. The leasor ceases to be
common carrier, when he parts, legit
mately with all control over the rOa
d and responsibility for operating it.
o 1t is uncomfortable that a court
% justice would give sanction to the va
20 idity of this lease under the authori'
n conferred upon the North Caroli1
% Railroad Company to farm out tt
right of transporting goods, ware
% produce and merchandise, by the min
W teenth section Of the charter.
1t But there is another section of t.
!, charter which the parties to this lea
- entirely overlooked. The gentlem
seem not to be aware that the chart
of the North Carolina Railroad pr
vided for rebuilding or recOnstructil
81 the Raleigh & CASTOR Railroad, viii
to had fallen into decay and decrep
Il tude. That road was built during t
years 1886, '37, '3S and '39. 1t reach
&c Raleigh in the latter year. But t
If years of use we're sufficient to we
-, out the bar iron which was plac
upon wooden stills, as the track
which the cars ran. Soon the bs
would break, the rivets that held tn,
iii to the wooden stills would fall out, t
ends of the bar iron would curl
and wheel would sometimes run I
~. der the ends and force them up il
the cars. These broken bars of ir,
Gu when curled up in this way, and f
Oh ced through the bottom of the car
n the wheels, were called "snake head
-or and passengers were sometimes xii
by them. The evil dragged on
70 some years until at length it beca
in uncomfortable, when provision v
made for recOnstructing the road,
tv above stated, by certain clauses of
~ charter of the North Carolina r.
ne road. A new company was form
de, and organized, and the old roadv
ON fitted up with strong 7 or U ir
or And here was the motive VIII
prompted the parties interested
Vi have it rebuilt. under the auspices
,ad the North Carolina Railroad. Sect
hat 81 of the charter of the latter r
+h reads as follows:
In "Sec. 50. Be it enacted, That as S,
rec as the North Carolina Railroad is C
md menced, and the superstructure Of
lir- same laid down at Raleigh, the O,
o;- ers, proprietors, and authorities of
Raleigh and CASTOR Railroad shall
ina and they are hereby authorized
nn- empowered to effect junction
the form an actual connection with
900 said North Carolina Railroad at 8
wv v,O Mt of ho VIZ % ID