The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-05-22

ch nave the Right to Follow
Fost Routes, and Every Mail Car.
rter's Path Is Held to BE Post
Route in Judge Amidon,s Order.
Under an injunctional order issuad
out of the United States court at Min
neapolls, Judge Amidon presiding, the
long distance telephone company may
come into st. Paul when it will with
OUT regard to the city council Under
the law, as construed the telephone
company Is a telegraph company and.
Dy acceptance of the provisions of q
Ieoerai statute of 1866, is privileged to
use all streets and highways that may
be defined as post roads
incidentally 1T may be said that all
streets OF a city within the limits OF
the free delivery system Of a postoffice
are post roads
SO there is nothing to interfere with
the long distance telephone coming into
st. Paul. 1t Is said that the telephone
company does not intend to take pres
ent advantage of the ruling and the
meter will probably go above the pres
ent court
The case decided in MINNEAPOLIS
grew out Of the opposition of the city
to the erection of poles by the North
western Telephone Exchange company.
1t appears from the facts submitted
that the telephone company was IL
censed by the city engineer to erect GER
tam poles on Lake street. When the
work Of erecting the poles had been
gotten under way the city engineer was
notified that the alderman from the
Eighth ward didn't want those poles
erected. The engineer revoked the Ii
cense granted and the company asked
for an injunction restraining the city
from interfering with the work that
was being done. The position of the
company was on the broad ground OF
the protection guaranteed by the
statatteh granting the use of post roads
to- Telegraph companies accepting the
statute Of 1866.
The company was represented by r.
d. O'Briep, of st. Paul, and D. F. Nor
gan. The case was interesting from
its far reaching effects, If sustained.
When the federal congress recognized
the necessity for extending the juris-
diction of the national government over
post roads a provision was made by
statute to recognize the telegraph as
an amplifcation of the means. of COM
munication by post and provision was
made for the recognition of the right of
telegraph companies that accepted the
statute, to use the post roads for the
erection of polls. The statute reserved
to the government the right to take
possession of the equipment of the tele-
graph companies at any time and NAV
even buy the plants of a company after
arbitration as to the price.
The rights assumed by the govern
ment over the telegraph applies to tel
ephone systems, as the latter has been
held by the courts to be practically
the same in construction as telegraph
In return for the acceptance of the
statute, the telegraph and telephone
companies are guaranteed the right of
way over post roads of every descrip-
ton, and, as all streets in cities of the
size of st. Paul are post roads, the
right of the telephone company which
has accepted the statute of 1866, as in
the case of the Northwestern COM
pany, is practically absolute. The mu-
nicipality in which the post roads exist
have certain police jurisdiction, and
may prohibit the use of streets when
the erection of poles would be any
menace to property or other interests,
but the rights Of the companies are
very large. 4
In the case of the city of Richmond,
Va, the Bell Telephone company was
given franchise revocable at the will
of the city. After the company Sc
cured the franchise, it accepted the
statute of 1866. In the course of a few
years, the city attempted to revoke the
pany to remove its poles from the
streets. The company stood on the
protection afforded by the federal stat
ute, and the city found itself unable
to get rid of the company.
On the other hand. when the city of
New York desired to have the wires
of the telephone and telegraph COM
panies put under ground and the COM
panies attempted to get under the cover
of the federal guarantee. the federal
courts held that the police power of the
municipality was properly invoked to
secure the removal of the overhead
wires 4,
A gentleman who is in a position to
speak with authority on the matter
said yesterday that there was appar-
emily no legal objection to the building
of poles on post roads. and that the
long distance telephone companies
could come into the city when it
pleased-this assuming that the decis-
ion would stand. He said, however,
that he did not understand that the
Northwestern company had any inten-
ton of action on the decision at pres
ent