The San Francisco call., 1898-02-13
. The Opinion Sets at Rest Sew eral Points of the Highest
 Importance.
:" Able Discussion of a Vexed Question
 Which Will Act as Precedent

Richmond Times on February 2.
 The full text of the opinion is as fol- lows:
 City of Richmond, appellant vs South ern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Com Pany, appellee: Appeal from the Circuit ern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Argued November 12 1S97 Decided Feb ruary ], 1898. Before Simonton, Circuit Judge. and Brawley and Purnell, District Judges.
 Charles V. Meredith for appellant; Hill Carter of Leake & Carter and A. L. Hol- ladd;ay of Stiles & Holladay for appellee
 Simonton, Circuit Judges.
 This case comes up on appeal from the decree of the Circuit Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Vir- ginia.
 The complainant Is a corporation or ganized under the laws of the State of New York as a telephone and telegraph company. It is engaged in the business or a telephone company and of construct ing and operating telephone lines in and through the States of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina. Georgia, Alabama and Florida It has maintained and operated for several years all the apparatus necessary for transmitting telephone messages in the city of Richmond. Va, and has erected and maintained along certain streets and alleys of said city numerous poles and wires for this purpose.
 The complainant company was incor- porated on the 11th of December, 1879 In
 1884 it applied to the city of Richmond
 for authority to erect its poles and run its wires along the streets and alleys or
 said city, and by an ordinance passed June q, 1884, this permission was granted
 to such routes as may be specified and
 agreed on by resolution or resolutions of
 the Committee. on Streets from time to
 time, and on the conditions and provi-
 Sions of the ordinance. These conditions
 and provisions are: That on any route
 conceded by the Committee on Streets
 and accepted by the company the poles
 should be so placed by the company un- der the direction of the City Engineer IS to allow for the use of said poles by the
 fire alarm and police telegraph, in all cases giving the choice of position to the city's wires. To furnish telephone serv- ice to the city at a special reduction of S10 per year for each station. No shade trees to be disturbed. cut or damaged without permission of the City Engineer and the consent of the owners of the property in front of which the trees stand. All this work to be in every re- spect subject to the supervision and con trol of the City Engineer. The ordinance to be subject at any time to repeal, such repeal to go into effect twelve months after the passage of the repeating ordi- nance.
 On the 18th of February, 1889, the South ern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Com pany, the complainant, accepted without reservation all of the restrictions and ob ligations of the act of Congress, ap- proved July g. 1866, entitled An act to aid in the construction of telegraph lines and to secure to the Government the use of the same for postal, military and other purposes
 And thereupon, on February IS, 1889, the Postmaster-General certned that this acceptance was on file in the Postoffice Department. This act Of Congress is in these words:
 Section 5263. Any telegraph company now organized. or which may hereafter by organ ized under the laws Of any state shall have lines of telegraph through and over any por- tion Of the public domain of the United States, over and along any Of the military or post roads of the United States, which have been may hereafter be declared such by law, and over. under or across the navigable streams or waters of the United States; but such lines Of telegraph shall be constructed and main taned as not to obstruct the navigation of such streams and waters, or interfere with the ordinary travel on such military or post roads.
 Section 5268. Before any telegraph company shall exercise any Of the powers or privileges conferred by law such company shall file their written acceptance with the Postmaster General of the restrictions and obligations re- quired by law.
 THE ORDINANCE.
 On December 14, 1894, the City Council of Richmond repealed the ordinance of June 26 1884. granting these privileges to the Southern Bell Telephone and Tele- graph Company, to take effect twelve months after Its approval And Septem, another ordinance as to the joint use o1 poles erected in the streets and alleys of the city of Richmond, for the support of wires used in connection with the transmission of electricity.
 The first section of this ordinance pro- videS that all poles now erected in the streets or alleys of the city of Rich mond for electric wires, except such as support wires required by city ordinances to be removed and run in conduits, shall thereafter be allowed to remain only terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
 The second section provides that no pole now erected for the support of tele- phone wires shall remair. on any street in said city after December 15' is95. ,ln less the owner or user of such pole shall first have petitioned for and obtained the privilege of erecting and maintain ing poles for telephone purposes in ac- cordance with the conditions of this. or dinance and such others as Council may see fit to impose. If such owner fail to lect to remove the poles and restore the street to its former condition, he shall be liable to a fine not more than $500 l and not less than $100 for every pole so | remaining. Each days failure to be | offense. Then follows a num- | Der of sections imposing most stringent l within the control of the city and its | officers, reserving the right in the City | Council at any time to put other restric- tions and regulations as to the erection and use of such poles, and from time to time require the removal of them and the wires to be run in conduits. On september u, 1oy5, another ordinance was passed requiring the removal of poles and wires from overhead in certain streets and for the construction and us- ng conduits in certain streets. This or dinance was enforceable under heavy penalties, with the provision also that any company getting the privilege Of putting. in these conduits, must make them 10 per cent larger than is needed for their use, so that the city might 1 'un it's wires free in such conduits and my other company may use them for m agreed compensation, or one to be iXed by arbitrators.
 Threats having been made to carry rdinances into effect, the complainant lied its bill praying an injunction It ests its right to use the streets and al- eys of the city of Richmond for the pur- Doses of it's business under article l. sec ion 8, of the constitution of the United States and the act of Congress of 1S6o, md denies that in such case it can be prevented or controlled or be in any way dependent upon an ordinance or ny ordinances of the City Council.
 The prayer for an injunction is in these worlds:
 That said city and all others, it's agents and nployes, may be restrained and enjoined from emoving interfering with its poles and fires In said city, and from interfering with ne right of your orator to use said poles and 'ires. and that all proceedings by said city us agents and all others to prevent your ator from continuing. renewing, repairing inc Ifv.oo .ts1 -g1< |