The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-05-01

Jury Finds it Practicable and Reason
able For Road to Run Extra Train
From Rocky Mount to SeIma---Says
Cost Would be $40 Daily and Re.
venue $25.

Cost Would be $40 Daily and Re-
venue $25.
Twelve men of Wake county yes
terday sustained the order of the COR
poratiOn Commission requiring the Il
lantic Coast Line to run train from
Rocky Mount to Selma in time tn con-
meet with the Southern Railway train
at $50 in the afternoon.
There remains now the judgment
of the court to be rendered by Juose
George H. Brown, and then il ali Ike
lihood the case will be carried to the
Supreme Court on appeal.
The case went to the jury at ten
minutes past one o'clock, and two
hours later the verdict was announced.
In the meantime the jurors had to
dine, so that the verdict was a very
quick one. The minds of the twelve
men must have been made up before
they went out.
Here is the way the jury answered
the eight issues submitted by Judge
Brown:
1. Is it practicable for train No.
SO of the Atlantic Coast Line Rail-
road, due to arrive at Selma at $50
p. M. to make connection at Selma
with train No. 1875, westbound. of the
Southern Railway, due to leave Selma
at 2:25 p. m.
Answer: No.
,. Is it practicable to make said
connection by extending the run of the
Plymouth train daily from Plymouth
to Selma and return? And if so what
would be the additional expense?
Answer: No.
B. Is it practicable to make said
connection by the use of the Spring
Hope train, and if so what would be
the additional expense?
Answer: No.
4. In order to make such connec-
ton would defendant company have
to run an additional train on its main
line from Rocky Mount to Selmae
Answer: Yes.
). Is it practicable for said train
to safely run the schedule prescribed
in plaintiffs order, having due regard
to the number of trains, and number
of stops on. defendants main line
from Rocky Mount to Selma?
Answer: Yes.
6. What would be the daily cost of
operating such train from Rocky
Mount to Selma and return?
Answer: $40.
Z. What would be the probable daily
receipts from such train?
Answer: s25.
8. Is it reasonable and proper that,
for convenience of the travelling pub
lie, the defendant company should be
required to make such connection?
Answer: Yes.
1t is understood that tomorrow
Judge Brown will hear argument on
the legal question as to the power
of the Corporation Commission, before
giving his judgment in the case.
Solicitor Jones.
Solicitor Armistead Jones addressed
the jury at nine o'clock yesterday
morning for the Atlantic Coast Line
Railroad. He declared that Mr.. Bus
bee had defended the Southern Rail-
way from the time he got up till he
sat down. Mr.. Busbee had all his life
been connected with corporations.
Mr. Jones then read the letter from
the Southern Railway to the Corpora
ton Commission, announcing it's
change of schedule SO as to leave
Goldsboro half hour earlier. The
Commission wrote to the Coast Line,
telling them that the schedule of the
Southern had been changed, and they
must make the CONGESTION.
Mr.. Busbee had very unfair
when he comp smiths valua-
G,U
Mr.. Kenly'S statement. He knew that
$1,000 was the average of $50 en-
gines on the line, of all classes and
makes. AS a matter of fact, the tax
returns usually represented about
one-half of the total cost of railroad
property. Mr.. Jones said. if it had
been in order, he would have asked
the court to strike out the name of
the Corporation Commission as plain
Il # 4.
ern Railway in it's place.
Mr. Jones started to refer to Mr..
Busbee's connection with the suit re-
garding alleged generalization of
property in the city of Raleigh but
Col. Argo objected that nothing of
that kind was in evidence Mr.. Jones
then proceeded DIT length to dwell
upon the changing of the schedule by
the Southern Railway and the Corpo-
ration Commission allowing them to
\ do SO. Why was all this?
The law requires a railroad to run
one train a day. The Coast Line has
four trains a day through Selma each
way. They had asked if coupon tick
cts were on sale at Pactolus, which
was about the size of Grindool that
Mr.. Pou had described as CONSISTING.
of depot and a pile of saw-dust.
They had argued that $500 of the
passengers that used the Coast Line
went through the East. and therefore
went through Selma, whereas there
were three or four other ways they
might travel, so only a small part of
that $500 went through Selma.
The testimony was then taken up
and reviewed by Mr.. Jones. OF
course old gentlemen like General
Cox and Judge Philips could not get
up before day in the morning. But
the best known engineers in the State,
Dave King, Walter Horton. Tom Nc
MILAN. d. *. Wright, all testified
that the train could not be run with
safety. Mr.. Woodard'S great COM
plant was that a few school children
were Inconvenience Il little. Which
was better, to inconvenience few
school children little bit, or to dis
turb that tremendous trucking interest
of the section? No complaint came
from any one of the Atlantic Coas'