Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-04-19
MAJORITY VOTE NECESSARY
Three Members Of Normal Board Cannot
Transact Business
SUPREME COURT HANDS DOWN OPINION
Railroads Held Responsible for Loss
of Goods fn Flood where Previous
Delay I'm shipment Allowed
Them GO he Caught.

(From a stan Correspondent
LINCOLN, April lS-(special) AT the
request Of superintendent McBrlen and
Chairman Ludden Of the State Normal
board, Attorney General Brown has made
a ruling on the question whether It takes
a majority Of the Normal board TO trans
act business or three members out Of
majority. The attorney general ruled 1t
required a majority vote Of the board
members TO carry motion or 20 transact
business. At a recent board meeting at
which there we're FIVE Of the seven mem-
berB present three members voted in ia
vor OF a motion and Budden ruled It had
been carried. McBrien objected and he
and Ludden both appealed 10 the legal
department, which upheld McBrien's con-
tention The attorney general said the
statutes specified that II required a ma
jority Of the members Of the board to
carry a motion. and therefore there was
no doubt in the matter. He also quoted
numerous court decisions to substantiste
his opinion.
Better Juries Result.
County Attorney slabaugh Of Omaha,
who is here attending supreme court, is
getting some satisfaction out Of the Pat
Grove verdict.
THE result Of that verdict will be bet
ter jures," said Judge slabaugh. Il have
received letters from many lawyers and
Judges in various parts Of the country,
and they tell me that hereafter more care
will be used in selecting juries and here
after business men called for jury ser
vice will not be excused as they have been
in the past with little or no excuse.
THE verdict will have a moral effect
hon h
Omaha will and has suffered because Of
the action Of that jury, it takes Just such
action to awaken the people. We have
long needed better juries and more re-
sponsible men on juries. but it has taken
Pat Grove verdict to bring about the
change from the old professional jury
man.
The verdict astounded the whole coun-
try, because the evidence warranted con-
viction. The jury paid no attention
to the evidence and freed the man, but
It has called attention to the average jury
as nothing else could have done and 1t
will result in the long run in a revolution
in the personnel of juries"
Common Carriers Responsible.
The supreme court has decided that a
common carrier is responsible for injury to
goods where the goods were exposed to
injury by the carriers inexcusable deten-
ton, and the carrier cannot in such case
plead the act of God as a defense. The
decision is in the case of Martin r. Sharp
against the Wabash Railroad company.
judgment was given by the lower court in
favor of the plaintiff for $s65, the value of
household goods destroyed in the great
flood at Kansas City, May 81, 1908. The
goods comprised household furniture
shipped from Lafayette, Ind, to Lincoln.
Shipment was delayed at Hannibal, Mo-,
twenty-four hours for rebilling and were
delivered to the Missouri Pacific Railroad
company and were held in the yards at
Kansas City by the latter company, where
they were practically destroyed by flood.
The general rule as stated by the court is
that a common carrier insures goods for
their safe delivery to the consignee against
loss or injury whatever cause arising. ex-
cepting only the act of God or the public
enemy.
Ruling on Road Crossings.
In the case OF the Missouri Pacific Rail
road company against Cass county the SUI
preme court has decided that under sec
ton 10, chapter lxxvili Of the compiled
statutes IL is the duty of railroad com
pany to make and keep in repair suitable
crossings with approaches, notwithstand-
ing the highway was laid out after the
railroad was built. The public authorities
are required to build that part Of the
highway within the right-of-way which
they would have been required to make
had the railroad not been constructed. I'm
der the provisions Of the statutes rail-
road company cannot recover damages from
a county for the cost OF putting In cattle
guards, erecting signposts, building wing
fences, planking the track and construct
ing the necessary approaches at a public
crossing Compensatory damages should be
allowed for the land taken from the right
of-way for a public road. Where, in max
ing the proper approaches to the railroad
track II is necessary to grade through al
or nearly all the width OF the right-of-way
ON either side of the track the railroad
company should be allowed such sum foI
damages as the county would have beer
compelled to expend in grading the public
road had the railroad never been built,
MiIIerA Must Build Bridges.
Nuckolls county has won it's suit
against Guthrie Co. millers OF Superior