Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-05-09
CANNOT COLLECT FOR PASS
lows Court Lays Down Rule in Damage
Suit from Carroll.
RAILROAD COMPANY LIABLE FOR BAGGAGE
EmpiOye of Railroad Company At
tackled ny TrRmps and Beaten
So Severely He May Die
Trampa Under Arrest.
Crrom a star correspondentl

From Stan Correspondent
DIES MONIES, May S-[Special.)-A man
riding on a pass who brings suit for dam
ages. cannot collect for his passenger fare,
according to a decision OF the supreme court
today.
Ben L. Sallinger of Carroll county was in
Milwaukee and telegraphed to a Carroll
friend asking how soon he had to be back in
Carroll to attend court. The friend wired him
to be back by Wednesday noon, but the
Western Union failed 10 deliver the mes
sage. Failing to get a message Sallinger
claims to have come home two days earlier
than necessary, thus leaving business UNI
completed in Milwaukee and Chicago, and
he brought suit against the Western Union
to recover damages. including his expenses
of travel. In the district court trial he
was asked II he did not in fact, ride ON a
pass. and the lower court held that he did
not have TO answer the question The SUI
pteme court says that he must answer
the question. and a man is entitled to col
lect what expenses he incurred and not
what expense he might have incurred.
The court in it's opinion says: ''If plain
tin rode on a pass and paid nothing what
ever for railroad transportation, he is not
entitled to recover from this defendant
what another person would have had to
pay who was not so fortunate as to have a
railroad pass In short, plaintiff was not
entitled to speculate on the defendant and
charge up expenses which he did not in
fact incur. A fundamental rule as to the
recovery Of compensatory damages is that
such recovery is limited to reimbursement
for actual expenses"
The court further holds that IL a man
chooses to ride in day coach all night
he cannot collect for sleeping car berth.
Draft Money Preferred.
! In a case involving the failure of the
| Bank Of DIN the supreme court today holds
mat money paid to bank for a draft and
money paid on a note is preferred and must
be paid in full. In the case decided Frank
w. whitcomb bought $3.50 draft on a
! Chicago bank when the Bank of DIN had
no funds on deposit there and the payment
| of the draft was refused He also paid S175
on a note to the bank that the bank had
sold to a third party. The bank failed to
! turn the money over to the third party,
! however. A few days later the Bank of
! Olin failed and went into the hands of an
assignee. whitcomb brought suit to have
his claim declared preferred and paid in
| full The lower court decided against him
and the supreme court reverses this
vaIuables in baggage.
| The supreme court In the case OF w.
Bergstrom against the Rock Island railway
today held that when a railroad receives
through its baggage agent a trunk con!
! tanning other than clothing and the agent
is so informed It IL liable for the damages
II the trunk is lost. Bergstrom bought a
ticket from Cedar Rapids to st. Paul and
checked his baggage, paying excess. One
trunk containing an oriental seal 1900 years
old, some art embroidery of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries and other valuables
of a total value OF nearly $1,000 The dis
trict court allowed damages for about one
| tenth. The railroad appealed on the ground
that II was not legitimate clothing. The
supreme court holds that there is no law
against a railroad receiving baggage other
than clothing and that II 1t did receive It
the road is liable.
Memorial University Objects.
Memorial university at Mason City has
| objected to being merged into the new
Baptist college that It is proposed to form
out OF the Des Moines college of this city,
Central university of Pella and such others
as can be induced to join. The efforts of
the Baptist denomination Of the state is to
secure the formation of one strong Baptist
college in the state committee Of the
state association is now working on the
! problem of selecting a suitable location.
| Assurances from the east of support has
decided Memorial university to have moth
| ing to do with the merger
Fort Dodge Gets VIaduct.
By an agreement between the city and
the railroads viaduct is to be built in
Fort Dodge over the Illinois Central and
Minneapolis & 81. Louis tracks.
Rate Hearing Postponed.
The railroad commission today convened
for the purpose of taking up the question
of arranging Joint rate schedule. Quite
a number of railroad men and shippers
were present The commission briefly out
lined its plan for beginning the work and
then adjourned till May %. at which time
1t will begin the hearing of witnesses on the
rates.
Des MOines Wants Rates.
Trafhc men OF the railroads crossing
Iowa are today in conference with business
men and members Of the booster commit
tee OF Des Moines in an endeavor on the
part OF the booster committee to induce
the railroads to change some OF their in
terstate freight schedules
Railroad Man ia Attacked.
Jerry Libby. car inspector IN the en-
ploy of the Rock Island railroad at Valley
Juhcuoh' may ole as the result OF an as
sault of tramps in the yards at Valley
Junction. Libby. in company with other
railroad men. ordered a gang OF tramps
TO leave the yards. Instead OF leaving they
attacked the railroad men and Libby was
quite severely injured. and there are fears
that he may not recover. Railroad men
boarded a switch engine and gave chase
TO the tramps and captured them and
brought them back TO Valley Junction
where they were lodged In Jail.
Not 20 Hear Mcmillan.
Liston Mcmillan Of Oskaloosa will not
be given a hearing before the Grant club.
Mcmillan has started a boom for Foraker
In Iowa and he requested an Invitation