The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1909-06-17
TRACkAGE ARRANGEMENT CASE
Third Civil Appeals Court Passes on
Waxahachie- Dallas Matter.

day upheld the trackage agreement
whereby the Trinity and Brazos Val
! ley uses the Missouri. Kansas and
| Texas tracks from WaXahachie to
/ Dallas. The effect of the decision is
to sustain all joint trackage arrange
ments in Texas, because the initial
service, that is. by the line owning
| the rails is not diminished by the
use of the rails by another company.
The intermediate towns receive eX-
actly the same service as if the sec
.ond company was not operating over
the line.
According to the contract in ques-
ton the Trinity and Brazos Valley
was to operate its trains between
Waxahachie and Dallas, but do no
local freight or passenger business,
stopping only to take water or pass
trains An intermediate town COM
planned, and the commission order
ed the Trinity and Brazos Valley to
engage in local business, in violation
of its contract with the Missouri,
so and this litigation ensued. The
trial court sustained the railroads,
deciding against the commission,
which judgment is affirmed by the
higher court The commission or
der was made on Nov. -, 1907.
The court finds that the only
rights acquired by the Valley were
those allowed under contract, and
that a court can not remodel or
change a contract, the changes
would not be acceptable to the con-
tracing parties. The terms of the
contract must be binding or the con-
tract condemned as Illegal and held
for naueht. The legality of the con-
tract arising, the court says il must
be accepted as legal in this case be-
cause, if not, the commission had no
right to make any order whatsoever
predicated upon the contract, and if
the contract is held Illegal, this
would end the right of the commits
sion to make any order based there
on.
The opinion is by Associate JUS
tice Rice. and is quite lengthy, go
ing into the details deliberately. He
quotes the case of the Union Pacific
Tvs Chicago, Rock Island and Pacif-
ic railway company tl63 L. S, 364)
where the court sustained Joint
trackage arrangement, the Union
Pacific using the Rock Islands line
from Omaha TO Lincoln forty-five
miles, Judge Rice quotes with APP
: proval. as indicating the views of the
commerce commission in Afford VS..
} Railway tThird Commission Reports
i519). The Rock Island used the I'm
ion Pacific tracks from Kansas City
to Colorado Springs, refusing to stop
at Intern ediate towns including
Lawrence, with 10000 inhabitants,
where Afford had his business. 1t
was found that the service given in
: termediate towns by the Union Pa
cific had not deteriorated and they
, Joint agreement had never been
made.
: Judge Rice makes the same appli-
cation to the Texas situation, finding
that the distance between Dallas and
5 Waxahachie was much less than that
t between Kansas City and Colorado
were on the Texas track, and that
? service given by the Katy is eXcep-
tionally good between Waxahachie
t and Dallas, serving all intermediate
! towns Because of these findings the
= court concludes that the commission
could not impair the contract ano
2 that ii was without authority to en-
| large or add provisions to the con
= tract. and. therefore, without power
to make the order directing the
= Trinity and Brazos Valley to stop its
= trans al lnleTUleu1dtt polHtS vi INK
r Joint track.
The court affirmed the case of the
= Pecos and Northern Texas Railway
Y company VS. Railway Commission OF
e Texas. holding that the commission
e was right in its order to said road tc
t establish and maintain a passenger
..xl, ,tnt ut Va Il
: mer county, Tex, Just across the line
y from Texico, N. NJ. station. The
t court follows the decision OF the
/ Isupreme court in the Texahoma cast
: adding that the Farwef~ease is ever
: lstronger. because the latter place il
. a county seat In addition to belnt
: the terminus and starting place o
. the railroad