Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-07-12

A consideration of the rights Of
passenger on a railroad. to the enc
that has rights may be clearly define
ated, demands first an understanding o.
what a passenger really Is from TIT
legal point of view.
= While it is not necessary to depend
either on haphazard guesses or mere
speculation, 1t Is extremely difficult tc
discover q consistent authoritative
definition of the term passenger"
In one state a court will define the
word with a shade Of meaning that II
contradicted by court Of neighbor'
ing state. In a few essential things
however, the courts seem to agree.
Up to 1909 no fewer than So vol
umes Of railroad cases had been col
lected, compiled, indexed and digestet
by law reporters. These, OF course
represent but a small fraction Of rail-
road litigation, for they are only those
cases which have ben carried to
final decision.
Estimated roughly, these So volumes
contain 10000 cases, covering abstrusf
variations on every conceivable issue
that can arise between a railroad ant
its patrons. Some knowledge Of these
issues Is necessary to an understand
ing of the prerogatives OF d passenger
The lay mind will encounter much
that Is bewildering, for, unfortunately
there Is a diversity Of contradictory
opinions handed down by the different
courts Of the various states. 1t Is de.
plorable that on some issues there
seems to be no clearly defined law, ant
this renders 1t possible to so garble the
issue that tiresome protracted litiga'
tion often results.
A suit against a -ailroad, like any
other suit, rests largely in the hand:
of counsel, and often resolves itself in
to nothing more than a battle Of lega
wits, with the real issue thrust into
the background.
Waving the many uncertainties. ar
accepted legal definition Of a passen'
ger at present Is: "A person whom 6
railway, in the performance Of Its
duty as a common carrier, has con-
tracted to carry from one place to an.
other for a valuable consideration, ol
whom the railway, in the course Of the
performance Of that contract, has re-
ceived at it's station or in its car OF
under its care"
This seems to be simple, lucid ano
comprehensive; but 1t is surprising how
many exceptions can be made to sc
plain a proposition. or how much 1t has
been necessary to amplify the obvious
For example, the supreme court OF
Pennsylvania has laid down the die
tum that every person In a passenger
car Is, prima facie. presumed to be
there lawfully as a passenger, having
paid. or being liable. when called upon
to pay his fare; and the onus is upon
the carrier to prove affirmatively that
such person is a trespasser."
The Georgia supreme court has said
that one who has a railroad ticket and
is present to take a train at the ordi-
nary point Of departure as passen-
ger although he has not yet entered
the cars.
The supreme court Of New York has
gone still further, holding that neither
the actual payment Of fare nor entry
into the cars upon a railroad is neces-
sary to create the relation of carrier
and passenger. To be within the wait
ing room of the company, awaiting a
train, renders one a passenger as ef-
fectually as II he were within the body
Of the car.
AS a matter of fact and law. one need
not either be In a train or a waiting
room to be a passenger. The courts In
several states have often held that the
relation of carrier and passenger does
not cease until the journey, express
ly or impliedly contracted has been
concluded. It does not terminate when
the passenger has alighted from the
train, but only after he has left the
company's premises.
This point Is illustrated in the case
of a Kentucky woman who bought a
ticket from Louisville to Shepherds
vile.
On reaching her destination she was
obliged to alight in a violent rain and
hail storm. She could not pass to the
waiting room, because a long freight
train stood on the track between her
", tho r1o form
She was obliged to stand in the rain
for ten minutes. When she finally
reached the waiting room she was
drenched and her clothing was soiled
She sued for damages and received
them. The supreme court ruled that
she was still a passenger. Though she
was no longer on the train, she was un-
able to leave the premises through the
fault Of the railroad company.
An Illinois stockman, taking a car
of sheep from Nilwood to Chicago, left
the caboose at Bloomington, a division
point, to obtain lunch. While walking
through the yards in the darkness in
company with some other stockmen he
was SlIuCh ny d pdSSSHSel II dhi, diiu
one of his legs was amputated. The
supreme court of Illinois ruled that he
was a passenger and entitled to dam
ages as such.
If a man should leave the car and
clean the headlight of the locomotive
at the request Of the fireman and is
injured while doing so, he does not lose
his character Of passenger. He Is en-
titled to damages, as a certain railroad
learned to it's sorrow when the matter
was carried to the highest court of
Alabama.
On the other hand a man who has
actually purchased a ticket and is in
the waiting room of a railroad may not
be a passenger. A citizen of Massa-
chusetts who had bought his ticket, but
had missed his train, fingered in the
station, waiting for a street car on
which to return home.
Shortly afterward a locomotive
crashed through the wall of the wait
ing room and he was injured. He sued
for damages, but the courts decided
thot ha voS nnf no cSapOar haoanca