McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1913-12-05

coiiVWing - IN substance Attorney
General Frank M. Thompson's opinion
to the Tennessee railroad commission in
regard to the establishment of stations
along the lines of railroads.
I'm your letter you say that the depot
at Horn, Springs has been recently de-
stroyed by fire and that the railroad
had applied for permission to change the
location of the depot by abolishing the
two stations at Horn Springs and Ham.
ilton Springs, and the building of new
station half way between the two and
that the proprietor of Horn Springs had
filed his petition to rehear the order so
establishing said new depot.
"The following propositions of law
seem to be pretty well established:
"At common law it is the general rulc
that railroad companies have power and
discretion, generally, to determine the
location of their stations.
When railroads have exercised this
discretion, in the absence of any statutes
or contract, courts have no power to re-
quire railroad companies to establish sta,
tions at particular places or to con-
struct what they, the courts, may deem
to be necessary buildings for the pro-
lection of passengers and freight.
1.-THE power conferred upon the Ten
nessee commission with respect to depots
is to be found in the second section Of
Chapter 500 of the Acts of 1907, which
is as follows:
"'The duties hereby vested in the rail-
road commission of Tennessee, and it IS
hereby made its duty, to require the To-
cation Of such depots and the establish
ment of such freight and passenger
buildings as the conditions of the road,
safety of freight and public comfort may
require
in compliance with these four rules
of the commission, which are to be
found on page 1879 of its Annual Report
for 1911-12, were promulgated.
"By the second rule each and every
depot, station, office and agency main
tanned at that time, or used by any rail-
road doing business in Tennessee, is
hereby formally established and located
at the point and on the premises where
the same is now being maintained and
conducted. And no depot or station es-
tablished by said rules shall be closed,
removed, suspended, discontinued or
abolished without authority granted by
the commission upon written application.
"In other words, it is my opinion that
if upon a hearing it be shown that the
public convenience and welfare required
that these two stations be abolished and
that a new station half way between the
two be created that with all other
things out of the way, and by which I
mean if no private rights intervene, then
the commission would have the author
ity to discontinue both stations and es-
tablish new station.
ut is furthermore my opinion, how
ever, that if either of the owners of these
springs, or if both of the owners of
these springs had contract or contracts
with this railroad company for the 10
cation of either or both of these depots
where they now are, and that the same
was in consequence of such contract To-
Gated where they now exist, and such
owners, by virtue of such location &C
quired property rights which would be
affected or destroyed by removal of
the depots and the location of a new
depot half way between the two, that
then the commission would not have the
power to discontinue the two stations
and to create the new one.
"Of course, if no harm resulted to
either or both of the owners of these
springs, and there is no loss of business
to either of them, and no damage to
their respective properties by the change,
then, of course, the railroad commission.
or the railroad company itself, wcnld
have the right to make Tie change un-
der the provisions of the act and the
law"