Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/204/364.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 23:12:04+00:00

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[204 U.S. 364, 365] This is a proceeding in the nature of a criminal information in the district court of the United States for the western district of Pennsylvania against the Union Bridge Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania, owning and controlling a bridge across the Allegheny river near where it joins the Monongahela river to form the Ohio river,-the Allegheny river being a navigable waterway of the United States, having its source in New York and being navigable in both New York and Pennsylvania.
Stating the matter generally, the Secretary of War found the bridge to be an unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the Allegheny river, and required the Bridge Company to make certain changes or alterations in order that navigation be rendered reasonably free, easy, and unobstructed. These alterations, it was charged, the company wilfully failed [204 U.S. 364, 366] and refused to make. Hence the present information against it. There was a verdict of guilty, followed by a motion in arrest of judgment, which motion being overruled, the company was sentenced to pay a fine of $5,000. To review that order this writ of error is prosecuted.
Legislation similar in its general character can be found in river and harbor acts passed at previous sessions of Congress. Act of 1884 (23 Stat. at L. 133, 148, chap. 229, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 3532); act of April 11th, 1888 (25 Stat. at L. 400, 424, 425, chap. 860, 9, 10); and act of September 19th, 1890 (26 Stat. at L. 426, 453, chap. 907, 4, 5). Finally, we have the act of March 23d, 1906 (34 Stat. at L. 84, chap. 1130 , 4, 5), which covers the same ground as the act of 1899 under which the present information was filed.
The bridge was constructed in 1874 and 1875, and has been in use since 1875.
The matter was referred by the Secretary of War to the proper officers of the Engineer Corps of the Army for examination and report. Such examination was had upon notice to the Bridge Company, and, under date of December 8th, 1902, Capt. Sibert, cap tain of engineers, who conducted the examination, reported and recommended to the Chief of En- [204 U.S. 364, 369] gineers that the company be given notice to make certain alterations in its bridge.
At the request of the Bridge Company, the time fixed by Secretary Root for altering, changing, and elevating the bridge was extended by his successor, Secretary Taft, to December 1st, 1904. By order of the latter officer the time was extended to January 1st, 1905.
Messrs. D. T. Watson, Johns McCleave, John S. Wendt, and W. B. Rodgers for plaintiff in error.
The first principal question raised by the defendant is whether the 18th section of the river and harbor act of March 3d, 1899, is in violation of the Constitution of the United States as delegating legislative and judicial powers [204 U.S. 364, 378] to the head of an executive department of the government. This question, the government contends, has been determined in its favor by the principles heretofore announced by this court, and need not be discussed as if now presented for the first time. In its judicial as well as legal aspects the question is of such importance as to justify a full reference to prior decisions.
It would seem too clear to admit of serious doubt that the statute under which the Secretary of War proceeded is in entire harmony with the principles announced in former cases. In no substantial, just sense does it confer upon that officer, as the head of an executive department, powers strictly legislative or judicial in their nature, or which must be exclusively exercised by Congress or by the courts. it has long been the policy of the government to remove such unreasonable obstructions to the free navigation of the water ways of the United States as were caused by bridges maintained over them. That such an object was of common interest and within the competency of Congress, under its power to regulate commerce, everyone must admit: for commerce comprehends navigation, and therefore to free navigation from unreasonable obstructions is a legitimate exertion of that power. Gibbons v. Odgen, 9 Wheat. 1, 189, 190, 6 L. ed. 23, 68, 69. As appropriate to the object [204 U.S. 364, 386] to be accomplished, as a means to an end within the power of the national government, Congress, in execution of a declared policy, committed to the Secretary of War the duty of ascertaining all the facts essential in any inquiry whether particular bridges, over the water ways of the United States, were unreasonable obstructions to free navigation. Beyond question, if it had so elected, Congress, in some effective mode and without previous investigation through executive officers, could have determined for itself, primarily, the fact whether the bridge here in question was an unreasonable obstruction to navigation, and, if it was found to be of that character could, by direct legislation, have required the defendant to make such alterations of its bridge as were requisite for the protection of navigation and commerce over the water way in question. But investigations by Congress as to each particular bridge alleged to constitute an unreasonable obstruction to free navigation, and direct legislation covering each case, separately, would be impracticable, in view of the vast and varied interests which require national legislation from time to time. By the statute in question Congress declared in effect that navigation should be freed from unreasonable obstructions arising from bridges of insufficient height, width of span, or other defects. It stopped, however, with this declaration of a general rule, and imposed upon the Secretary of War the duty of ascertaining what particular cases came within the rule prescribed by Congress, as well as the duty of enforcing the rule in such cases. In performing that duty the Secretary of War will only execute the clearly-expressed will of Congress, and will not, in any true sense, exert legislative or judicial power. He could not be said to exercise strictly legislative or judicial power any more, for instance, than it could be said that executive officers exercise such power when, upon investigation, they ascertain whether a particular applicant for a pension belongs to a class of persons who, under the general rules prescribed by Congress, are entitled to pensions. If the principle for which the defendant [204 U.S. 364, 387] contends received our approval the conclusion could not be avoided that executive officers, in all the departments, in carrying out the will of Congress, as expressed in statutes enacted by it, have, from the foundation of the national government, exercised, and are now exercising, powers as to mere details, that are strictly legislative or judicial in their nature. This will be apparent upon an examination of the various statutes that confer aothority upon executive departments in respect of the enforcement of the laws of the United States. Indeed, it is not too much to say that a denial to Congress of the right, under the Constitution, to delegate the power to determine some fact or the state of things upon which the enforcement of its enactment depends, would be 'to stop the wheels of government' and bring about confusion, if not paralysis, in the conduct of the public business.
To this may be added the consideration that Congress, by the act of 1899, did not invest the Secretary of War with any power in these matters that could reasonably be characterized as arbitrary. He cannot act in reference to any bridge alleged to be an unreasonable obstruction to free navigation without first giving the parties an opportunity to be heard. He cannot require any bridge of that character to be altered, even for the purpose of rendering navigation through or under it reasonably free, easy, and unobstructed, without giving previous notice to the persons or corporations owning or controlling the bridge, specifying the changes recommended by the Chief of Engineers, and allowing a reasonable time in which to make them. If, at the end of such time, the required alterations have not been made, then the Secretary is required to bring the matter to the attention of the United States district attorney in order that criminal proceedings may be instituted to enforce the act of Congress. In the present case all the provisions of the statute were complied with. The parties concerned were duly notified and were fully heard. Nor is there any reason to say that the Secretary of War was not entirely justified, if not compelled, by the evidence, in finding [204 U.S. 364, 388] that the bridge in question was an unreasonable obstruction to commerce and navigation as now conducted.
We are of opinion that the act in question is not unconstitutional as conferring upon the Secretary of War powers of such nature that they could not be delegated to him by Congress.
The next principal contention of the Bridge Company is that the act of 1899 is unconstitutional, in that it makes no provision, and the United States has not offered, to compensate if for the sum that will necessarily be expended in order to make the alterations or changes required by the order of the Secretary of War. In other words, the defendant insists that what the United States requires to be done in respect of defendant's bridge a taking of private property for public use, which the government is fordidden by the Constitution to do without making just compensation to, or without making provision to justly compensate, the owner. Stating the question in another way, the contention is, in effect, that even if the United States did not expressly assent to the construction of this bridge as it is, and even if the bridge has become an unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the water way in question, the exertion of the power of the United States to regulate commerce among the states is subject to fundamental condition that it cannot require the defendant, whose bridge was lawfully constructed, to make any alterations, however necessary to secure free navigation, without paying or securing to it compensation for the reasonable cost of such alterations.
The propositions are combated by the government, which contends that the alterations or changes required to secure navigation against an unreasonable obstruction is not a taking of private property for public use within the meaning of the Constitution, and that the cost of such alterations or changes is to be deemed incidental only to the exercise of an undoubted function of the United States, when exerting, through Congress, its power to regulate commerce among the states, [204 U.S. 364, 389] and therefore navigation upon the water ways on and over which such commerce is conducted.
It would seem clear that this issue has likewise been determined by the principles announced in the previous cases of this court. Let us see whether such be the fact.
A leading case upon this subject is Gibson v. United States, 166 U.S. 269, 271 , 41 S. L. ed. 996, 998, 17 Sup. Ct. Rep. 578, 579, et seq. Congress, by the river and harbor acts of 1884 and 1886 (23 Stat. at L. 133, 147, chap. 229, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 3524, 24 Stat. at L. 316, 327, chap. 929), authorized and directed the improvement of the Ohio river, and made appropriations to effect that object. Under the authority of the Secretary of War, and the Engineer Corps of the Army, a dike was constructed in that river for the purpose of concentrating the water-flow in the main channel of the river, near Neville island. The dike began at a certain point on the island. Its construction substantially destroyed the landing on and in front of a farm, owned by Mrs. Gibson, on that island, preventing, during most of the year, free egress and ingress from and to such farm to the main or navigable channel of the river. At the time of the construction of the dike that farm was in high state of cultivation, well improved, with a dwelling house, barn, and outbuildings. It had a frontage of a thousand feet on the main navigable channel, and the owner had a landing there which was used in the shipping of products from and supplies to her farm, and was the only one from which such products and supplies could be shipped. Before the construction of the dike the farm, by reason of the use to which it was put, was worth $600 per acre. The obstruction caused by the dike reduced its value to $150 or $200 per acre, resulting in damages to the owner in excess of $3,000. Suit was brought against the United States in the court of claims to recover such damages. That court found, as a conclusion of law, that the owner was not entitled to recover.
Do the principles announced in the above cases require us to hold, in the present case, that the making of the alterations of its bridge specified in the order of the Secretary of War will be a taking of the property of the Bridge Company for public use? We think not. Unless there be a taking, within the meaning of the Constitution, no obligation arises upon the United States to make compensation for the cost to be incurred in making such alterations. The damage that will accrue to the Bridge Company, as the result of compliance [204 U.S. 364, 400] with the Secretary's order, must, in such case, be deemed incidental to the exercise by the government of its power to regulate commerce among the states, which includes, as we have seen, the power to secure free navigation upon the water ways of the United States against unreasonable obstructions. There are no circumstances connected with the original construction of the bridge, or with its maintenance since, which so tie the hands of the government that it cannot exert its full power to protect the freedom of navigation against obstructions. Although the bridge, when erected under the authority of a Pennsylvania charter, may have been a lawful structure, and although it may not have been an unreasonable obstruction to commerce and navigation as then carried on, it must be taken, under the cases cited, and upon principle, not only that the company, when exerting the power conferred upon it by the state, did so with knowledge of the paramount authority of Congress to regulate commerce among the states, but that it erected the bridge subject to the possibility that Congress might, at some future time, when the public interest demanded, exert its power by appropriate legislation to protect navigation against unreasonable obstructions. Even if the bridge, in its original form, was an unreasonable obstruction to navigation, the mere failure of the United States, at the time, to intervene by its officers or by legislation and prevent its erection, could not create an obligation on the part of the government to make compensation to the company if, at a subsequent time, and for public reasons, Congress should forbid the maintenance of bridges that had become unreasonable obstructions to navigation. It is for Congress to determine when it will exert its power to regulate interstate commerce. Its mere silence or inaction when individuals or corporations, under the authority of a state, place unreasonable obstructions in the water ways of the United States, cannot have the effect to cast upon the government an obligation not to exert its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce except subject to the condition that compensation be [204 U.S. 364, 401] made or secured to the individuals or corporation who may be incidentally affected by the exercise of such power. The principle for which the Bridge Company contends would seriously impair the exercise of the beneficent power of the government to secure the free and unobstructed navigation of the water ways of the United States. We cannot give our assent to that principle. In conformity with the adjudged cases, and in order that the constitutional power of Congress may have full operation, we must adjudge that Congress has power to protect navigation on all water ways of the United States against unreasonable obstructions, even those created under the sanction of a state, and that an order to so alter a bridge over a water way of the United States that it will cease to be an unreasonable obstruction to navigation will not amount to a taking of private property for public use for which compensation need be made.
Independent of the grounds upon which we thus place our decision, it is appropriate to observe that the conclusion reached finds support in the charter of the Bridge Company and in the law of Pennsylvania, as declared by its highest court. The charter of the company, as we have seen, expressly warned the company that its bridge must not obstruct navigation,- that is, in legal effect, navigation as it then was, or might be, at any subsequent time. In Dugan v. Bridge Co. 27 Pa. 303, 309, 311, 67 Am. Dec. 464, we have the case of a bridge company on which was conferred the franchise to erect and maintain a toll-bridge across Monongahela river, coupled, however, with the condition that such bridge should not be erected 'in such manner as to injure, stop, or interrupt the navigation of such river by boats, rafts, or other vessels.' The supreme court of Pennsylvania interpreted these words as meaning that 'the bridge was to be so built as not to injure, stop, or interrupt the navigation, either then or now, whether in its infancy or full growth.' The same general question arose in Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. Illinois, 200 U.S. 589 , 50 L. ed. 607, 26 Sup. Ct. Rep. 348. This court held that the adjudged cases 'negative the [204 U.S. 364, 402] suggestion of the railway company that the adequacy of its bridge and the opening under it for passing the water of the creek at the time the bridge was constructed determine its obligations to the public at all subsequent periods. In Cooke v. Boston & L. R. Corp. 133 Mass. 185, 188, it appeared that a railroad company had statutory authority to cross a certain highway with its road. The statute provided that if the railroad crossed any highway it should be so constructed as not to impede or obstruct the safe and convenient use of the highway. And one of the contentions of the company was that the statute limited its duty and obligation to provide for the wants of travelers at the time it exercised the privilege granted to it. The court said: 'The legislature intended to provide against any obstruction of the safe and convenient use of the highway for all time; and if, by the increase of population in the neighborhood, or by an increasing use of the highway, the crossing, which, at the outset, was adequate, is no longer so, it is the duty of the railroad corporation to make such alteration as will meet the present needs of the public who have occasion to use the highway.' In Lake Erie & W. R. Co. v. Cluggish, 143 Ind. 347, 42 N. E. 743, the court said (quoting from Lake Erie & W. R. Co. v. Smith, 61 Fed. 885): 'The duty of a railroad to restore a stream or highway way which is crossed by the line of its road is a continuing duty; and if, by the increase of population or other causes, the crossing becomes inadequate to meet the new and altered conditions of the country, it is the duty of the railroad to make such alterations as will meet the present needs of the public.' So, in Indiana ex rel. Muncie v. Lake Erie & W. R. Co. 83 Fed. 284, 287, which was the case of an overhead crossing lawfully constructed on one of the streets of a city, the court said: 'If, by the growth of population or otherwise, the crossing has become inadequate to meet the present needs of the public, it is the duty of the railroad company to remedy the defect by restoring the crossing so that it will not unnecessarily impair the usefulness of the highway." [204 U.S. 364, 403] Some stress was laid in argument upon the fact that compliance with the order of the Secretary of War will compel the Bridge Company to make a very large expenditure in money. But that consideration cannot affect the decision of the questions of constitutional law involved. It is one to be addressed to the legislative branch of the government. It is for Congress to determine whether, under the circumstances of a particular case, justice requires that compensation be made to a person or corporation incidentally suffering from the exercise by the national government of its constitutional powers.
These are all the matters which require notice at our hands; and, perceiving no error of law on the record, the judgment must be affirmed.
Mr. Justice Moody did not participate in the consideration or decision of the case.
Act of June 13th, 1798, chap. 53, 1 Stat. at L. 565, 566; of February 9th, 1799, chap. 2, 1 Stat. at L. 613; of April 18th, 1806, chap. 29, 2 Stat. at L. 379; of December 19th, 1806, chap. 1, 2 Stat. at L. 411; of March 3d. 1815, chap. 77, 3 Stat. at L. 224; of March 3d, 1817, chap. 39, 3 Stat. at L. 361; of January 7th, 1824, chap. 4, 4 Stat. at L. 3; of May 24th, 1828, chap. 111, 4 Stat, at L. 308, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 2856; of act of May 31st, 1830, chap. 219, 4 Stat. at L. 425, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 2848; of August 5th, 1854, chap. 269, 10 Stat. at L. 587; 11 Stat. at L. 790; of March 6th, 1866, chap. 12, 14 Stat. at L. 3, 26 Stat. at L. 616, chap. 1244; of act June 26th, 1884, chap. 121, 23 Stat. at L. 57, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 2851.

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