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On December 24, 1892, Etta James, defendant in error, brought this action in the circuit court for the Western dis- [161 U.S. 545, 546] trict of Arkansas, against the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, plaintiff in error, for negligence in maintaining a switch target at Monett, in Barry county, in the state of Missouri, so near its tracks that her husband was struck and killed by it on July 3, 1889, while employed as a fireman on one of the company's engines. Her husband resided at Monett and died intestate. The defendant in error was the widow and sole heir at law of her husband, and no administrator of his estate was appointed in Arkansas. She recovered a judgment of $5,000.
Etta James, the defendant in error, resided at Monett, and was a citizen of the state of Missouri. Monett is a station in Missouri, on the railroad of the plaintiff in error, about 50 miles from the southern border of that state.
The St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company was organized and incorporated under the laws of the state of Missouri in 1876, and soon thereafter became the owner of, and has ever since owned and operated, a railroad in that state, extending from Monett southerly to the southern border of the state of Missouri.
At the time of the accident complained of, the plaintiff in error owned and operated the railroad from the southern border of the state of Missouri to Ft. Smith, in the state of Arkansas, in connection with its original line from Monett to the Missouri border, and these roads formed and were operated as a continuous line of railroad from Monett to Ft. Smith. That portion of this continuous line of railroad which was situated in Arkansas had been built by corporations organized and incorporated under the laws of that state. In the year 1882, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company purchased from these Arkansas corporations, under the act of March 16, 1881, the railroad extending from the southern border of Missouri to Ft. Smith, Ark., and all the railways, constructed and unconstructed, and all the roads, franchises, and property which these Arkansas corporations had. These Arkansas corporations have since maintained their separate organizations as corporations of that state, but have operated no railroads. From the time of this purchase to the present time, the plaintiff in error has operated this continuous line of railroad from Monett, Mo., to Ft. Smith, Ark., and has owned all the rolling stock and other appurtenances used upon this railroad.
'Section 1. That sections one, two, three, four, and five of an act entitled 'An act to prohibit foreign corporations from operating railroads in this state,' approved March 22, 1887, be and the same are hereby repealed.
'Sec. 2. Any railroad company in this state, existing under general or special laws, may sell or lease its road, property, and franchises to any other railroad company duly organized and existing under the laws of any other state or territory, whose line of railroad shall so connect with the leased or purchased road by bridge, ferry, or otherwise as to practically form a continuous line of railroad, and any railroad company is this state existing under general or special laws may buy or lease, or otherwise acquire, any railroad or railroads, with all the property, rights, privileges, and franchises thereto pertaining, or buy the stocks and bonds, or guarantee the bonds of any railroad company or companies incorporated or organized within or without this state whenever the roads of such companies shall form in the operation thereof a continuous line or lines: provided, that before any such lease or sale is valid, it must be approved and ratified by persons holding or representing two-thirds of the capital stock of each of such companies respectively, at a stockholders' meeting called for that purpose; and any railroad company existing under the general or special laws of any other state or territory may buy or lease or otherwise acquire any railroad or railroads, the whole or part of which is in this state, with all the rights, privileges, and franchises thereto pertaining, or buy the stock and bonds, or guarantee the bonds of any railroad company incorporated or organized under the laws of this state, whenever the roads of such companies shall form in the operation thereof a continuous line or lines: provided, that the road so purchased shall not be parallel or competing with the purchasing road; and any railroad company existing under the laws of any other state or territory may extend and construct its railroad into or through this state: provided further, that any agreement of any company existing under [161 U.S. 545, 551] the general or special laws of this state, or of any other state or territory, to lease or buy a railroad and appurtenances, or to buy the stock or bonds, or guarantee the bonds of any railroad company incorporated and organized within this state, heretofore executed by the proper officers of such companies and ratified by the companies parties thereto, by the assent of persons holding two-thirds of the capital stock in each of such companies, expressed at a meeting of such stockholders called for that purpose, shall be taken and held to be binding from the date of its execution: provided further, that nothing in the foregoing provisions shall be held or construed as curtailing the right of state or counties through which said consolidated, leased, or purchased road or roads may be located to levy and collect taxes upon the same and the rolling stock thereof, pro rata, in conformity with the provisions of the laws of this state upon that subject: provided further, that before any railroad corporation of any other state or territory shall be permitted to avail itself of the benefits of this act, or any part thereof, such corporation shall file with the secretary of state of this state a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, if incorporated under a general law of such state or territory or a certified copy of the statute laws of such state or territory incorporating such company, where the charter of such railroad corporation was granted by special statute of such state; and upon the filing of such articles of incorporation or such charter, with a map and profile of the proposed line, and paying the fees prescribed by law for railroad charters, such railroad company shall, to all intents and purposes, become a railroad corporation of this state, subject to all the laws of the state now in force or hereafter enacted, the same as if formally incorporated in this state, anything in its articles of incorporation or charter to the contrary notwithstanding, and such acts on the part of such corporation shall be conclusive evidence of the intent of such corporation to create and become a domestic corporation: And provided further, that every railroad corporation of any other state, which has heretofore leased or purchased any railroad in this state, shall, within sixty days from the passage of this act, [161 U.S. 545, 552] file a duly certified copy of its articles of incorporation or charter with the secretary of state of this state, and shall, thereupon, become a corporation of this state, anything in its articles of incorporation or charter to the contrary notwithstanding, and in all suits or proceedings instituted against any such corporation process may be served upon the agent or agents of such corporation or corporations in this state, in the same manner that process is authorized by law to be served upon the agents of railroad corporations in this state organized and existing under the laws of this state.
'Sec. 3. Any foreign corporation which has heretofore constructed, purchased, leased, or acquired or now operates any railroad in this state, shall within sixty days after the passage of this act comply with the provisions thereof, by filing a copy of its articles of incorporation or of the special act of the legislature incorporating such company in the office of the secretary of state of this state, and for every day which any such company shall fail to comply with the provisions of this act it shall pay a penalty of one thousand dollars, which penalty may be recovered by the district attorney in a civil action instituted in the proper court in any county through which such railroad or any part thereof so owned, purchased, leased, acquired, or operated by such foreign company may be located.
On May 6, 1889, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company filed with the secretary of state of the state of Arkansas a dulycertified copy of its articles of incorporation under the laws of Missouri, as required by said act of March 13, 1889, and has never been otherwise incorporated or organized uncer the laws of the state of Arkansas.
The plaintiff in error properly and seasonably raised the objection in the circuit court that that court had no jurisdiction of this action, on the ground that the plaintiff in error was not a citizen of the state of Arkansas, but was a citizen of the state of Missouri, of which state the defendant in error was also a resident and citizen; but the plaintiff in [161 U.S. 545, 553] error waived its personal privilege of being sued in the district of which it was an inhabitant. The question raised by that objection was, by proper exception to the ruling below and assignment of error, presented to the circuit court of appeals for determination.
(1) In view of the provisions of the act of the general assembly of Arkansas approved March 13, 1889, did the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, by filing a certified copy of its articles of incorporation under the laws of Missouri with the secretary of state of Arkansas, and continuing to operate its railroad through that state, become a corporation and citizen of the state of Arkansas?
(2) In view of the provisions of the act of the general assembly of Arkansas approved March 13, 1889, did the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, by filing a certified copy of its articles of incorporation under the laws of Missouri with the secretary of state of Arkansas, and continuing to operate its railroad through that state, become a citizen of the state of Arkansas, so as to give the circuit court of the United States for the Western district of Arkansas jurisdiction of this action, in which the defendant in error was and is a citizen of the state of Missouri?
(3) In view of the provisions of the act of the general assembly of Arkansas approved March 13, 1889, did the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, by filing a certified copy of its articles of incorporation under the laws of Missouri with the secretary of state of Arkansas, and continuing to operate its railroad through that state, become a citizen of the state of Arkansas, so as to give the circuit court of the United States for the Western district of arkansas jurisdiction of this action, in which defendant in error was and is a resident and citizen of the state of Missouri, and the [161 U.S. 545, 554] cause of action accrued in the state of Missouri, and arose from an accident that resulted from the operation of the railroad of the company in that state?
(4) In view of the facts hereinbefore set forth, did the circuit court of the United States for the Western district of Arkansas have jurisdiction of this action?
Geo. R. Peck, A. T. Britton, A. B. Browne, and E. D. Kenna, for plaintiff in error.
Frank W. Hackett, for defendant in error.
Etta James, as a citizen of the state of Missouri, and having a cause of action against the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, a corporation of the state of Missouri, could, of course, sue the latter in the courts of that state, but equally, of course, could not sue such state corporation in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Missouri. Can she, as such citizen of the state of Missouri, lawfully assert her cause of action in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Arkansas against the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, by showing that the latter had availed itself of the rights and privileges conferred by the state of Arkansas on railroad corporations of other states coming within her borders, and complying with the terms and conditions of her statutes?
Before addressing ourselves directly to this question, it must be conceded that the plaintiff's cause of action, though arising in Missouri, is transitory in its nature, and that the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, though denying the plaintiff's right to sue it in the circuit court of Arkansas, waives its statutory privilege of being sued only in the district in which it has its habitat.
It must be regarded, to begin with, as finally settled, by repeated decisions of this court, that, for the purpose of juris- [161 U.S. 545, 555] diction in the federal courts, a state corporation is deemed to be indisputably composed of citizens of such state. It is equally true that, without objection so far from the federal anthority, whether legislative or judicial, it has become customary for a state adjacent to the state creating a railroad corporation to legislatively grant authority to such foreign corporation to enter its territory with its road,-to make running arrangements with its own railroads, to buy or lease them, or to consolidate with the companies owning them. Sometimes, as in the present case, such foreign corporation is declared, upon its acceptance of prescribed terms and conditions, to become a domestic corporation of such adjacent state, and to be endowed with all the rights and privileges enjoyed by similar corporations created by such state.
We have already said that the rule that state corporations are indisputably composed of citizens of the states creating them is finally settled. But, in view of the question now before us, it may be well to briefly review some of the cases.
Before leaving this case, it should be noted that the United States Bank was not a corporation of the state of Pennsylvania, but of the United States. The decision, therefore, was to the effect that where it appeared that a corporation plaintiff, regardless of its origin, was composed of aliens of of [161 U.S. 545, 556] citizens of a different state from the defendant, the plaintiff, though suing in its corporate name, could make the averment that the individuals who composed the corporation were such aliens or citizens of a different state, and such averment, if not traversed, would sustain the jurisdiction. The principal of the case makes the individual corporators the real parties to the suit.
In Railroad Co. v. Letson, 2 How. 497, an action was brought, in the circuit court of the United States for the district of South Carolina, by a citizen of the state of New York, against a corporation whose members were alleged to be citizens of South Carolina. A plea to the jurisdiction was set up that there were members of the defendant company who were not citizens of the state of South Carolina, but of another state than New York or South Carolina. In the opinion in this case, Bank, v. Deveaux was said to have gone too far, and that consequences and inferences had been argumentatively drawn from it which ought not to be followed; and it was said that 'a corporation created by a state to perform its functions under the authority of that state, and only suable there, though it may have members out of the state, seems to us to be a person, though an artificial one, inhabiting and belonging to that state, and therefore entitled, for the purpose of suing and being sued, to be deemed a citizen of that state'; and accordingly the judgment of the circuit court, overruling the plea to its jurisdiction, was sustained.
In Drawbridge Co. v. Shepherd, 20 How. 233, Chief Justice Taney, speaking for the court, said: 'The question as to the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in cases where a corporation is a party was argued and considered in this court, for the first time, in the cases of Insurance Co. v. Boardman and of Bank v. Deveaux, 5 Cranch, 57, 61. These two cases were argued at the same term, and were, as appears by the report, decided at the same time. And in the last-mentioned case the court held that in a suit by or against a corporation, in its corporate name, this court might look beyond the mere legal being which the charter created, and regard it as a suit brought by or against the individual persons who composed the corporation; and an averment that they were citizens of a particular state (if such was the fact) would be sufficient to give jurisdiction to a court of the United States, although the suit was in the corporate name, and the individual corporators were not named in the suit or the averment.
The previous cases were reviewed in Railroad Co. v. Wheeler, 1 Black, 286. That was the case of an action brought in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Indiana against Wheeler, a citizen of that state, to recover the amount due on his subscription to stock of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company. The declaration described the plaintiffs as 'the president and directors of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company, a corporation created by the laws of the states of Indiana and Ohio, and having its principal place of business in Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio, a citizen of the state of Ohio.' The defendant pleaded to the jurisdiction by alleging that the plaintiff company, although a corporation of the state of Ohio in the first instance, had been incorporated by an act of assembly of the state of Indiana, and thus had become a body corporate of the same state whereof he was a citizen.
In this case Railroad Co. v. Wheeler, 1 Black, 286, and Railway Co. v. Whitton, 13 Wall. 270, were cited. The former has already been noticed, and of the latter it may be said, by way of distinguishing it from the present case, that while it was held that a citizen of Illinois might sue the railroad company in the circuit court of Wisconsin, although the company had been likewise incorporated in Illinois, yet the cause of action arose in Wisconsin; nor does it appear in the report of that case what was the character of the legislation by which the Wisconsin company was created, nor was the question now before us there considered. It is also observable that in the latter case Railroad Co. v. Wheeler was cited with approval.
So, in Nashna & L. R. Corp. v. Boston & L. R. Corp., 136 U.S. 356 , 10 Sup. Ct. 1004, it was held that railroad corporations created by two or more [161 U.S. 545, 562] states, though joined in their interests, in the operation of their roads, in the issue of their stock, and in the division of their profits, so as practically to be a single corporation, do not lose their identity; but each has its existence and its standing in the courts of the country only by virtue of the legislation of the state by which it was created, and the union of name, of officers, of business, and property does not change their distinctive character as separate corporations.
It is competent for a railroad corporation organized under the laws of one state, when authorized so to do by the consent of the state which created it, to accept authority from another state to extend its railroad into such state, and to receive a grant of powers to own and control, by lease or purchase, railroads therein, and to subject itself to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the second state. Such legislation on the part of two or more states is not, in the absence of inhibitory legislation by congress, regarded as within the constitutional prohibition of agreements or compacts between states.
We are now asked to extend the doctrine of indisputable citizenship so that, if a corporation of one state, indisputably [161 U.S. 545, 563] taken, for the purpose of federal jurisdiction, to be composed of citizens of such state, is authorized by the law of another state to do business therein, and to be endowed, for local purposes, with all the powers and privileges of a domestic corporation, such adopted corporation shall be deemed to be composed of citizens of the second state, in such a sense as to confer jurisdiction on the federal courts at the suit of a citizen of the state of its original creation.
It was under the provisions of this section that the St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad Company, in 1882, purchased from corporations of Arkansas the railroad already built by them, extending from the southern boundary of Missouri to Ft. Smith, in Arkansas. These Arkansas corporations have since maintained their separate organizations as corporations of that state, but do not operate railroads. It is therefore obvious that such purchase by the Missouri corporation of the railroad and franchises of the Arkansas companies did not convert it into an Arkansas corporation. The terms of the statute show that it merely granted rights and powers to an existing foreign corporation, which was to continue to exist as such, subject only to certain conditions; among others, that of keeping an office in the state, so as to be subject to process of the Arkansas courts.
It is true that by the subsequent act of 1889, by the proviso to the second section, it was provided that every railroad corporation of any other state, which had theretofore leased or purchased any railroad in Arkansas, should, within 60 days from the passage of the act, file a certified copy of its articles of incorporation or charter with the secretary of state, and shall thereupon become a corporation of Arkansas, anything [161 U.S. 545, 565] in its articles of incorporation or charter to the contrary notwithstanding; and it appears that the defendant company did accordingly file a copy of its articles of incorporation with the secretary of the state. But whatever may be the effect of such legislation, in the way of subjecting foreign railroad companies to control and regulation by the local laws of Arkansas, we cannot concede that it availed to create an Arkansas corporation out of a foreign corporation in such a sense as to make it a citizen of Arkansas within the meaning of the federal constitution, so as to subject it as such to a suit by a citizen of the state of its origin. In order to bring such an artificial body as a corporation within the spirit and letter of that constitution, as construed by the decisions of this court, it would be necessary to create it out of natural persons, whose citizenship of the state creating it could be imputed to the corporation itself. But it is not pretended in the present case that natural persons, resident in and citizens of Arkansas, were, by the legislation in question, created a corporation, and that therefore the citizenship of the individual corporators is imputable to the corporation.
It is further contended, on behalf of the defendant in error, the plaintiff below, that as the plaintiff described herself as a citizen of Missouri, and the defendant company as a citizen of Arkansas, and as the cause of action, though arising in Missouri, was transitory in its nature, jurisdiction was thus formally conferred upon the circuit court of the United States for the district of Arkansas; and that the only question left for inquiry was whether the defendant company, alleged to be a citizen of Arkansas, was legally responsible for the conduct of the Missouri company of the same name, and such responsibility is supposed to be found in the fact that the railroad running through both states was under the common management of both companies.
But even if it be admitted that a common management of a railroad running through two states, and participation in its earnings and losses, by two companies, might make both responsible, jointly and severally, for a tortious cause of action, and that such cause of action might be maintained [161 U.S. 545, 566] in the courts of either state, the question of the jurisdiction of the federal court still remains. The defendant was not content to leave that question to be decided by the plaintiff's allegations, but pleaded that it was in law a corporation of the state of Missouri, and that, therefore, an action could not be maintained against it, in the federal court, by a citizen of that state. In other words, the defendant company claimed that while it had voluntarily subjected itself to the laws of Arkansas, as interpreted and enforced by the courts of that state, it still remained a corporation of the state of Missouri, disabled from suing or being sued by a citizen of that state in a federal court, and that such disability was not, and could not be, removed by state legislation.
The statement of the case, to which the certified questions are appended, does not distinctly show whether the railway company is described in the complaint or declaration as a corporation of Missouri or as a corporation of Arkansas; but I take it that the able judges who joined in the certificate did not intend to ask this court whether the court below had jurisdiction of an action brought by a citizen of Missouri against a corporation of that state. It must be assumed that the defendant company, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, is sued as a corporation of Arkansas.
We have, then, two distinct corporations,-one being the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, a Missouri corporation; the other, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, an Arkansas corporation. If a citizen of Tennessee, being a passenger on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway, as operated in Arkansas, be injured by the negligent conduct of those who operated the road in Arkansas, it is clear, if the amount in dispute be sufficient, that he could sue the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, as a corporation organized under the laws of Arkansas, in the federal circuit court sitting in that state. The right to maintain such a suit shows that there is an Arkansas corporation distinct as to its corporate existence from the Missouri corporation of the same name, and having, for purposes of suit, a citizenship in Arkansas.
The same point arose and was decided in Railway Co. v. Whitton, 13 Wall. 270. It appears from thereport of that case, but more distinctly from the original record, which I have examined, that the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company was a corporation of Wisconsin, and also of Illinois and Michigan, respectively. The plaintiff sued, in a court of Wisconsin, as a citizen of Illinois. The defendant was the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, incorporated in Wisconsin. The question was whether that case was removable to the federal court, sitting in Wisconsin, upon the ground of diverse citizenship. That question was decided in the affirmative. It was objected that the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, although a corporation of Wisconsin, was also a corporation under the laws of Illinois, of which state the plaintiff was a citizen. This court, speaking by Mr. Justice Field, said: 'The answer to this position is obvious. In Wisconsin the laws of Illinois have no opera- [161 U.S. 545, 569] tion. The defendant is a corporation, and as such a citizen of Wisconsin, by the laws of that state. It is not there a corporation or a citizen of any other state. Being there used, it can only be brought into court as a citizen of that state, whatever its status of citizenship may be elsewhere. Nor is there anything against this view, but, on the contrary, much to support it, in the case of Railroad Co. v. Wheeler, 1 Black, 286.' Referring to the decision of the Wheeler Case, the court held that the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company must be regarded, for all purposes of jurisdiction in the federal courts, as a distinct corporation in each of the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.
To the same effect are Muller v. Dows, 94 U.S. 444 , 447; Railroad Co. v. Vance, 96 U.S. 450, 453 , 457 S.; Clark v. Barnard, 108 U.S. 436, 448 , 452 S., 2 Sup. Ct. 878: Farnum v. Canal Co., 1 Sumn. 46, Fed. Cas. No. 4,675; St. Louis, A. & T. H. R. Co. v. Indianapolis & St. L. R. Co., 9 Biss. 144, Fed. Cas. No. 12,237.
I submit with confidence that if the defendant company is a corporation of Arkansas, and wholly distinct, as a corporate body, from the corporation in Missouri of the same name, the jurisdiction of the court below to determine the controversy between the present parties is not defeated by the fact that the Missouri corporation and the plaintiff are both citizens of Missouri. If this view be sound, it results that the plaintiff, a citizen of Missouri, can invoke the jurisdiction of the United States circuit court, sitting in Arkansas, to determine a con- [161 U.S. 545, 570] troversy between her and the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, a corporation of Arkansas.
We are here met with the suggestion that the cause of action arose in Missouri, and that the injuries of which the plaintiff complains were committed in Missouri, by the Missouri corporation bearing the same name as that of the present defendant. But the question still remains whether, in view of the relations of the Arkansas corporation to the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway in Missouri, the Arkansas corporation could be separately sued in the federal court, sitting in Arkansas. The jurisdiction of the court below existed by reason of the diverse citizenship of the parties. If, upon the facts disclosed at the trial, the court was of opinion that the Arkansas corporation was not liable to the plaintiff upon a cause of action arising in Missouri, it would not dismiss the action for want of jurisdiction, but would direct the jury to return a verdict for the defendant.
Was not the Arkansas corporation liable to the plaintiff, albeit the cause of action arose in Missouri? It appears from the record that the road from Monett, Mo., to Ft. Smith, Ark., is, and for many years has been, operated as one continuous line. The entire line is under the joint management of the Missouri and Arkansas corporations. In other words, the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company, as a Missouri corporation, manages the property situated in Missouri, and, as an Arkansas corporation, manages the property situated in Arkansas.
Are not both corporations liable to the plaintiff under the authority of Railroad Co. v. Jones and Railroad Co. v. Stewart, 155 U.S. 333 , 15 Sup. Ct. 136? The facts in that case were these: The plaintiffs were personally injured by a railroad collision between a train of the Virginia Midland Railway Company and a train of the Alexandria & Fredericksburg Railway Company. The injury occurred near Washington, but in Virginia, on the tracks of the Alexandria & Washington Railroad Company. The suit was brought against the latter company, which was then in the hands of a receiver, as well as against several other companies. One [161 U.S. 545, 571] of the questions in the case was whether any company was liable except the one whose negligence was the immediate cause of the injury. This court, speaking by Mr. Justice Shiras, said: 'Our views respecting the exceptions urged on behalf of the other plaintiffs in error are briefly expressed as follows: There was evidence from which the jury might properly infer that the railroad between the cities of Alexandria and Washington was managed and controlled for the common use of the Baltimore and potomac Railroad Company (owning that portion of the route that lies between Washington and the south end of the Long Bridge), the Alexandria andria and Washington Railroad Company (owning that portion between the south end of the Long Bridge and St. Asaph's Junction), and the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway Company (owning the line between St. Asaph's Junction and Alexandria); that the gross earnings of these companies, derived from this line between Alexandria and Washington, including what the Virginia Midland Railway Company paid for the privilege of running its trains over these tracks, and what was received for transportation of mails, went into the hands of a common treasurer, and were by him, after paying operating expenses, divided among the three companies, according to some rule not very definitely shown, but apparently in proportion to the miles of track of each road; that the operating and accounting officers of the three companies were the same; that the freight train in question was, at the time of the collision, on that portion of the road which belonged to the Alexandria and Washington Company; that the engineer and fireman were employes of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company; that the engine was that if the Alexandria and Fredericksburg Railway Company; that the conductor and brakemen were employees of that company; and that the passenger train was in charge of a pilot employed and paid by the three companies, in pursuance of an arrangement to that effect.' These facts, the court said, if proved, would warrant a finding of joint liability of the three companies to the plaintiff. Consequently, either company can be sued. I am unable to perceive why, under the principles of [161 U.S. 545, 572] that case, the Arkansas corporation is not liable to the plaintiff for personal injuries received through the negligence of the Missouri corporation. The two corporations have a common management and a common treasury, and they unite in operating the lines of road, situated in Missouri and Arkansas, as one continuous road.
At first blush, it may seem strange that the plaintiff did not sue the Missouri corporation in one of the courts of Missouri. But that cannot affect the jurisdiction of the court below if the defendant is an Arkansas corporation. And her right to a judgment cannot be denied if the Arkansas corporation is liable for injuries caused in Missouri, by the negligence of the Missouri corporation. It may be that the line in Missouri is covered by mortgages for very large amounts, so that a judgment against the Missouri corporation would be of no real value. That, perhaps, is the reason why the plaintiff brought suit against the Arkansas corporation. But, as already said, this view is not at all material on the present hearing.
To sum up: There is an Arkansas corporation by the name of the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway Company. That corporation, being a citizen of Arkansas, can be sued in the court below by a citizen of Missouri. The court below has, consequently, jurisdiction to determine any controversy between those parties, citizens of different states (the amount in dispute being sufficient), which has been raised by the plaintiff's complaint. The Arkansas corporation, by reason of its relation to the Missouri corporation in the operation, as one continuous road, of the lines connecting Monett, Mo., with Ft. Smith, Ark., is liable for the acts and defaults of the Missouri corporation in the management of that part of the continuous road which lies in Missouri; and, even if the Arkansas corporation is held, under the evidence, not to be liable, the case should not be dismissed for want of jurisdiction in the court below, but the jury should be instructed to find for the defendant.

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