Case Name: St. Louis and Cedar Rapids R. R. Co. v. Eakins
Court: Iowa Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Iowa
Decision Date: 1870-12-15
Citations: 30 Iowa 279
Docket Number: 
Parties: St. Louis and Cedar Rapids R. R. Co. v. Eakins.
Judges: 
Reporter: Iowa Reports
Volume: 30
Pages: 271–275

Head Matter:
St. Louis and Cedar Rapids R. R. Co. v. Eakins.
1. Stamps: railroad subscriptions. Where several subscriptions to the stock of a railroad company were entered upon the same page of a subscription book, upon which was placed, by the agents of the company (under the authority to stamp conferred by the contract of subscription), a revenue stamp sufficient in amount to cover the aggregate of the stamp duties on all of the subscriptions entered upon that page,' and the stamp thus affixed was marked “ canceled,” it was held, that the manner of the cancellation did not affect the validity of the contract, and that no valid objection could be urged to the aggregation of the several stamp duties into one stamp.
2. Evidence: parol : when admissible. In an action on a subscription to a railroad company, parol evidence is admissible, for the purpose of establishing a compliance with conditions by the company, to show that the contract for grading was let, and that a certain town was made a point on said road, prior to the commencement of the suit. _ The objection that such testimony is secondary and inadmissible, for the reason that the contract and survey themselves are the best evidence, does not apply.
3.-corporation books. Corporation books are evidence of the acts and proceedings of the corporative body, when it appears that they are kept as such by the proper officer, or some person authorized to make entries in his necessary absence.
4. Railroad subscription ¡ recovery on. In an action to recover the whole amount of a railroad subscription, payable in installments, the company may recover an installment payable without any proviso or conditions, though it should fail in proving its right to the other installments.
5. Verdict ¡ special eindings. A general verdict will not be overcome by special findings of the jury, if both can be made to harmonize.
Appeal from General Term, Second District (Wapello County).
Thursday, December 15.
Action upon a subscription to tlie capital stock of plaintiff. As part of tbe subscription contract, tlie defendant agreed to pay “ in installments of ten per cent, every two months, until the whole sum is fully paid; provided, that not more than five per cent shall be called for until the contract for grading is let, and provided that the city of Ottumwa, Iowa, is made a point in said road; and we authorize the said railway company, by their agents, to stamp our several subscriptions so far as necessary and cancel said stamps.” Answer in denial, and that plaintiff had abandoned part of the route and sold its line, etc., to another company. Jury trial; verdict aud judgment for plaintiff, affirmed in general term. Defendant appeals.
Perry & Townsend for the appellant.
H. H. Trimble for the appellee.

Opinion:
Cole, Ch. J.
I. The defendant's subscription was upon a page of the subscription book with seven others, like subscribers, and tbereon was á forty cent reve_ " nne stamp marked " canceled 11." The proof showed that it was so canceled by the agents of plaintiff. The defendant objected to the sufficiency of the stamp and of its cancellation, as well as to the authority to cancel. Express authority to stamp and cancel was given in the contract of subscription itself; the fact of cancellation is not questioned, and surely its manner could not affect the validity of the contract; nor do we see any objection to the aggregation of the eight several stamp duties into one stamp, under the joint authority given, since the government receives the proper revenue.
II. The court, against the objections of the defendant, permitted the plaintiff to prove, by the parol testimony of two witnesses, the facts that the contract for _ grading was let, and that the city of Ottumwa, Iowa, was made a point in said road, prior to the bringing of this suit. The grounds of the objection were, that such testimony was secondary for that the contract itself, and the surveys and plats were the best evidence. Not so ; for while the contract and survey might show the terms of the one, and the precise angles and details of the other, yet they do not fall within either of the three classes where the writing is primary, to wit: those which the law requires should be in writing; contracts which the parties have put in writing; and other writings, the existence of which is disputed, and which are material to the issue. 1 Greenl. on Ev., § 85. Eor instance, if the contract and survey were introduced in evidence, they would not conclude the defendant, because he was not a party to them. If they would not conclude him, being between third parties, but only tend to establish the fact, which he may dispute by other and parol evidence, it would seem reasonably clear that other and independent proof of the fact itself might properly be offered by the plaintiff in the first instance. It will be remembered that it was the fact that a contract had been made, and not the terms or contents of the contract, which was proven by parol.
III. The plaintiff introduced in evidence certain pages of its record of the regular corporate proceedings, which were objected to as immaterial. They certainly contained matters bearing upon the issues; and, it is stated, that, as a general rule, corporate books are evidence of the acts and proceedings of the corporate body, when it appears that they are kept as such by the proper officer, or some person authorized to make entries in their necessary absence, etc. Ang. & Ames on Corp., § 619, and authorities cited in notes 3 and &.
IY. It is not necessary to set out at length the numerous instructions given, and asked and refused, to which exceptions were taken. It is only necessary to say, in reply to the various positions assumed by appella;at's counsel, that although the action was brought to recover the entire subscription, yet the plaintiff might recover the five per cent, payable without any proviso, even if it failed in proving its right to the other installments; that certainly the records of the company offered in evidence were entitled to the careful consideration of the jury, and that what they and the other evidence proved was for the jury to determine; that the precise location of the road along the whole line was not a condition precedent to the plaintiff's recovery; that the fact whether the plaintiff had let the contract for grading was for the jury to determine upon the whole evidence, and not for the court upon the records of plaintiff's corporation books alone; that it was not necessary for the plaintiff to prove notice to the defendant of the calls, other than by publishing the same as shown, before it could recover.
Y. The jury found a general verdict for plaintiff upon the whole evidence; and also found a special verdict as to what appeared from the plaintiff's books or corporation records. The special findings may all be fully true and yet tbe general verdict be entirely right. In such case it was not error to render judgment upon the general verdict. The whole evidence is not before us.
Affirmed.