William Henry Moody

“ The rule of state decision is clearly established, and we have no occasion here to consider the varying reasons which have influenced its adoption. But when we come to inquire what are public uses for which the right of compulsory taking may be employed, and what are private uses for which the right is forbidden, we find no agreement, either in reasoning or conclusion. The one and only principle in which all courts seem to agree is that the nature of the uses, whether public or private, is ultimately a judicial question. ”

“ Some may have preferred another jurisdiction, some perhaps could not join without destroying the diversity of citizenship, upon which alone the jurisdiction was based, or some, possibly, had never heard of the pendency of the suit. It is clear if such suits in the circuit courts of the United States could have the effect here claimed for them, and the judgments in them were binding in all courts against all other persons of the same class, that injustice might result, and even collusive suits might be encouraged. We find no controlling authority which leads us to such a conclusion. ”

“ Cattle, while in the course of transportation from one state to another, and in that respect under the exclusive control of the law of the national government, may, at the same time, be the conveyance by which disease is brought within the state to which they are destined, and in that respect subject to the power of the state, exercised in good faith to protect the health of its own animals and its own people. ”

“ But where the legislature of a state, instead of fixing the tax itself, commits to some subordinate body the duty of determining whether, in what amount, and upon whom it shall be levied, and of making its assessment and apportionment, due process of law requires that, at some stage of the proceedings, before the tax becomes irrevocably fixed, the taxpayer shall have an opportunity to be heard, of which he must have notice, either personal, by publication, or by a law fixing the time and place of the hearing. ”

“ That case did not decide that there was a presumption of performance arising out of the length of time during which no claim was made in respect of the Elizabethtown & Tennessee Railroad subscription, but that there was a presumption of performance before the issue of the bonds. When we come to look at the facts found by the circuit court there is nothing to rebut this presumption. On the contrary, everything tends to support it. Even the wide range of the argument for the defendant did not suggest a single fact which could, to the slightest extent, control the presumption. ”

“ It may undoubtedly be shown in defense that plaintiff has no right, under the allegations of his bill or the facts of the case, to bring suit, but that is no defect of jurisdiction, but of title. It is as much so as if it were sought to dismiss an action of ejectment for the want of jurisdiction, by showing that the plaintiff had no title to the land in controversy. At common law neiter an infant, an insane person, married woman, alien enemy, nor person having no interest in the cause of action, can maintain a suit in his or her own name ”

“ The courts have no right to intrude upon this function, and subject the company to a species of regulation which the statute does not contemplate. If the courts were held to have the powers which were assumed in this case it would lead to great embarrassment in the operation of the railway, and perhaps to distressing conflict. Can it be that the courts can dictate the frequency of the running of the cars, and the superintendent of public works their speed? If so, the lot of the company is indeed a hard one. ”

“ Where the multiplicity of suits to be feared consists in repetitions of suits by the same person against the plaintiff for causes of action arising out of the same facts and legal principles, a court of equity ought not to interfere upon that ground unless it is clearly necessary to protect the plaintiff from continued and vexatious litigation. Something more is required than the beginning of a single action with an honest purpose to settle the rights of the parties. ”

“ If the mere coincidence of the sum of the taxation is to be allowed to frustrate the provisions of the act of Congress, then that act becomes meaningless and the power to enforce it in any given case will not exist. ”

“ When we consider that the matter consists of names and other data which, when true, must be the same in any report, and that in many cases the source of information must often be the same with both the parties thereto, it would seem to be just to lay down a different rule from that which obtains in cases where syllabi and summaries of law and fact are appropriated. Here seems to be no attempt to coin money out of another's labor. It is clearly a case in which the matter taken must be substantial and such as to really work injury to complainants. ”

“ It is the duty of the sovereign to provide a tribunal, under whose direction the just demands against the estate may be determined and paid, the succession decreed, and the estate devolved to those who are found to be entitled to it. Sometimes this duty is performed by conferring jurisdiction upon a single court and sometimes by dividing the jurisdiction among two or three courts. The courts may be termed ecclesiastical, probate, orphans', surrogate, or equity courts. ”

“ In any event, the legislature determined that, when an assessment company was allowed to engage in other kinds of life insurance, its outstanding policies should be appraised as liabilities as if they were 'one-year-term insurance at the ages attained.' This does not make them such in fact, or authorize the company, in its dealings with the policy holder, to treat them as such. The statutory appraisement of the policies for book-keeping purposes no more affects the rights of the members under their contracts than the account of stock of a merchant would affect the rights of his creditors. ”

“ Having, then, by virtue of the judgment, the right to sell his wares freely, without hindrance from Eldred, must Kessler stand by and see that right violated, and then bring an action at law for the resulting damage, or may he prevent the infliction of the unlawful injury by proceedings in personam in equity? If Eldred succeeds in his suit against one of Kessler's customers, he will naturally bring suits against others. He may bring suits against others, whether he succeeds in one suit or not. ”

“ It is the settled interpretation of these words, as used in this statute conferring jurisdiction, that a suit arises under the Constitution and laws of the United States only when the plaintiff's statement of his own cause of action shows that it is based upon those laws or that Constitution. It is not enough, as the law now exists, that it appears that the defendant may find in the Constitution or laws of the United States some ground of defense. ”

“ The surrender, by contract, of a power of government, though in certain well-defined cases it may be made by legislative authority, is a very grave act, and the surrender itself, as well as the authority to make it, must be closely scrutinized. No other body than the supreme legislature (in this case, the legislature of the state) has the authority to make such a surrender, unless the authority is clearly delegated to it by the supreme legislature. The general powers of a municipality or of any other political subdivision of the state are not sufficient. ”

“ In the meantime, pending the action of Congress, there is no civil power under our system of government, not even that of the President as civil executive, which can take the place of the government which has ceased to exist by the cession. ”

“ The witness's valuation of the tangible property was somewhat reduced by the master, but the reductions were not based upon the theory of depreciation, but upon a difference of opinion as to the reproduction cost.
The cost of reproduction is not always a fair measure of the present value of a plant which has been in use for many years. The items composing the plant depreciate in value from year to year in a varying degree. Some pieces of property, like real estate for instance, depreciate not at all, and sometimes, on the other hand, appreciate in value. ”

“ But we think, in view of the fact that when the copies of the journals were offered in evidence no objection had been made that the originals were not produced, the language of the court may quite as naturally be interpreted as a declination to pass on a question, not necessary to the decision, which had been set at rest for the future by legislation. The best that can be said for the plaintiffs in error is that the action of the court was ambiguous. ”

“ If it is desirable that penalties should be inflicted for a default in the delivery of a telegram occurring within the jurisdiction of the United States, Congress only has the power to establish them. ”

“ In the case before us the liability of the defendant does not grow out of the common-law duty of master to servant. The Congress, not satisfied with the common-law duty and its resulting liability, has prescribed and defined the duty by statute. We have nothing to do but to ascertain and declare the meaning of a few simple words in which the duty is described. It is enacted that 'no cars, either loader or unloaded, shall be used in interstate traffic which do not comply with the standard.' There is no escape from the meaning of these words. ”

“ A statute of Colorado authorized the taxation of mining claims, whether patented or entered for patent or not, in these words: 'In case the mine or mining claim shall not be patented, or entered for a patent, but shall be assessable and taxable under this act, on account of producing gross proceeds, then, and in that case, the possession shall be the subject of the assessment, and if said mining property be sold for taxes levied, the sale for such taxes shall pass the title and right of possession to the purchaser, under the laws of Colorado.' Laws 1887, pp. ”

“ The right to tax the shares of national banks arises by congressional authority, but the right to tax shares of state banks exists independently of any such authority, for the state requires no leave to tax the holdings in its own corporations. The right of such taxation rests upon the theory that shares in corporations are property entirely distinct and independent from the property of the corporation. The tax on an individual in respect to his shares in a corporation is not regarded as a tax upon the corporation itself. ”

“ In such cases, and perhaps others that could be stated, the question of the assumption of the risk is plainly for the jury. But where the conditions are constant and of long standing, and the danger is one that is suggested by the common knowledge which all possess, and both the conditions and the dangers are obvious to the common understanding, and the employee is of full age, intelligence, and adequate experience, and all these elements of the problem appear without contradiction, from the plaintiff's own evidence, the question becomes one of law for the decision of the court. ”

“ We proceed to consider whether the uses of the spur track for which the land was taken were private, and therefore such uses for which a taking by the right of eminent domain is forbidden by the 14th Amendment. The courts of the states, whenever the question has been presented to them for decision, have, without exception, held that it is beyond the legislative power to take, against his will, the property of one and give it to another for what the court deems private uses, even though full compensaion for the taking be required. ”

“ A mere claim in the court below that there has been a denial of due process of law does not of itself raise a Federal question with sufficient distinctness of give us jurisdiction to consider whether there has been a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. ”

“ But, where the property in dispute is in the actual possession of the court of bankruptcy, there comes into play another principle, not peculiar to courts of bankruptcy, but applicable to all courts, Federal or state. Where a court of competent jurisdiction has taken property into its possession, through its officers, the property is thereby withdrawn from the jurisdiction of all other courts. The court, having possession of the property, has an ancillary jurisdiction to hear and determine all questions respecting the title, possession, or control of the property. ”

“ The judgment for damages appears to be, so far as we can see, a joint judgment against all the defendants. But even the whole amount of the damages, 9,000 Mexican pesos, added to the value of the land in controversy with any of the defendants, does not make a sum exceeding $25,000. We think, therefore, that the writ of error must be dismissed.
It may not be improper to say that if we had jurisdiction on this writ of error we should find grave difficulty in sustaining the joint judgment for damages against all the defendants, if, indeed, we have properly construed it to be joint. ”

“ No amount of human foresight which could reasonably be exacted as a duty could anticipate that a passenger, after the train had started, would run a distance of from 75 to 100 feet with the purpose of boarding a train moving with increasing rapidity; much less that a person would take a helpless infant, and, while thus running, attempt to place it on the train. We are of the opinion that the railroad was not bound to foresee and guard against such extraordinary conduct, and that its failure to do so was not negligence. ”

“ The facts in this case which seem to us material upon the questions of the authority of the city to contract for rates to be maintained during the term of the franchise are as follows: The charter gave to the council the power 'by ordinance . . . to regulate telephone service and the use of telephones within the city, . . . and to fix and determine the charges for telephones, and telephone service and connections.' This is an ample authority to exercise the governmental power of regulating charges, but it is no authority to enter into a contract to abandon the governmental power itself. ”

“ It is of the highest public importance that the jurisdiction of the state should be resisted at the borders of those places where the power of exclusive legislation is vested in the Congress by the Constitution. ”

“ The city's only remedy is that which it has employed,-an action at law for the collection of the license fee. The plaintiff's real point here is not that the ordinance imposing a license fee casts a cloud upon its title, but that the reason alleged to have induced the ordinance, namely, the city's claim that the company has no more than a mere permission to occupy the streets, unfavorably affects its property and impairs its credit. ”

“ The obvious purpose of the law was to guard against the introduction into the state of cattle infected with a communicable disease. It undoubtedly restricts the absolute freedom of interstate commerce in cattle, but only to the extent that all cattle coming to cross the guarded boundary are subjected to inspection to ascertain whether or not they are diseased. If healthy they are admitted; if diseased they are excluded. ”

“ It would introduce a new uncertainty into the law if the constitutionality of statutes were to be judged by the motives and purposes of those who persuaded the legislature to enact them. We are unable to conceive of any possible bearing that these allegations, if accepted as true, could have on the constitutional questions certified to us, or to regard them as creating any real and substantial distinction between the case before us and the Wright Case. ”

“ The operation of a railway consists very largely in the running of cars, and the right of the transit company, to regulate, in the first instance, the operation of its railway, clearly includes the power to decide upon time schedules. But the company cannot finally determine, as it chooses, the manner of operating its road in respect of the time, speed, and frequency of its cars. Its primary duty is to operate a sufficient number of cars to meet the public convenience. ”

“ It is not easy to fix at any given time the amount of depreciation of a plant whose component parts are of different ages, with different expectations of life. But it is clear that some substantial allowance for depreciation ought to have been made in this case. The officers of the company, alio intuitu, estimated what they called 'incomplete depreciation' of this plant (which we understand to be the depreciation of the surviving parts of it still in use) at $77,000, which is 14 per cent of the master's appraisement of the tangible property. ”

“ That work was done by the defendant, for a price, as its own work, by and through its own instrumentalities and servant, under its own control.
Much stress is laid upon the fact that the winchman obeyed the signals of the gangman, who represented the master stevedore, in timing the raising and lowering of the cases of oil. But when one large general work is undertaken by different persons, doing distinct parts of the same undertaking, there must be co-operation and co-ordination, or there will be chaos. ”

“ On the other hand, whenever, as in these cases, the tax has been upon the property of the corporation, so far as that property has consisted of such securities, it has been held void.
One other consideration only needs to be noticed. It is said that where a tax is levied upon a corporation, measured by the value of the shares in it, it is equivalent in its effect to a tax (clearly valid) upon the shareholders in respect of their shares, because, being paid by the bank, the burden falls eventually upon the shareholders in proportion to their holdings. ”

“ That question is whether the plaintiff is entitled, on the allegations of its bill, to relief in equity in the Federal courts.
It is obvious that the rights of which the company seeks to avail itself are rights cognizable in a court of law, and not rights created only by the principles of equity. The sum of the company's contentions is that the imposition of the license fee was illegal, unconstitutional, and void. All these contentions are open in a court of law. ”

“ It is not only the right of the company to make such a provision, but it is its duty to its bond and stockholders, and, in the case of a public service corporation, at least, its plain duty to the public. If a different course were pursued the only method of providing for replacement of property which has ceased to be useful would be the investment of new capital and the issue of new bonds or stocks. ”

“ That the tax upon the property of a bank in which United States securities are included is beyond the power of the state, and, what perhaps is of lesser moment, within the prohibition of the statutory law, hardly needs to be proved by authority. ”