Morgan's Louisiana & T. R. & S. S. Co. v. Railroad Commission

Citations

• 109 La. 247
• 33 So. 214
• 1902 La. LEXIS 145

Syllabus

<p>RAILROAD COMMISSION—DUTIES AND POWERS—ERECTION OP DEPOTS—JURISDICTION OP SUPREME COURT.</p> <p>1. The railroad commission is an administrative board created by the state for carrying into effect the will of the state as expressed by its legislation. Its authority and duty are not limited to matters concerning public safety or health, but extend to matters concerning public comfort and convenience. In the consideration of the latter subject, the number of persons who may he concerned or interested at some particular point enters as an important factor.</p> <p>2. The position of the railroads that the point selected by the railroad commission for the erection of a depot as being for the best interest of the people along the line of road should also be one at which the business of the road is remunerative is not supported by authority, nor is it sustainable on principle, in view of the theory upon which the state grants franchises and corporate rights. Regard is to be had to the ability of the railroad, in view of. its entire business, to establish and maintain the depot, and not by the situation at some special locality.</p> <p>3. In disposing of matters of dispute between the railroads of the state and the railroad commission, the supreme court acts as a judicial tribunal, not as a mere administrative board supervisory of the acts of the .railroad commission.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>