Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Pennsylvania Co.

Citations

• 129 F. 849
• 68 L.R.A. 968
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4099

Syllabus

<p>1. Contracts — Duration—Presumption.</p> <p>If a contract is not revocable at the will of either party, or otherwise limited as to its duration, by its express terms, or by the inherent nature of the contract itself with reference to its subject-matter or its parties, it is presumably intended to be permanent and perpetual in the obligation it imposes.</p> <p>2. Same — Right to Terminate at Will — Agreement for Construction and</p> <p>Operation of Telegraph Line.</p> <p>A contract between a railroad company and a telegraph company provided for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a telegraph line along the right of way of the railroad company, which was to furnish and place the poles and cross-arms, while the telegraph company was to furnish the wire, insulation, and instruments, and operate the line, sending messages relating to the railroad business free, and having itself the commercial business. The railroad company was given the right to string a wire for its own business, and the telegraph company an additional wire, and provision was also made for the repair and renewal of the line. The line was built and operated under the agreement for many years, during which time it became an important part of the general system of the telegraph company, which, by mutual agreement, largely increased the number of its wires, and parol modifications were also made as to the expense of repairs and reconstruction. Helé, that the relations created between the parties by the contract were not merely personal, as in cases of partnership, master and servant, and the like, but that rights of property and the user thereof, in the nature of an easement, were conferred on the telegraph company, and that, in the ab-' sence of any express provision therefor, no right in the railroad company to determine or revoke the same at will could be inferred from the silence of the contract in that respect, or from its terms, purpose, or inherent nature.</p> <p>3. Same — Validity—In