119 Iowa 491 | Iowa | 1903
The defendant’s line of railway, classed by 'the executive council as “A,” runs through Rockwell City, Iowa. The -nearest stations on each side are Rands and Jolley. In each of the first three counts of the petition plaintiff alleged the purchase on the 25th day of August, 1900, of one passenger ticket to Rands for seventeen cents; fihat defendant sold the same without any provision for redemption, stamping on its face, “Good only one day from date of sale;” that he demanded redemption thereof from the office where bought September 15, 1900, which •was refused and neglected for ten days. In each of the
“Section 1. Common Carriers to Redeem Tickets. It ;.shall be the duty of every railroad company, corporation, person or persons acting as common carriers of passengers in the state of Iowa, to provide for redemption, at the place of purchase and the general passenger agent’s office ■of said carriers, of the whole or integral part of any passenger ticket or tickets that such carrier may have sold as ¡the purchaser or owner has not used for passage or received ■such transportation for which such ticket should have been •surrendered, and said carrier shall there redeem the same ,at a rate which shall equal the difference between the price paid for the whole and the cost of a ticket between the points for which said ticket had been actually used, and mo carrier shall limit the time in which redemption shall .’be made to less than ten days from date of sale at the place of purchase and six months from date of sale at general passenger agent’s office.
“Sec. 2. Notice Posted. No railroad company, corporation, person or persons doing business in the state of 'Iowa, as a common carrier of passengers, whose rate of ¡fare is regulated by the statute of this state, shall sell or issue to any person, at the maximum rate allowed by law, any ticket or tickets bearing condition or limitation as to •■the time of use, or as to transferability, without first providing for the redemption of said ticket as directed by the preceding section hereof, and also having notice of such provision and privilege of redemption conspiciously posted at each place where sales of tickets aré made by common ■carriers of this state. A failure to provide for redemption ■of such ticket or to give notice as above provided shall make all conditions and limitations as to time of use or ¡transferability of no force or effect.
*495 “Sec. 3. Penalty. Any railroad company, corporation, person or persons, who as common carriers shall sell or ássue tickets as set forth in the preceding sections, and shall refuse or neglect to redeem the same, as by said section provided within ten days of date of demand, shall . forfeit and pay to the owner of such ticket the purchase price of said ticket, and the further sum of $100.”
■ This view has support in, Parks v. Railway Co. 13 Lea, 1(49 Am. Rep. 655). There an act of the legislature required railroad companies “to announce in loud distinct words for each passenger car, the stopping place station, depot or town at which each car or passenger train stops. Upon failure of any railroad company during any trip of the passenger cars to comply strictly with this provision” it should forfeit $100. This was not made dependent on some passenger desiring to get off, or recovery of the penalty limited to persons aggrieved. The plaintiff undertook to accumulate two hundred and forty omissions, and his petition was in that number of counts, and prayed a separate penalty in each. The company insisted that but a single penalty should be allowed, and this the court held, but appears also to have been of the opinion that the plaintiff was not within the provision of the statute. In the course of the opinion the court said: “All the authorities agree that statutes like the one under consideration must be construed strictly. They further agree that a master or principal may be made liable for a reasonable penalty for the act or omission of an employe or agent in
The ruling on the demurrer to the first three counts of the petition is reversed; otherwise the judgment will stand AEEIRMED.