62 So. 749 | Ala. | 1913
Article 12 of the Constitution of 1901, composed of sections 242-246, deals with railroads and canals, and section 243 provides in part as follows: “The power and authority of regulating railroad freight and passenger tariffs, the locating and building of passenger and freight depots, correcting abuses, * * * are hereby conferred upon the Legislature, whose duty it shall be to pass laws,” etc. The Legislature, availing
The object of the constitutional provisions and these legislative enactments was to give proper protection to the traveling public against inconvenient and in-' adequate depot facilities. “It was not expected that the Legislature should do more than pass laws to accomplish the ends in view. When this was done, its duty had been discharged. All laws are carried into execution by means of officers appointed for that purpose; some with more, others with less, but all must be clothed with power sufficient for the effectual execution of- the law to be enforced. Legislative grants of power to the officers of the law to make rules and regulations which are to have the force and effect of laws are by no means uncommon in the history of our legislation.” — Georgia
Our own court is in accord with the holding that thej Legislature performs its function in creating the laws and can delegate the execution of same to officials legally selected for said purpose, and that the giving of said officials some latitude in the execution of same does not[ amount to the delegation of the authority to legislated —Whaley v. State, 168 Ala. 152, 52 South. 941, 30 L. R. A. (N. S.) 499; State v. McCarty, 5 Ala. App. 212, 59 South. 543 (which was subsequently approved by this court in the denial of the writ of certiorari to review the holding of the Court of Appeals); Ward v. State, 154 Ala. 227, 45 South. 655; Tallassee Co. v. Coms. Court, 158 Ala. 263; 48 South. 354.
Indeed, the power of the Legislature to create a railroad or corporation commission, and through them to exercise its power of regulation over railroads, has been repeatedly sustained, subject to the limitations that they cannot be invested with strictly legislative or judicial powers, and that their power and proceedings must be within constitutional restrictions relating to due process of law, and equal protection of the laws, and that a state cannot authorize a railroad commission to regulate interstate commerce.
So a railroad commission legally constituted is an administrative body, and not legislative, or a court, although they do in some cases exercise some functions of a judicial character; nor are their decisions judgments in the ordinary sense of the term. — 33 Cyc. 45 and cases cited in note. “In some cases the statutes give a right of appeal from the orders of railroad commissioners, or authorize the railroad company to bring an action against the commissioners to have the regulations, or-
In some jurisdictions, including this one, the regulation of questions relating to the establishment, location, maintenance, removal, or abandonment of stations is vested by statute to a greater or lesser extent in boards of railroad commissioners whose orders are re
It may be that the Constitution does not in words mention a union depot or provide for the relocation of depots, but the right to locate means the right to relocate or change an existing location to meet the' necessities or exigencies of business development, or changes in the tide and course of travel or business centers. The right to locate also carries the right to locate a passenger depot for different roads at the same place or point, if the public convenience requires it; the facilities required being in keeping with the financial ability of the road to maintain them, so that the same is not an unreasonable burden upon the railroads affected thereby. Certainly the statutes in question are not only sanctioned by the Constitution, but would no doubt be within the legislative province, if not expressly authorized by the Constitution, as the Constitution does not prohibit the exercise of police regulation over public carriers and the Legislature can do all things not prohibited by state or federal Constitutions.
As to whether or not so much of section 5545 as authorizes the commissioners to apportion the cost of erection and compel a joint ownership or cotenancy in the property regardless of the wishes of the interested roads is repugnant to the state and federal Constitutions, we are not called upon to decide, for the reason that, if it is, this part of it might be stricken and leave the rest of section 5545, or if the whole section was stricken, section 5543, while not mentioning union depots, authorizes the commissioners to require railroads to maintain adequate depots and adequate buildings for the accommodation of passengers, so if they are not properly located they are not adequate and do not prop
We say that this complainant cannot complain of the unconstitutionality of so much of section 5545 as authorizes the commission to require a joint ownership of the depot property for the reason that the order of the commission contains no such requirement. There is nothing in the order (which will be set out by the Reporter) that makes it imperative upon this complainant to jointly bear the expense and burden of acquiring the lot and erecting the depot. Nor does it attempt to fix the title, interest, or ownership in the property by the respective railroads. The order designates the point of location and instructed the roads to agree among themselves as to the proportionate expense and ownership if they could, and provided that, if they cotfid not do so, the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad will proceed to acquire the lot and report plans and specifications for the depot. It further provides that, after the depot is constructed by said Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad, the other roads, including this complainant, shall enter and use the same upon such terms as may be agreed upon by all of said companies, and, in case of a failure to agree, then on such terms and conditions as the commission may order and direct. There is nothing whatever in said order that is imperative, as to this complainant, except that
So long as the commission acts within the rule above stated, its orders in exercising the police power of the state is not violative of the state or federal Constitutions as to condemning property without due process notwithstanding the railroad may lose the nse of the old building or the use of the lot as a location for its passenger depot. It acquired the lot and erected the building with a full knowledge of and subject to the police power of the state. If the commission in making the order exceeded its jurisdiction, or the act under Avhich it proceeds is unconstitutional, or the order is unreasonable or unjust, the courts are open to the railroad to prevent the enforcement of same. We have already held that the commission had the authority under the statute to make the order, and that the statute, so far as it relates to this complainant, is not unconstitutional, so the only remaining question to be decided is whether or not said order is unjust or unreasonable.
Presumptively it is reasonable, and the court will not overturn the finding of the commission unless it clearly appears that said order is unjust and unreasonable.
In determining this question the needs and accommodation of the public and the effect it will have upon the property rights of the railroad, Avhile not the sole, are the paramount, questions for consideration. The
It has been suggested, and the point seems to have been seriously considered by the trial court, that the order of the commission is nonenforceable because a part of a street is included in the location selected. If the right to do the thing is authorized by the Legislature, that might carry Avith it the right to close the street. — Griffin v. Railroad Co., 150 N. C. 312, 64 S. E. 16. This point, hoAvever, need not be decided, for it is not available to this complainant, as that is a matter between the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad, and the public, and if the Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad does not acquire a lot and erect the depot the order Avill amount to nothing in so far as it relates to this complainant.
The judgement of the city court is reversed, and one is here rendered dissolving the injunction and dismissing the bill of complaint.
Reversed and rendered.
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