CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & ST. PAUL RAILWAY COMPANY
v.
UNITED STATES
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The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company sued to recover reduced freight charges it had applied to shipments transported on its land-grant railroad lines between 1909 and 1916, arguing the United States owed it the difference between the discounted rates and full tariff rates. The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Claims' judgment against the railway, holding that the United States was entitled to the reduced rates (50 percent of tariff on some lines and free transportation on others) as a condition of the land grants, and that the railway could not recover the difference since it had presented bills at the reduced rates and the Government had paid them without protest.
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'¡Mr. Justice BuTLER delivered the opinion of the Court.
. Appellant ¡brought this action, October 29, 1917, to re-. cover the-amounts by which freight charges on certain materials transported over its railroad were reduced; by the application qf government land-grant rates. All the freight was transported on government bills of lading and moved in, whole or in part by the use of appellant’s land-aided lines, of railroad. The shipments, including coal, sand, cement, piling and lúmber, were made in the years 1909 to 1916, inclusive. Some of appellant’s lines of railroads were constructed by the aid of land granted by an Act of Congress of May 12,1864, § 3, c. 84,13 Stat.
73. See Lake Superior & Mississippi R. R. Co. v. United States, 93 U. S. 442; Act of August 5, 1882, c. 390, 22 Stat; 261. The appellant deemed the United States to be entitled to have its property transported over such lines at 50 per cent, of the tariff rates. Two of appellant’s lines of railroad in Minnesota were constructed by the aid of land granted by an Act of Congress of July 4, 1866, § 3, c.168, 14 Stat.
88. Appellant made no charges for the shipments that moved over these lines. Appellant alleged that when it received and transported such freight it believed it belonged to the United States, and had no intimation that the shipments were private property until the latter part of 1916. The Court of Claims held that all the shipments belonged to the United States, and that it was entitled to transportation of. its property at 50 per cent, of the tariff rates on the aided lines first above referred to and to free transportation, on those last mentioned, and found that it was not shown whether appellant was informed as to the title to the property.-
. The court further found that in every instance appellant made out and presented freight bills to the Government for the net charges after making proper land . grant deductions, and that the payment of .the full amount so. claimed was made and accepted without protest. Appellant is not entitled to' recover. Louisville & Nashville R. R. v. United States, decided this day, ante, p. 395, and cases cited.
Judgment affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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United States v. Reading Co., 270 U.S. 320 (U.S. 1926)…ny recovery, and bring the case presented on cross appeal within the ruling in Oregon-Washington R. R. Co. v. United States, 255 U. S. 339, 345; Louisville & Nashville R. R. v. United States, 267 U. S. 395, 401; C., M. & St. P. Ry. v. United States, 267 U. S. 403. The cross appeal is without merit. No. 403. The United States appeals from a judgment against it for $48,439.68. This case is similar to No. 401. In 1916 and 1917, plaintiff, Southern Railway Company, transported military impedimenta for the Unit…
Authorities Cited
- Lake Superior & Miss. R.R. Co. v. United States, 93 U.S. 442 (U.S. 1876)