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Constitutional law. (See NOTE, p. 7.)

Statute authorizing construction and maintenance of
street railroad, not unconstitutional because it failed
to provide means for paying damages to abutting owners
in advance.

Lockhart v. Craig St. Ry. Co. (Pa.).....................

State cannot tax telegraph companies which have accepted
provisions of post-roads act of congress, upon receipts
arising from interstate telegrams.

PAGE

314

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Alabama State Board (U. S.)

1

State tax of a fixed sum per mile upon line of telegraph
company doing interstate business, held vcid.

13

Commonwealth v. Smith (Ky.).....................

New York statute providing for tax on telegraph, tele-
phone or electric light lines, the word "lines" being
defined as including the property within the town or
ward where the assessment is laid, held not in violation
of the U. S. Constitution.

People, ex rel. W. U. Tel. Co. v. Tierney (N. Y.)............. 50, note.

State tax upon property of telegraph company within the .
State, based upon proportion of length of its lines there
to entire length in the United States, not forbidden by
United States Constitution.

Attorney-General v. W. U. Tel. Co. (U. S.)......................

Municipal corporation cannot impose tax upon telegraph
company.

City of Philadelphia v. W. U. Tel. Co. (U. S.).. . ... . .

Municipal ordinance imposing license fee upon telegraph
company, and statute under which same enacted, held
void.

City Council of Charleston v. Postal Tel. Cable Co.
(S. C.)........

Telephone company having lines extending into more
than one State, is an instrument of interstate commerce,
and its business cannot be restrained by injunction by a
State court for failure to pay a State tax upon gross
receipts.

Matter of Taxation of Pennsylvania Teleph. Co. (N. J.)
New York statute making death by electricity the penalty
for capital crimes does not infringe the Constitution of

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the State of New York as being a cruel and unusual
punishment.

People, ex rel. Kemmler v. Durston (N. Y.)........

Nor the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of
the United States or the provisions of said Constitution
which prohibit the passage of ex post facto laws.

Contract.

In Re Kemmler (U. S.).............

A proposed contract of the board of electrical control of
New York city with a subway company held illegal in
specified particulars.

Armstrong v. Grant (N. Y.)................

PAGE.

834

842

132

Contracts of American Bell Teleph. Co. with local com-
panies considered and explained.

People v. Am. Bell Teleph. Co. (N. Y.)..............

26

Such contract held void for discrimination.

State, ex rel. Postal Tel. Cable Co. v. D. & A. Tel. &
Teleph. Co. (U.S.)..

533

Contract of telegraph company with railroad company con-
strued.

Latrobe v. Western Tel. Co. (Md.).......

854, note.

857, note.

Contributory negligence.

Failure of traveler to notice electric light wire on sidewalk
held not.

Brush Elec. Lighting Co. v. Kelley (Ind.)........

Act of driver of a fire engine in driving upon ground of
city forbidden to public travel, held not, so as to prevent
his recovery for injuries caused by collision with guy-
wire.

Wilson v. Gt. So. Teleph. & Tel. Co. (La.).

Act of owner of young horse, knowing it to be unaccus-
tomed to electric cars and the dangers of such a course,
for the purpose of testing the horse, in driving it where
he knew electric cars would be met, held to be.

Cornell v. Detroit Electric Ry. Co. (Mich.).........

Act of driver of float with heavy load above ordinary
height, in veering from one side of the street to the other
to avoid collision with wagon in front, whereby float
and load came in contact with electric light wire fifteen
feet above the ground, held not.

Williams v. Louisiana Elec. Lt. & Power Co. (La.)....

466

486

479

Failure of addressee to observe that telegram delivered to
him was a duplicate of an earlier telegram, as to the
subject matter of which he had received later and cor-
rected information, held not.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Virginia Paper Co. (Va.)..

Failure of a father suing for negligent failure of telegraph
company to deliver message to physician summoning
him to attend son, to call another physician for nine
days, held to be.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Hoffman (Tex.)......

PAGE.

811

806, note.

The sender of a message of inquiry as to market rates, had
an arrangement with the addressee to the effect that if
rates were unchanged no answer should be sent.
Receiving no answer, the sender acted in reliance upon
said arrangement, without seeking other means of infor-
mation of which he knew. Held question for jury
whether or not he was guilty of contributory negligence.
Garrett v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Iowa)...

657

Damages and measure of damages for error, etc., in transmission
of telegrams.

Company liable for actual damage sustained, where
importance of message manifest from its words, or made
so by explanation to operator or other agent.
Pearsall v. W. U. Tel. Co. (N. Y.)................
Postal Tel. Cable Co. v. Lathrop (Ill.)..

Same, though message in cipher and contents undisclosed
to operator.

American Union Tel. Co. v. Daughtery (Ala.) ........
Contra, unless delay so great as to amount substantially
to failure to deliver at all.

724

630

579

Abeles v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Mo.)......

686, note.

Company liable only for damages which may be presumed

to have been within the contemplation of the parties
when the message was presented for transmission.
Western Union Tel. Co. v. Clifton (Miss.).......

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686, note.

806, note.

592

The following decisions are in cases where damages for
mental distress were sought, and relate to the rule last
stated:

In action for damages for delay of telegram announcing
death or serious illness, held unnecessary that the rela-

tionship between the plaintiff and the person deceased
should be disclosed by the message or explained to the
operator.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Adams (Tex.)

PAGE.

768

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805, note.

In given case, damages for mental injury of wife not
allowed in action by husband.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Kirkpatrick (Tex.)...

Telegrams in the following language held sufficient to
indicate near relationship:

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"Come at once. Mr. Potts is not expected to live.
(Signed.) M. E. Potts."

Potts v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Tex.).............

807, note.

In given case, language of commercial telegram held to
sufficiently indicate importance.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Lowrey (Neb.).......

Company not chargeable with speculative damages. In
given cases, held too remote for recovery.

Cahn v. Western Union Tel. Co. (U. S.)..
Chapman v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Ky.)......

In a given case, held a proper question for the jury to
decide whether the plaintiff's damages were such as
might reasonably have been apprehended to result from
defendant's failure to transmit the telegram.

717

824

670

Garrett v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Iowa)...............

657

There being no evidence of wilful or gross negligence, the
company is liable only for actual damages sustained.

American Union Tel. Co. v. Daughtery (Ala.)...................

579

In case of loss caused by rise or fall of value during delay
in transmission, measure is amount of such rise or fall.
Pearsall v. W. U. Tel. Co. (N. Y.)..

724

VOL. III-55.

If a message asking information as to market value was
not transmitted and the plaintiff acted in reliance upon
the fact that the market was unchanged, in pursuance
of an arrangement with the addressee to send no answer
in such case, he would be entitled to recover such dam-
ages as he sustained by purchasing in the belief that his
message had been transmitted.

Garrett v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Iowa)...............

By failure of a telegraph company to transmit a telegram
quoting the price of hogs at his nearest market, the
plaintiff was caused to ship to the next nearest market
town, and sell at a lower figure. Held, that the measure
of his damages in an action against the company
was the difference in price plus the increased cost of
transportation.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Collins (Kan.)................

As to what constitute actual damages in a given case, see
Rich Grain Distilling Co. v. W. U. Tel. Co. (Ky.)

PAGE.

637

664

675, note.

For mental distress as an element of damages, see "Mental
Distress."

Discrimination.

A telephone company cannot evade a statute requiring it
to furnish connections and facilities to all applicants
within its territorial limits, without discrimiuation and
at a fixed maximum rate, by adopting the "public
stations" instead of the "rental" system.

Central Union Teleph. Co. v. State, ex rel. Hopper
(Ind.)........

Contract of American Bell Telephone company with local
telephone company, providing for discrimination in
favor of or against certain telegraph companies, held
void.

State, ex rel. Postal. Tel. Cable Co. v. D. & A. Tel. &
Teleph. Co. (U. S.)......

529

533

Duty of telegraph companies to their customers and the public.
In absence of contract or regulation fixing liability, not
responsible as insurers of absolute safety and accuracy
as against all contingencies, but bound to furnish suitable
instruments and competent servants, and to use ordinary
care and diligence. Not liable for want of skill or knowl
edge not reasonably attainable in the present state of
telegraphy, nor for errors resulting from the peculiar
and unknown condition of the atmosphere.

Western Union Tel. Co. v. Short (Ark.)..

592

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