Scott

This is an appeal by the plaintiff from the judgment of the court below in favor of the defendant. This appeal is on the judgment-roll alone. The plaintiff is the owner of a street railroad running from the intersection of Market Street and Steuart Street, in the city and county of San Francisco, to the town of Baden, in San Mateo County, with a branch to Golden Gate Park, at the intersection of Eighteenth and Guerrero streets, a total distance of twenty-three miles, of which eighteen and four tenths miles is situated in San Francisco, and the remainder in the county of San Mateo. During the times here involved the defendant was operating the road in more than one county; that is to say, it was operated as a continuous line running from the terminus in San Francisco to Baden, in San Mateo County. The assessor of San Francisco for the year 1899 made an assessment of the property of the plaintiff, including its franchise, roadway, road-bed, rails, and rolling-stock situated in the county of San Francisco. In the same year the state board of equalization made a valuation of the entire line of the plaintiff's road, and apportioned the same between the county of San Mateo and the city…

This appeal is on the judgment-roll. The facts are undisputed, and the single question presented for determination is whether under the constitution of this state the franchises, rails, and rolling-stock of a street railroad operated in more than one county should be assessed by the state board of equalization or by the assessors of the several counties through which the railroad passes. It is conceded that, if the word "railroads," as used in section 10 of article XIII of the constitution of the state, includes street railroads, the judgment should be reversed. The section of the constitution to which reference has been made reads as follows: ". . . The franchise, roadway, road-bed, rails, and rolling-stock of all railroads operated in more than one county in this state, shall be assessed by the state board of equalization at their actual value, and the same shall be apportioned to the counties, cities and counties, cities, towns, townships, and districts in which such railroads are located, in proportion to the number of miles of railway laid in such counties, cities and counties, towns, townships, and districts." It has been said by this court (Ferguson v. Sherman, 116 Cal. 176…

I dissent, and adhere to the former decision and to the opinion then delivered; and I desire to add only the following, which seems to be too obvious to be surmounted by any kind of reasoning: The word "railroad" is frequently used in the constitution without any other defining or qualifying phrase, and where the meaning of the word, standing alone, comes in question in determining the application of some provision of the law, it is no doubt occasionally difficult to decide whether, in the particular matter involved, it should be construed to include "street railroad." But in the provision here in question — "all railroads operated in more than one county in this state" — the word "railroads" does not stand alone; the important, significant, and controlling part of the phrase is "operated in more than one county." The thought in the minds of the framers of the constitution, as shown by the language used, was to provide for the assessment of a railroad, with its rolling-stock, franchises, etc., running through and being operated in more than one county. And the thing intended to be provided for is in its very nature applicable to any railroad which is operated in more…