Spokane & I. E. R. v. United States

The plaintiff in error was at the times here in question a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce by means of an electric railroad between the city of Spokane, in the state of Washington, and Coeur d’Alene city in the state of Idaho, and for alleged violations of the act of Congress known as the Safety Appliance Act, approved March 2, 1893 (chapter 196, 27 Stat. 531 ), as amended April 1, 1896 (chapter 87, 29 Stat. 85 [U. S. Comp. St. 1901, p. 3174]), and as further amended March 2, 1903 (chapter 976, 32 Stat. 943 [U. S. Comp. St. Supp. 1911, p. 1314]), the present action was brought by the government, the complaint in which action contains 15 counts, the first 12 of which allege in substance that the violation of the statute consisted in hauling over its road certain designated cars which were not provided with the grabirons or handholds required by the statute, and the last 3 of which alleged in substance the violation of the statute to have consisted in hauling over its road certain designated cars not provided with the automatic couplers thereby required. The case was tried with a jury, which returned a verdict against the railroad company upon which judgment was given…