Oregon-Washington R. & Nav. v. United States

The government brought this action to recover 30 penalties, of $100 each, for the alleged violation of a certain order made by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the authority of which is not questioned. It was made. June 28, 1911, and is as follows :

The fact is conceded that the plaintiff in error is a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, and that its railroad extends through the district of Oregon, and that it failed to include in its rer ports to the Commission the specific instances counted on in the complaint in which employés of the plaintiff in error were permitted to remain on duty for a longer period than that prescribed by Act March 4, 1907, c. 2939, commonly called the Hours of Service Act ( 34 Stat. 1415 [Comp. St. 1913, §§ 8677-8680]); but it seems to be also conceded by the respective parties that those omissions were inadvertently made, and that all other instances in which such employés were permitted to work overtime were duly reported to the Commission by the railroad company; and the question of law presented for decision is whether such inadvertent omissions rendered the company liable for the fines. The court below, in granting the government’s…