Willfong v. Omaha & St. Louis Railroad
Supreme Court of Iowa
Appeals from Page District Court. — IIons. W. R. Green and A. B. Ti-iornell, Judges. The plaintiffs in these two cases are husband and wife, and were both injured at the same time by collision with one of the defendant’s passenger trains at a highway crossing over its road. The negligence charged'is the failure to blow the whistle and ring the bell, for the crossing as required by law. It is conceded that the whistle was not sounded.
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Appeals from Page District Court. — IIons. W. R. Green and A. B. Ti-iornell, Judges. The plaintiffs in these two cases are husband and wife, and were both injured at the same time by collision with one of the defendant’s passenger trains at a highway crossing over its road. The negligence charged'is the failure to blow the whistle and ring the bell, for the crossing as required by law. It is conceded that the whistle was not sounded. Whether the bell was rung is a mooted question. The train was one which ran from Omaha, Neb., to St. Louis, Mo. It carried local and through mail, and on the…
1Opinion of the Court
Sherwin, J. —
1 The defendant seeks to excuse itself from liability under the statute for failing to blow the whistle under the peculiar circumstances disclosed, and urges that, as it was engaged at the time in interstate commerce and in conveying the mail, it should not be held liable for running its engine without a whistle. The statute is mandatory, and is of undoubted validity as a police regulation of the movement of trains within this state. Nor can the regulation itself be justly said to interfere with interstate •commerce, or to- in any way attempt to regulate it. It is a police…
2Cases cited12 opinions
- Smith v. AlabamaSupreme Court of the United States · 1888
- Railroad Co. v. HusenSupreme Court of the United States · 1878
- Railroad Co. v. FullerSupreme Court of the United States · 1873
- Carnochan v. ChristieSupreme Court of the United States · 1826
- Burdick v. PeopleIllinois Supreme Court · 1894
7 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by31 opinions
- McGuire v. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RailroadSupreme Court of Iowa · 1906
- Bradley v. Missouri Pac. R.Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 1923
- Clarke v. Connecticut Co.Supreme Court of Connecticut · 1910
- McBride v. Des Moines City Railway Co.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1906
- Bradley v. Interurban Railway Co.Supreme Court of Iowa · 1921
26 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.