SEC. 13. Any citizen of any county, city or town may institute suit in behalf of himself and all others interested, to protect the inhabitants thereof against the enforcement of any illegal exactions whatever (f). ARTICLE XVII. RAILROADS, CANALS AND TURNPIKES. Right of citizen to sue in behalf of inhabitants of county or municipality. public highways. Transportation companies mon carriers. Right to construct railroads. SECTION I. All railroads, canals and turnpikes shall be pub- Railroads, etc., lic highways, and all railroads and canal companies shall be common carriers. Any association or corporation organized for the purpose shall have the right to construct and operate a railroad between any points within this state, and to connect at the state line with railroads of other states. Every railroad company shall have the right with its road to intersect, connect with or cross Intersection and any other road, and shall receive and transport each the other's connection of passengers, tonnage and cars, loaded or empty, without delay or discrimination. SEC. 2. Every railroad, canal or turnpike corporation operated or partly operated in this state shall maintain one office therein, where transfers of its stock shall be made and where its books shall be kept for inspection by any stockholder or creditor of such corporation, in which shall be recorded the amount of capital stock subscribed or paid in, and the amounts owned by them respectively, the transfers of said stock and the names and places of residence of the officers. SEC. 3. All individuals, associations and corporations shall have equal rights to have persons and property transported over railroads, canals and turnpikes, and no undue or unreasonable discrimination shall be made in charges for, or in facilities for transportation of freight or passengers, within the state, or coming from or going to any other state. Persons and property transported over any railroad shall be delivered at any station at charges not exceeding the charges for transportation of persons and property of the same class in the same direction to any more distant station; but excursion and commutation tickets may be issued at special rates. SEC. 4. No railroad, canal or other corporation, or the lessees, purchasers or managers of any railroad, canal or corpora (f) By this section chancery has power to inquire into the validity of municipal exactions, and to enjoin their collection when found invalid; but to enjoin a city from prosecutions for violations of its ordinances is beyond its usual relief. Taylor v. Pine Bluff, 34-603; Oil Co. v. Little Rock, 39-412. See also Little Rock v. Barton, 33-441. Illegal taxes may be enjoined. Little Rock v. Prather, 46–471. railroads. Transportation companies to maintain office in state. Transfers of stock. Books. Equal right to transportation. Regulation of charges. Parallel or competing lines of transportation not to be consolidated or controlled by same parties. Prohibitions upon officers, etc., of transportation companies. Discrimination or motive power of the state. Conditions of remission of forfeiture of charter or legislation favorable to corporations. tion, shall consolidate the stock, property or franchises of such corporation with or lease or purchase the works or franchises of, or in any way control, any other railroad or canal corporation owning or having under its control a parallel or competing line, nor shall any officer of such railroad or canal corporation act as an officer of any other railroad or canal corporation owning or having control of a parallel or competing line; and the question whether railroads or canals are parallel or competing lines shall, when demanded by the party complainant, be decided by a jury as in other civil issues. SEC. 5. No president, director, officer, agent or employe of any railroad or canal company shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in the furnishing of materials or supplies to such company or in the business of transportation as a common carrier of freight or passengers over the works owned, leased, controlled or worked by such company; nor in any arrangement which shall afford more advantageous terms or greater facilities than are offered or accorded to the public. And all contracts and arrangements in violation of this section shall be void. SEC. 6. No discrimination in charges or facilities for transportation shall be made between transportation companies and individuals or in favor of either by abatement, drawback or otherwise, and no railroad or canal company or any lessee, manager or employee thereof shall make any preferences in furnishing cars or motive power. SEC. 7. The general assembly shall prevent by law the granting of free passes by any railroad or transportation company to passes to officers any officer of this state, legislative, executive or judicial (g). SEC. 8. The general assembly shall not remit the forfeiture of the charter of any corporation now existing, or alter or amend the same or pass any general or special law for the benefit of such corporation, except on condition that such corporation shall thereafter hold its charter subject to the provisions of this constitution. SEC. 9. The exercise of the right of eminent domain shall never be abridged or so construed as to prevent the general assembly from taking the property and franchises of incorporated companies and subjecting them to public use the same as the property of individuals. Eminent domain over property of corporations. Legislature to prevent abuses SEC. 10. The general assembly shall pass laws to correct by transportation abuses and prevent unjust discrimination and excessive charges companies and by railroads, canals and turnpike companies for transporting create railroad commission. freight and passengers, and shall provide for enforcing such laws. (g) See section 6694-6699. by adequate penalties and forfeitures, and shall provide for the creation of such offices and commissions and vest in them such authority as shall be necessary to carry into effect the powers hereby conferred (h). Movable property of corporations personal property. SEC. II. The rolling stock and all other movable property belonging to any railroad company or corporation in this state shall be considered personal property, and shall be liable to execution and sale in the same manner as the personal property of individuals, and the general assembly shall pass no law exempting empted from any such property from execution and sale. Not to be ex taxation. railroads to per sons and property. SEC. 12. All railroads which are now or may be hereafter Damages by built and operated, either in whole or in part, in this state shall be responsible for all damages to persons and property, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the general assembly (*). SEC. 13. The directors of every railroad corporation shall annually make a report under oath to the auditor of public accounts of all their acts and doings, which report shall include such matters relating to railroads as may be prescribed by law, and the general assembly shall pass laws enforcing by suitable penalties the provisions of this section. ARTICLE XVIII. JUDICIAL CIRCUITS. Annual report of railroad companies to auditor. Until otherwise provided by the general assembly, the judicial Judicial circuits: circuits shall be composed of the following counties: (h) See Railway v. Hanniford, 49-291; Dow v. Beidelman, 49325; s. c. Ib., 455. This section is repeated as sec. 6787 and is amendment No. 4. (*) Railway v. Becker, 67-1. Disqualifications of atheists. Duelling. Electors only qualified for office. Residence, etc., of officers. Officers to con tinue in office ARTICLE XIX. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. SECTION I. No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this state, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court. SEC. 2. No person who may hereafter fight a duel, assist in the same as second, or send, accept or knowingly carry a challenge therefor shall hold any office in the state for a period of ten years, and may be otherwise punished as the law may prescribe. SEC. 3. No person shall be elected to or appointed to fill a vacancy in any office who does not possess the qualifications of an elector (i). SEC. 4. All civil officers for the state at large shall reside within the state, and all district, county and township officers within their respective districts, counties and townships, and shall keep their offices at such places therein as are now or may hereafter be required by law (j). SEC. 5. All officers shall continue in office after the expiratill qualification tion of their official terms until their successors are elected and of successors. Plurality of offices. Forfeiture of residence. Deductions from salaries of officers. Creation of additional permanent state offices prohibited. Returns of election; to whom made. qualified (k). SEC. 6. No person shall hold or perform the duties of more than one office in the same department of the government at the same time, except as expressly directed or permitted by this constitution (1). SEC. 7. Absence on business of the state or of the United States, or on a visit or on necessary private business, shall not cause a forfeiture of residence once obtained. SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to regulate by law in what cases and what deductions from the salaries of public officers shall be made for neglect of duty in their official capacity. SEC. 9. The general assembly shall have no power to create any permanent state office not expressly provided for by this constitution. SEC. 10. Returns for all elections for officers who are to be commissioned by the governor and for members of the general assembly, except as otherwise provided by this constitution, shall be made to the secretary of state. (i) A special judge must be an elector. White v. Reagan, 25-622. See State v. Hixon, 27-398. (j) (k) See Haley v. Petty, 42-394; Smith v. Askew, 48--82. (1) See note to section 2, art. IV, and exception to this section in section 26 this article. officers. SEC. 11. The governor, secretary of state, auditor, treas- Salaries of state urer, attorney-general, judges of the supreme court, judges of the circuit court, commissioner of state lands and prosecuting attorneys shall each receive a salary, to be established by law which shall not be increased or diminished during their respective terms (m), nor shall any of them, except the prosecuting attorneys after the adoption of this constitution, receive to his own Fees pertaining use any fees, costs, perquisites of office or other compensation; and all fees that may hereafter be payable by law for any service performed by any officer mentioned in this section, except prosecuting attorneys, shall be paid in advance into the state treasury. Provided, that the salaries of the respective officers herein mentioned shall never exceed per annum: For governor the sum of $4,000.00; for secretary of state the sum of $2,500.00; for treasurer the sum of $3,000.00; for auditor the sum of $3,000.00; for attorney-general the sum of $2,500.00; for commissioner of state lands the sum of $2,500.00; for judges of the supreme court, each, the sum of $4,000.00; for judges of the circuit courts and chancellors, each, the sum of $3,000.00; for prosecuting attorney the sum of $400.00. And provided, further, that the general assembly shall provide for no increase of salaries of its members which shall take effect before the meeting of the next general assembly. SEC. 12. An accurate and detailed statement of the receipts and expenditures of the public money, the several amounts paid, to whom and on what account, shall, from time to time, be published as may be prescribed by law. to state offices. Maximum sal aries of state officers. aries of members of general assembly. Increase of sal Publication of receipts and expenditures of public money. SEC. 13. All contracts for a greater rate of interest than Usury. ten per centum per annum shall be void, as to principal and interest, and the general assembly shall prohibit the same by law, but when no rate of interest is agreed upon the rate shall be six Rate of interest per centum per annum (n). SEC. 14. No lottery shall be authorized by this state, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. Lotteries pro Contracts for stationery, fuel, printing, furniture, etc., for state govern SEC. 15. All stationery, printing, paper, fuel, for the use of the general assembly and other departments of government, shall be furnished, and the printing, binding and distributing of the laws, journals, department reports and all other printing and ment. binding, and the repairing and furnishing the halls and rooms (m) Officers who are not named in this section may have their salaries increased or decreased. Humphrey v. Sadler, 40-100. (n) This section is divided into two sections and repeated in ch. CXIII, title, "Money, Interest and Usury,' as sections 5379 and 5389. Notes of the decisions thereunder will be found in foot notes (a) and (f) of said chapter. |