12 1889, 154. 1894, 535, 8. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. See 1888, 365. ings by the transportation of persons and property, and shall be 1890, 200, $3. apportioned by the tax commissioner, who, on or before the first day of July in each year, shall assess upon each of said corporations its just proportion of such expenses, in proportion to its said earnings for the year next preceding that in which the assessment is made; and such assessments shall be collected in the manner provided by law for the collection of taxes upon corporations. Board to make annual report. 1874, 372, § 14. to have supervision of railroads, etc. 1874, 372, § 7. to see that laws are complied with. General Powers and Duties of the Board. SECTION 13. The board shall make an annual report of its doings to the general court, including such statements, facts, and explanations as will disclose the actual working of the system of railroad transportation in its bearing upon the business and prosperity of the commonwealth, and such suggestions as to its general railroad policy, or any part thereof, or the condition, affairs, or conduct of any railroad corporation, as may seem to it appropriate. SECTION 14. The board shall have the general supervision of all railroads and railways, and shall examine the same; and the commissioners shall keep themselves informed as to the condition of railroads and railways and the manner in which they are operated with reference to the security and accommodation of the public, and as to the compliance of the several corporations with their charters and the laws of the commonwealth. The provisions of the six following sections shall apply to all railroads and railways, and to the corporations, trustees, or others owning or operating the same. SECTION 15. The board, whenever in its judgment any such corporation has violated a law, or neglects in any respect to comply with See c. 113, § 62. the terms of the act by which it was created or with the provisions of 1874, 372, § 8. to inform corporations of necessary re etc. 1874, 372, § 9. any law of the commonwealth, shall give notice thereof in writing to such corporation; and, if the violation or neglect is continued after such notice, shall forthwith present the facts to the attorney-general, who shall take such proceedings thereon as he may deem expedient. SECTION 16. The board, whenever it deems that repairs are necespairs, improve- Sary upon any railroad, or that an addition to its rolling stock, or an ments, changes, addition to or change of its stations or station-houses, or a change in its rates of fares for transporting freight or passengers or in the mode of operating its road and conducting its business, is reasonable and expedient in order to promote the security, convenience, and accommodation of the public, shall in writing inform the corporation of the improvements and changes which it considers to be proper; and a report of the proceedings shall be included in the annual report of the board. to examine condition of road, on com plaint of city or town authori SECTION 17. Upon the complaint and application of the mayor and aldermen of a city or the selectmen of a town within which a part of any railroad is located, the board shall examine the condition and 1874, 372, § 10. operation thereof; and if twenty or more legal voters in a city or town, by petition in writing, request the mayor and aldermen or ties, etc. See 1885, 110. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. selectmen to make such complaint and application, and they decline so to do, they shall indorse upon the petition the reason of such noncompliance and return it to the petitioners, who may within ten days thereafter present it to said board; and the board may thereupon proceed to make such examination in the same manner as if called upon by the mayor and aldermen or the selectmen, first giving to the petitioners and to the corporation reasonable notice in writing of the time and place of entering upon the same. If upon such examination it appears to the board that the complaint is well founded, it shall so adjudge, and shall inform the corporation operating such railroad of its adjudication in the same manner as is provided in the preceding section. SECTION 18. The board shall investigate the causes of any accident on a railroad resulting in loss of life; and of any accident, not so resulting, which it may deem to require investigation. 13 Board to inves tigate causes of to be furnished with to condition, etc., of road. 1874, 372, § 12. SECTION 19. Every railroad corporation shall at all times, on request, furnish to the board any information required by it concern- information as ing the condition, management, and operation of the road of such management, corporation, and particularly copies of all leases, contracts, and agreements for transportation with express companies or otherwise to which it is a party, and also with the rates for transporting freight and passengers upon its road and other roads with which its business is connected. See §§ 81, 220. See 1894, 469. advice of, not to impair corporate duties and obligations. 1874, 372, § 13. books, SECTION 20. No request or advice of the board shall impair in any manner the legal duties and obligations of a railroad corporation, or its legal liability for the consequences of its acts, or of the neglect or mismanagement of any of its agents or servants. SECTION 21. The board shall from time to time in each year to examine examine the books and accounts of all corporations operating railroads accounts, etc. or street railways, to see that they are kept in a uniform manner and upon the system prescribed by the board. Statements of the doings and financial condition of the several corporations shall be prepared and published at such times as the board shall deem expedient. SECTION 22. On the application in writing of a director, or of any person or persons owning one-fiftieth part of the paid-in capital stock of a corporation operating a railroad or street railway, or owning the bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of such corporation equal in amount to one-fiftieth part of its paid-in capital stock, the board shall examine the books and the financial condition of said corporation, and shall cause the result of such examination to be published in one or more daily papers in the city of Boston. SECTION 23. The board shall at all times have access to the list of stockholders of every corporation operating a railroad or street rail way, and may at any time cause the same to be copied, in whole or in part, for the information of the board or of persons owning stock in such corporation. 1876, 185, § 2. See 1889, 241. 1893, 131. on request, to ascertain and publish financial 1876, 185, § 4. condition. to have access to list of stock holders, etc. 1876, 185, § 5. Penalty for refusal to sub SECTION 24. A corporation refusing to submit its books to the examination of the board, or neglecting to keep its accounts in the method prescribed by the board, shall be liable to the penalties pro- See § 81. mit books, etc. 1876, 185, § 6. 14 Board may summon wit ance how com pelled, etc. 1877, 194, § 1. 1879, 155. to prescribe form of annual return and furnish blanks. When to trans. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. vided in section eighty-four, in the case of the neglect or refusal to make a report or return. SECTION 25. Either of the said commissioners, in all cases investinesses. Attend gated by the board, may summon witnesses in behalf of the commonwealth, and may administer oaths and take testimony. The fees of such witnesses for attendance and travel shall be the same as for witnesses before the superior court, and shall be paid from the treasury of the commonwealth, and a certificate of the board shall be filed with the auditor; and any justice of the superior court, either in term time or vacation, upon application of the board, may in his discretion compel the attendance of such witnesses and the giving of testimony before the board in the same manner and to the same extent as before said court. SECTION 26. The board shall prescribe the form for the annual returns required to be made by railroad corporations, and may from time to time make changes and additions in such form, giving to the corporations one year's notice of any such changes or additions as require an alteration in the method or form of keeping their accounts; and shall, on or before the fifteenth day of [September] June in each year, furnish blank forms of such returns. When a return is defective or appears to be erroneous, the board shall notify the corporation to amend the same within fifteen days. The board shall prepare such tables and abstracts as it deems expedient of all the returns, and its annual report shall be transmitted to the secretary of the commonwealth on or before the first Wednesday in January in each year, to be laid before the general court.* The original of each return or the return as amended, subscribed and sworn to by the directors, treasurer, and superintendent of the corporation, shall be preserved in the office of the board. mit its report. 1874, 372, § 15. 1876, 173. See c. 113, §§ 58 60. Amended. 1889, 328. 1893, 144. may change form of return. Acts of 1889, Chapter 328, § 2. An Act relating to the Annual Returns of Railroad Corporations. SECTION 2. The board of railroad commissioners may change the form for the annual returns required to be made by railroad corporations, so that such form shall conform to the form for returns required by the interstate commerce commission, by giving to the corporations one month's notice of such change, and said board shall be required on or before the fifteenth day of June of each year to furnish blank forms of such returns. when to report recommendations for legislation. Acts of 1893, Chapter 144. An Act requiring State Boards and Commissions to report Recommendations for Legislation on or before the First Wednesday in January. Such parts of the annual reports of state boards or commissions, required by law to be made to the governor and council or to the general court, as contain recommendations or suggestions for legislative action, shall be deposited with the secretary of the Commonwealth on or before the first Wednesday in January of each year, and shall by him be transmitted forthwith to the governor and council or to the general court. [Approved March 29, 1893. For printing and distribution of Annual Report, see St. 1894, c. 393, §§ 7, 8. STATE DIRECTORS. SPECIAL CHARTERS. For additional Powers and Duties of the Board affecting Railroads, see St. 1882, c. 54, § 4; St. 1887, c. 334, § 2; St. 1892, c. 228; St. 1892, c. 312; St. 1893, c. 142; St. 1894, c. 502; St. 1894, c. 506; St. 1894, c. 535; 15 STATE DIRECTORS. to make annual report, etc. 1873, 226, § 1. SECTION 27. State directors of railroad corporations shall, on or State directors before the second Wednesday of January in each year, make to the general court a report of their doings, with such suggestions as to them seem fit as to the measures necessary to secure to the public the greatest convenience and economy in the matter of freight and travel. eligibility to office of. SECTION 28. No member of the general court shall, during the term for which he is elected, be eligible to the office of state director 1873, 228, §§ 2, 3. in a railroad corporation; and no person who is in the employment of a railroad corporation, or who owns stock therein, shall be eligible to the office of state director in such corporation. SPECIAL CHARTERS. special charter. See § 31. G. 8. 63, § 13. SECTION 29. No petition to the general court for a charter for a Petition for railroad corporation shall be acted upon unless it is accompanied with a map of the proposed route on an appropriate scale, and with a profile thereof on a vertical scale of ten to one as compared with the horizontal scale; nor unless it is accompanied and supported by the report of a skilful engineer, founded on actual examination of the route, and by other proper evidence showing the character of the soil, the manner in which it is proposed to construct the road, the general profile of the surface of the country through which it is proposed to be made, the feasibility of the route, and an estimate of the probable expense of construction. files. SECTION 30. Plans and profiles presented to a committee of the Plans and progeneral court in the hearing of a petition for such a charter shall be G. S. 63, § 14. placed by them in the state library. notice, etc. See 1885, 24. 1885, 371. 1890, 302. SECTION 31. No such petition shall be acted upon until notice of Publication of the pendency thereof has been published according to law, which G 8.63, § 15. notice shall designate the intended route with such certainty as to give reasonable notice to all persons interested therein that their rights may be affected by the granting of the petition, and that they may have an opportunity to appear and object thereto; but the provisions of this section and of section twenty-nine shall not prevent the general court from requiring further surveys, plans, and estimates. 16 Provisions of charter. G.S. 63, § 16. Route, location and construction. INCORPORATION UNDER GENERAL LAW. SECTION 32. Every charter shall confine the road within the limits indicated by the notice required in the preceding section, shall specify the several cities and towns through which the same may pass, and shall otherwise designate the route on which the road is authorized to be made, with as much certainty as the nature of the case will admit. SECTION 33. The routes of railroads established by special charter, 1874, 372, § 33. including branches and extensions, shall be fixed according to the provisions of sections forty and forty-one, except so far as the same may have been fixed by special statute; and the location and construction of such railroads, branches, and extensions, not actually begun on the eighth day of April in the year eighteen hundred and seventytwo, shall proceed according to the provisions of this chapter regulating the location and construction of railroads by corporations established under general laws. Twenty-five or more persons road corpora tion. 1874, 372, § 19. 124 Mass. 368. See §§ 47, 118, 225. See 1882, FORMATION OF CORPORATIONS UNDER THE GENERAL LAW.* SECTION 34. Twenty-five or more persons, a majority of whom are may form a rail- inhabitants of this commonwealth, may associate themselves together by articles in writing, with the intention of forming a railroad corporation; and, upon complying with the provisions of section forty-four, shall, with their associates and successors, be and remain a corporation, with the powers and privileges, and subject to the duties, liabilities, and restrictions, set forth in this chapter, and in any general laws applicable thereto. 265. Articles of association. 1874, 372, § 20. 1878, 236, § 1. See § 45, cl. 2. See 1882, 265. Subscription. Corporate name, etc. 1874, 372, § 21. See §45, cl. 2. See 1882, 265. Articles of Association. SECTION 35. The articles of association shall set forth the name of the corporation; the termini of the railroad proposed to be built; its length as near as may be; the name of each city, town, and county through or into which its route extends; its gauge, which shall be either four feet eight and one-half inches, or three feet; the amount of its capital stock, which shall not be less than ten thousand dollars for each mile, if the gauge is four feet eight and one-half inches, and not less than five thousand dollars for each mile, if the gauge is three feet; and the names of at least nine persons to act as a board of directors until others are chosen by the corporation. Each associate shall subscribe to the articles his name, residence, post-office address, and the number of shares of stock which he agrees to take; but no subscriber shall be bound to pay beyond ten per cent of the amount of his subscription, unless a corporation is duly established. Corporate Name, Directors, etc. SECTION 36. The corporate name assumed shall be one not in use by any other corporation in this commonwealth, shall contain the words "railroad company" at the end thereof, and shall be changed For formation of corporations "to construct and operate a railroad or railroad and telegraph in any foreign country," see sections 225 to 229, post. |