: Statement of the Case. The eighth section provides that every common carrier subject to the provisions of the act shall print and keep for trustee or agent of any corporation or company, defendant in such suit, to attend, appear and testify in such case, and may compel the production of the books and papers of such corporation or company, party to any such suit; the claim that any such testimony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying, but such evidence shall not be used against such person on the trial of any criminal proceeding. SEC. 12. That any common carrier, subject to the provisions of this act, or whenever such common carrier is a corporation, any director or officer thereof, or any receiver, trustee, lessee, agent or person acting for, or employed by such corporation, who, alone or with any other corporation, company, person or party, shall wilfufly do or cause to be done, or shall wilfully suffer or permit to be done, any act, matter or thing in this act prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who shall aid or abet therein, or shall wilfully omit or fail to do any act, matter or thing in this act, required to be done, or shall cause or willingly suffer or permit any act, matter or thing so directed or required by this act to be done, not to be so done, or shall aid and abet therein any such omission, or shall be guilty of any wilful infraction of this act, or shall aid or abet therein, shall be deemed guilty of a violation of the provisions of this act and shall, upon conviction thereof in any district court of the State within the jurisdiction of which such offence was committed, be subject to a penalty of not less than two thousand five hundred (2500) dollars or more than five thousand (5000) dollars for the first offence, and not less than five thousand (5000) dollars or more than ten thousand (10,000) dollars for each subsequent offence. SEC. 13. (a) That any person, firm, corporation or association, or any mercantile, agricultural or manufacturing society, or any body politic or municipal organization, complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act, in contravention of the provisions thereof, may apply to said commission by petition, which shall briefly state the facts. (b) Whereupon a statement of the charges thus made shall be forwarded by the commission to such common carrier, who shall be called upon to satisfy the complaint, or to answer the same in writing within a reasonable time, to be specified by the commission. If such common carrier, within the time specified, shall make reparation for the injury alleged to have been done, said carrier shall be relieved of liability to the complainant only, for the partícular violation of law thus complained of. If such carrier shall not satisfy the complainant within the time specified, or there shall appear to be any reasonable ground for investigating said complaint, it shall be the duty of the commission summarily to investigate the matter complained of, in such manner and by such means as it shall deem proper. No complaint shall at any time be dismissed because of absence of direct damages to the Statement of the Case. public inspection schedules of the charges which it has established for the transportation of property; that it shall make complainant. And for the purposes of this act the commission shall have power to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of all books, papers, contracts, agreements and documents relating to any matter under investigation, and, to that end, may invoke the aid of any of the courts of this State, in requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and documents, under the provisions of this act. (c) Any of the district courts of this State, within the jurisdiction of which such inquiry is carried on, shall, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpœna issued by the commissioners to any common carrier subject to the provisions of this act, or, when such common carrier is a corporation, to an officer or agent thereof, or to any person connected therewith, if proceedings are instituted in the name of such commission as plaintiffs, issue an order requiring such common carrier, officer or agent, or person to show cause why such contumacy or refusal should not be punished as and for contempt; and if upon the hearing the court finds that the inquiry is within the jurisdiction of the commission, and that such contumacy or refusal is wilful and the same is persisted in; such contumacy or refusal shall be punished as though the same had taken place in an action pending in the district court for any judicial district in this State. The claim that any such testimony or evidence may tend to criminate the person giving such evidence shall not excuse such witness from testifying; but such evidence or testimony shall not be used against such persons on the trial of any criminal proceeding. SEC. 14. (a) Whenever an investigation shall be made by said commission, it shall be its duty to make a report in writing in respect thereto, which shall include the findings of fact upon which the conclusions of the commission are based, together with its recommendation as to what reparation, if any, should be made by the common carrier to party or parties who may be found to have been injured; and such findings so made shall thereafter, in all judicial proceedings, be deemed prima facie evidence as to each and every fact found. All reports of investigations made by the commission shall be entered of record, and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the party who may have complained, and to any common carrier that may have been complained of, and the record thereof shall be public. (b) If in any case in which an investigation shall be made by said commission it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the commission, either by testimony of witnesses or other evidence, that anything has been done or omitted to be done by any common carrier, in violation of the provisions of this act or of any law cognizable by said commission, or that any injury or damages has been sustained by the party or parties complaining, or by other parties aggrieved in consequence of any such violation, it shall be the duty of the commission to forthwith cause a copy of its report in reofect thereto to be delivered to such common carrier, together with a notice Statement of the Case. no change therein except after ten days' public notice, plainly stating the changes proposed to be made, and the time when to said common carrier to cease and desist from such violation and to make reparation for the injury so found to have been done, within a brief but reasonable time, to be specified by the commission; and if within the time specified, it shall be made to appear to the commission that such common carrier has ceased from such violation of law, and has made reparation for the injury found to have been doné, in compliance with the report and notice of the commission, or to the satisfaction of the party complaining, a statement to that effect shall be entered of record by the commission, and the said common carrier shall thereupon be relieved from further liability ar penalty for such particular violation of law. (c) But if said common carrier shall neglect or refuse, within the time specified, to desist from such violation of law, and make reparation for the injury done in compliance with the report and notice of the commission as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the commission to forthwith certify the fact of such neglect or refusal, and forward a copy of its report and such certificate to the attorney general of the State, for redress and punishment as hereinafter provided. SEC. 15. (a) That it shall be the duty of the attorney general to whom said commission may forward its report and certificate, as provided in the next preceding section of this act, when it shall appear from such report that any injury or damages has been sustained by any party or parties by reason of such violation of law by such common carrier, to forthwith cause suit to be brought in the district court in the judicial district wherein such violation occurred, on behalf and in the name of the person or persons injured, against such common carrier, for the recovery of damages for such injury as may have been sustained by the injured party, and the cost and expenses of such prosecution shall be paid out of the appropriation hereinafter provided for for the uses and purposes of this act. (b) And the said court shall have power to hear and determine the matter on such short notice to the common carrier complained of as the court shall deem reasonable; and such notice shall be served on such common carrier, his or its officers, agents or servants, in such manner as the court shall direct; and said court shall proceed to hear and determine the matter speedily, and without the formal pleading and proceedings applicable to ordinary suits in equity; but in such manner as to do justice in the premises, and to this end such court shall have power if it thinks fit to direct and prosecute, in such mode and by such persons as it may appoint, all such inquiries as the court may think needful to enable it to form a just judgment in the matter of such petition. And on such hearing the report of said commission shall be prima facie evidence of the matters therein stated. (c) And if it be made to appear to such court, on such hearing, or on report of any such person or persons, that the lawful order or requirement of such commission, drawn in question, has been violated or disobeyed, it Statement of the Case. they will go into effect; that it shall be unlawful for it to charge or receive any greater or less compensation than that shall be lawful for such court to issue a writ of injunction, or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, to restrain such common carrier from further continuing such violation or such disobedience of such order or requirement of said commission, and enjoining obedience to the same; and in case of any disobedience of any such writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, it shall be lawful for such court to issue writs of attachment, or any other process of said court incident or applicable to writs of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, against such common carrier; and if a corporation, against one or more of the directors, officers or agents of the same, or against any owner, lessee, trustee, receiver or other person failing to obey such writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise; and said court may, if it shall thirk fit, make an order directing such common carrier or other person so disobeying such writ of injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise, to pay such sum of money, not exceeding for each carrier or person in default the sum of five hundred (500) dollars for every day after a day to be named in the order, that such carrier or other person shall fail to obey such injunction or other proper process, mandatory or otherwise; and such moneys shall be payable as the court shall direct, either to the party complaining, or into court to abide the ultimate decision of the court; and payment thereof may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovering the same, be enforced by attachment or order in the nature of a writ of execution, in like manner as if the same had been recovered by a final decree in personam in such court. Either party to such proceeding before said court may appeal to the Supreme Court of the State, under the same regulations now provided by law in respect to security for such appeal; but such appeal shall not operate to stay or supersede the order of the court or the execution of any writ or process thereon, unless the court hearing or deciding such case should otherwise direct; and such court may, in every such matter, order the payment of such costs and counsel fees as shall be deemed reasonable. (d) In case the attorney general shall not within a period of ten (10) days after the making of any order by the commission, commence judicial proceedings for the enforcement thereof, any railroad company, or other common carrier affected by such order, may at any time within the period of thirty (30) days after the service [of it] upon him or it of such order, and before commencement of proceedings, appeal therefrom to the district court of any judicial district through or into which his or its route may run, by the service of a written notice of such appeal upon some member or the secretary of such commission. And upon the taking of such appeal, and the filing of the notice thereof, with the proof of service, in the office of the clerk of such court, there shall be deemed to be pending in such court a civil action of the character and for the purposes mentioned in sec Statement of the Case. so established and published, for transporting property; that it shall file copies of its schedules with the commission, and tions eleven (11) and fifteen (15) of this act. Upon such appeal, and upon the hearing of any application for the enforcement of any such order made by the commission or by the attorney general, the court shall have jurisdiction to examine the whole matter in controversy, including matters of fact as well as questions of law, and to affirm, modify or rescind such order in whole or in part, as justice may require; and in case of any order being modified, as aforesaid, such modified order shall for all the purposes contemplated by this act stand in place of the original order so modified. No appeal as aforesaid shall stay or supersede the order appealed from in so far as such order shall relate to rates of transportation or to modes of transacting the business of the appellant with the public, unless the court hearing or deciding such case shall so direct. SEC. 16. (a) That whenever facts, in any manner ascertained by said commission, shall, in its judgment warrant a prosecution, it shall be the duty of said commission to immediately cause suit to be instituted and prosecuted against any common carrier who may violate any of the provisions of this act, or of any law of this State. All such prosecutions shall be in the name of the State of Minnesota, except as is otherwise provided in this act, or in any law of this State, and may be instituted in any county in the State through or into which the line of any common carrier so sued may extend, and all penalties recovered under the provisions of this act, or of any law of this State, in any suit instituted in the name of the State, shall be immediately paid into the state treasury by the sheriff or other officer or person collecting the same; and the same shall be by the state treasurer placed to the credit of the general revenue fund. (b) For the purposes of this act, except its penal provisions, the district courts of this State shall be deemed to be always in session. SEC. 17. (a) That the commission is hereby directed to require annual reports from all common carriers subject to the provisions of this act, to fix the time and prescribe the manner in which said reports shall be made, and to require from such carriers specific answers to all questions upon which the commission may need information. Such annual reports shall show in detail the amount of capital stock issued, the amounts paid therefor, and the manner of payment for the same, the dividends paid, the surplus fund, if any, and the number of stockholders, the funded and floating debts and the interest paid thereon; the cost and value of the carrier's property, franchises and equipment, the number of employés and the salary paid each class, the amounts expended for improvements each year, how expended, and the character of such improvements; the earnings and receipts of each branch of business, and from all sources, the operating and other expenses; the balance of profit and loss; and complete exhibit of the financial operations of the carrier each year, including an annual balance-sheet; also the total number of acres of land received as grants |