THE SOLICITOR. 851 



of live stock may be made by the authorized agent of the owner of the particular ship- 

 ment; that such a request may be printed, engraved, or stamped and partly in hand- 

 writing; a legal request may be made on or in a railroad form separate and apart from 

 a printed bill of lading or other railroad form than one which contains the request alone; 

 Buch a request may be made before the transportation of the shipment commences; and 

 Buch a request may be made although it is not induced by any emergency or con- 

 tingency that arises after the transportation commences and that was unforeseen at that 

 time. 



The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States. 



[178 Fed., 12; Circular No. 30, Office of the Solicitor.] 



This case involves an appeal by the plaintiff in error from a judgment in the lower 

 court for five violations of the act. The circuit court of appeals for the eighth circuit 

 affirmed the judgment of the lower court and held that a suit under the act is a civil 

 action and a preponderance of the evidence in favor of the Government is sufficient 

 to warrant a verdict against the defendant. It is the duty of the court to fix the pen- 

 alty. The question as to what constitutes a legal request for extension of time to 

 thirty-six hours was also decided in this case the same as in the one reported in Circular 

 No. 35, Office of the Solicitor. 



The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Co. v. United States. 



[178 Fed., IC; Circular No. 37, Office of the Solicitor.] 



The questions presented in this case were the same as in the case reported in Cir- 

 cular No. 3G, Office of the Solicitor. The circuit court of appeals for the eighth circuit 

 held, in addition to the questions above referred to, that under the twenty-eight hour 

 law, whether an extension request complies with the statute is a question of law for the 

 court; it is error to submit such question to the jury. 



The most noteworthy case before the courts during the past year 

 was Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad Company v. United 

 States. It is the first case, under the present statute, to reach the 

 Supreme Court, the issue being narrowed to a single important point — 

 the unit of violation as contemplated by the act. It is the practice 

 of railroad companies to transport many different consignments of 

 live stock in the same train load; should the Supreme Court decide, as 

 the Government contends, that the consignment is the unit of viola- 

 tion, the penalties for the detention of live stock will be proportion- 

 ately larger than if that court should hold the train load to be the unit. 

 It would seem probable that the Government will secure a favorable 

 ruling in the case, since the district court and the court of appeals 

 both ruled in its favor when the case was before them. 



United States v. National Stock Yards Comj)any, involving the 

 liability of a terminal company, in general, under the act, is also 

 before the Supreme Court, and will probably be reached about the 

 same time that the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railroad Com- 

 pany V. United States is reargued. It involves the liability of a stock- 

 yards company under the statute. The district and circuit courts 

 both decided against the Government in this case, though the same 

 question has been twice resolved in favor of the Government in other 

 jurisdictions (United States v. St. Joseph Stock Yards Co., Circular 

 No. 25; United States v. Northern Pacilic Terminal Co., Circular Xo. 

 30); these decisions hold flatly that such companies are liable under 

 the act. Where companies similarly organized have been held not 

 amenable to the act, the d(>cisi()n was ba.sed on the view that they 

 were not shown to have knowingly and wilfully violated its terms, as 

 provided in section 3 (United States v. Sioux City Stock Yards Co., 

 162 Fed., 556; same, 167 Fed., 126; Ignited States v. Terminal Stock 

 Yards Co., 178 Fed., 19). While these cases may have dispo.scd of 



