Chapter XVI. *to incorporate the Washington County Horse Railroad Company in the District of Columbia.* Jan. 31, 1867. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * Washington County Horse Railroad Company incorporated
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CHAP. XVI.— An Act *to incorporate the Washington County Horse Railroad Company in the District of Columbia.* Jan. 31, 1867. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * Washington County Horse Railroad Company incorporated. That Samuel P. Brown, Francis Mattingly, Noble D. Larner, Marshall Brown, and Joseph L. Pearson, and their associates and assigns be, and they are hereby, created a body corporate under the name of the “Washington County Horse Railroad Company,” with authority to construct and lay down a double or single track railway, with the necessary switches and turnouts, in the county of Route.Washington, in the District of Columbia, as follows:
Commencing at Boundary Street, at its intersection with Fourteenth Street, and along the Fourteenth Street road in a northerly direction, to a point where said road intersects a new road recently opened by the levy court, and along said new road in an easterly direction, to the Seventh Street turnpike, and Proviso.along said turnpike in a southerly direction to Boundary Street: *Provided,* That the consent of the Board of Directors of the Seventh Street Turnpike Company be first obtained for the use of their road, with the right Rate of fare.to run public carriages thereon, and receiving therefor a rate of fare not exceeding ten cents a passenger for any distance on said road.
Sec. 2. Railroad to be deemed real estate.Taxation. *And be it further enacted, *That the said railroad shall be deemed real estate, and it, with the other real and personal property of said body corporate, shall be liable to taxation as other real estate and personal property in the county aforesaid, except as hereinafter provided. Sec. 3. Mode of construction. *And be it further enacted, *That the said railway shall be laid in the most approved manner adapted for street railways.
And the tracks Width and gauge of track.shall not be more than six nor less than four feet apart, and the gauge the same as that of the street railways in the city of Washington. Sec. 4. Ordinary travel not to be interfered with. *And be it further enacted, *That the tracks of the said railway shall be laid in such a manner as will least interfere with the ordinary travel of the roads over which the said tracks shall be laid. Sec. 5. This act may be altered, &c. *And be it further enacted, *That this act may at any time be altered, amended, or repealed by the Congress of the United States.
Sec. 6. Corporation not to issue notes, &c. as currency. *And be it further enacted, *That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to authorize said body corporate to issue any note, token, device, scrip, or other evidence of debt to be used as currency. Sec. 7. Capital stock, shares, and how transferable. *And be it further enacted, *That the capital stock of said company shall be not less than two nor more than five hundred thousand dollars, and that the stock shall be divided into shares of fifty dollars each, and shall be deemed personal property, transferable in such manner as the by-laws of said company may direct.
Sec. 8. Cars to be first-class; *And be it further enacted, *That the said company shall place first-class cars on said railway, with all the modern improvements for the to be run as often as, &c.convenience and comfort of passengers; and shall run cars thereon daily as often as the public convenience may require. Sec. 9. Offices, stables, &c. *And be it further enacted, *That said company shall procure such passenger-rooms, ticket-offices, stables, and depots at such points as THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Sess. II. Ch. 16. 1867. 381 the business of the railroad, and the convenience of the public, may require. And the said company is hereby authorized to lay such rails as may be necessary for the purpose of connecting the said stables and depots with main tracks. And the said company is hereby authorized to purchase or lease such lands or buildings as may be necessary for passenger-rooms, ticket-offices, stables, and depots above mentioned. Sec. 10. *And be it further enacted, *That all articles of value that mayArticles of value left in the cars. be inadvertently left in the cars, or other vehicles of said company, shall be taken to their principal depot and entered in a book of record of unclaimed goods which book shall be open to the inspection of the public at all reasonable hours of business.
Sec. 11. *And be it further enacted, *That said corporation shall, on demandFreight for the use of the United States to be carried over the railway. of the President of the United States, Secretary of War, or Secretary of the Navy, cause to be transported over said railway any freightcars, laden with freight for the use of the United States; the officers causing such service to be done shall pay a reasonable compensation therefor. Sec. 12. *And be it further enacted, *That within thirty days after theSubscription to the capital stock. passage of this act the corporators named in the first section, or a majority of them, or if any refuse or neglect to act, then a majority of the remainder, shall cause the books of subscription to the capital stock of said company to be opened and kept open in some convenient and accessible place in the city of Washington, from nine o’clock in the forenoon until three o’clock in the afternoon, for a period to be fixed by said corporators, not less than two days, and said corporators shall give public notice, by advertisement in the daily papers published in the city of Washington, of the time when and the place where said books shall be opened; and subscribers upon said books to the capital stock of the company shall be held to be stockholders: *Provided,* That every subscriber shall pay at the timeProviso. of subscribing, twenty-five per centum of the amount by him subscribed to the treasurer appointed by the corporators, or his subscription shall be null and void.
If a larger amount than the capital stock of said company shall have been subscribed, the books shall be closed, and the said corporators named in the first section shall forthwith proceed to apportion said capital stock among the subscribers *pro rata*, and make pub[l]ic proclamation of the number of shares allotted to each, which shall be done and completed on the same day that the books are closed. *Provided further,* That nothing shall be received in payment of the twenty-five per centum, at the time of subscribing, except money.
And when the books of subscription to the capital stock of said company shall be closed, the corporators named in the first section, or a majority of them, and in case any of them refuse or neglect to act, then a majority of the remainder, shall, within twenty days thereafter, call a meeting for the choice of directors,Meeting for choice of directors. of which public notice shall be given for five days in two public newspapers published daily in the city of Washington, or by written personal notice to each stockholder by the clerk of the corporation; and in all meetings of the stockholders, each share shall entitle the holder to oneVotes and proxies. vote, to be given in person or by proxy.
Sec. 13. *And be it further enacted, *That the government and directionDirectors, number and term of office of. of the affairs of the company shall be vested in a board of directors, seven in number, who shall be stockholders, and who shall hold their office for one year, and till others are duly elected and qualified to take their places as directors; and the said directors (a majority of whom, the President being one, shall be a quorum,) shall elect one of their number to be President of the board, who shall also be President of the company, and they shall also choose a Treasurer, who shall give bonds with suretyTreasurer; bonds. to said company, in such sum as the said directors may require, for the faithful discharge of his trust.
In case of a vacancy in the board of directors,Vacancies. by the death, resignation, or otherwise, of any director, the vacancy occasioned thereby shall be filled by the remaining directors 382 THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS, Sess. II. Ch. 16, 17. 1867. Sec. 14.By-laws. *And be it further enacted, *That the directors shall have full power to make and prescribe such by-laws, rules, and regulations as they shall deem needful and proper, touching the disposition and management of the stock, property, estate, and effects of the company, not contrary to the charter, or to the laws of the United States.
Sec. 15. Annual meeting of stockholders. *And be it further enacted, *That there shall be an annual meeting of the stockholders, for choice of directors, to be holden at such time and place, under such conditions, and upon such notice as said company by their by-laws may prescribe, and said directors shall annually make a report to the stockholders, and to Congress, of their doings. Sec. 16. Penalty for obstructing railway. *And be it further enacted, *That the said company shall have, at all times, the free and uninterrupted use of their roadways and if any person or persons shall wilfully and unnecessarily obstruct or impede the passage on or over said railway or any part thereof, or shall injure or destroy the cars, depot stations, or any property belonging to said railway company, the person or persons so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offence, the sum of twenty dollars to said company, and shall remain liable, in addition to the said penalty, for any loss or damage occasioned by his, her, or their act, as aforesaid, but no suit shall be brought unless commenced within sixty days after such offence shall have been committed.
Sec. 17. Railway to be completed within one year. *And be it further enacted, *That the said company shall make and complete said railway within one year after the organization of the same. Sec. 18. Repeal of inconsistent acts. *And be it further enacted, *That all acts and parts of acts heretofore passed, which are inconsistent with any of the provisions for the purposes of this act, are hereby repealed, so far as the same are inconsistent herewith. Sec. 19. Levy court of Washington County not to hinder, &c. construction, &c. of road. *And be it further enacted, *That the levy court of the County of Washington, are hereby prohibited from doing any act or thing to hinder, delay, or obstruct the construction or operation of said railroad as herein authorized, but Congress may, at any time, alter, amend, or repeal this act.
Approved, January 31, 1867.