sep 1, 1857 - Hurd v. Rock Island Railroad Company

Description:

Jacob S. Hurd, captain and co-owner of the Effie Afton, sued the Railroad Bridge Company. Durant and the Rock Island Railroad hired private attorney Abraham Lincoln to defend the bridge. United
States Circuit Court in Chicago, with Supreme Court Justice John McLean presiding.

Hurd (Hezekiah M. Wead, Corydon Beckwith, and Timothy D. Lincoln):

The bridge was a material obstruction to the free navigation of the Mississippi River. Hurd and other owners sought a judgment for "the value of the boat, her cargo, and such other damages as they
may be entitled by law and the evidence to recover," all of which they determined to be sixty-five thousand dollars.

They wanted to accommodate the growing railroad interests while still addressing the obstructive nature of the bridge. Wead claimed, "it was no part of [our] cause to prohibit the bridging of the Mississippi River." But in the charter for the construction of the bridge, it specified that the bridge be erected "in such manner as shall not materially obstruct or interfere with the free navigation of said river." The piers were placed in such a way that rather than directly "running between the long and the short pier," water is pushed into the long pier, making the currents dangerous and unpredictable. Moreover, the position of the bridge narrowed the width of the river, increasing the force of the stream, aggravated further by the piers and the ships themselves. The virtually unnavigable water forced the Effie Afton into the bridge. Wead further stated that the Rock Island Railroad Company was a "grasping corporation" that disregarded navigation and disrespected the public by placing the bridge wherever it pleased. More importantly, the Rock Island Railroad Company had violated its charter.

Wead didn't want the jury to just believe him when he said that the bridge was an obstruction so he asked the men who made their living on the Mississippi River and the other small rivers. They came from places like Galena and Savannah, Illinois, and from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, and in addition to riverboat captains, they included the highly esteemed river pilots.
Justice McLean witnessed over fifty of these men testify that the design of the bridge "caused cross-currents and eddies in the draw," which led to the "loss of the Effie Afton." Witnesses agreed that the bridge was an obstruction to navigation: "a material obstruction," "a great obstruction," "a serious obstruction," "the worst obstruction on the Western waters." Fifty-year-old Thomas Taylor had spent half his life as a pilot on the Mississippi. In his estimation, the bridge was "a serious obstacle," and he said to the person taking his deposition, "You may emphasize that as much as you please." The pilots all agreed that the speed of the river increased dramatically in the draw (where the bridge was).



Rock Island Railroad Company (Norman B. Judd, Joseph Knox, and Abraham Lincoln):

They stated that Head was "entirely mistaken in his statement of the facts," and went on to build a defense filled with numerous details and substantial evidence. This included comprehensive statistics on bridge crossings, multiple scientific tests carried out by qualified engineers, and observations from residents living near the Rock Island Bridge. The defense aimed to undermine Wead's case by proving that the bridge did not significantly obstruct navigation on the Mississippi River.

Seth Gurney, one of the first witnesses called by the defense, was the caretaker of the Rock Island Bridge and had been since April 19, 1856. He testified that he kept "a book in which by order I enter . . . every boat which passes." According to Gurney’s log, in the thirteen months since the bridge had been repaired after the steam locomotive Des Moines collided with a part of it, "958 passages of boats have been made," and only seven boats suffered damage. The defense counsel argued that the low number of accidents at Rock Island Bridge was due to the bridge being well-designed. To persuade the jury, the defense summoned six engineers with extensive expertise in railroads, bridges, and rivers. Each engineer visited the Rock Island Bridge to examine its construction and its impact on the river. They either performed or observed tests related to the current's direction, predictability, and speed. The tests that they performed were regarded as reliable in determining the currents. The engineers concurred that there were no crosscurrents or eddies in the main channel and that the bridge was situated almost as ideally as possible. Joseph Knox also acknowledged that Hurd and his legal team also brought three engineers to add their testimony, but of the three, "only one ever saw Rock Island, and that was in February, when the river was frozen over." None of the three conducted any tests on or even saw the effect of the bridge on the river. The defense counsel called in several local residents to help the jury properly interpret the engineers' findings. John Deere, a resident of Moline who was "engaged in the manufacture of plows," witnessed some of the tests conducted by the defendant’s engineers. He concluded that there were no crosscurrents in the main draw. Were there currents, he said, "the tests would have discovered them." Quincy McNeal, a clerk of the Circuit Court of Rock Island, even stated that it was "impossible for anything to get against those piers, except it be from some other influence than the current." The defense counsel believed they could credibly identify other influences. Judd argued that the Effie Afton's fate was due solely to "the carelessness of her officers." Right after leaving Rock Island, the Effie Afton collided with a steam ferryboat. Displaying behavior from careless to reckless, the Effie Afton then engaged in a race with another steamer, the J. B. Carson, to reach the draw, affecting the angle at which it approached the bridge. Although the defense accused the crew of incompetence, they also suspected malicious intent. A physician on the steamer Vienna on the morning of May 6, 1856, testified that he overheard Captain Hurd and a few crew members discussing that the Effie Afton was only insured against fire. On oath, he recalled one of them saying "I would burn her and get the insurance." Shortly after, the Effie Afton was engulfed in an uncontrollable fire.


Lincoln's closing:
In his argument, Lincoln, drawing from his experience as a former riverman, demonstrated his understanding of the allure of the Mississippi River and its boat life. He acknowledged that St. Louis and the steamboat interests acted as they had to under the circumstances and did not fault them. However, he emphasized the increasing east-to-west travel, which was becoming as significant as the Mississippi traffic. Lincoln stated, "It is growing larger and larger, building up new countries with a rapidity never before seen in the history of the world." In the year following the accident, the railroad had transported 12,586 freight cars and 74,179 passengers across the bridge.

Lincoln noted that during four months of the year, winter weather rendered the river unnavigable, whereas the bridge and railroad remained operational. He analyzed the angles of the piers, the curve of the river, the channel's depth, and the current's velocity. He dismissed the idea of a tunnel or a suspension bridge as too costly, noting that someone would always build a taller steamship. Lincoln argued that the pilot navigated as if there were no bridge piers and that the starboard paddle wheel was not functioning. He asserted that it was inconceivable for a steamboat, out of control, to veer so far off course as to strike the pier. His primary argument was that the right to cross a river was as valid as the right to sail along it.


Result:

The jury concluded at nine to three in favor of the bridge, so Jacob Hurd and his associates did not recover damages.


After the trial:

The conflict over the Rock Island Bridge continued into 1858 when the U.S. House Committee on Commerce investigated its impact on river navigation, concluding that it was a hazard but recommended leaving the issue to the courts. In May 1858, steamboat owner James Ward sued to have the bridge declared a nuisance and removed. Judge John Love ruled in favor of Ward in 1860, ordering parts of the bridge dismantled, but the railroad appealed. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed Love's decision in 1863, allowing the bridge to remain, emphasizing the necessity of railroads crossing rivers. This decision was reaffirmed in another case in 1867, solidifying the legal right to bridge navigable streams. Subsequent developments included the construction of additional bridges at the Rock Island site, with the current steel bridge completed in 1896 and used today as a highway bridge.

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