Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 2).pdf/371

 such legislation as pertains to interest and usury; and, the classification being once established, the extent to which the classes shall be separated is purely a matter of legislative discretion. The legislature has the right to leave such associations untrammeled in the matter of premiums paid for loans, and it has an equal right to leave them untrammeled in the matter of interest proper.”

Is the classification of railroad companies for purposes of taxation a purely arbitrary one, or is it justifiable upon the ground that these corporations, by virtue of their peculiar powers and liabilities, differ from the other persons in the community, and constitute a peculiar class by themselves? A railroad is a public highway, operated for the public benefit; and, although it may be owned by a private corporation, yet it is charged with a public use, and the owner, in operating it, has a public duty to perform. Sharpless v. Mayor, etc., 21 Pa. St. 169. He must carry for all alike, and cannot discriminate in favor of any person or individual. When goods are offered him for carriage, he cannot refuse to receive them, or to transport them to the designated place; and after he receives them he is responsible for their safe carriage and delivery, and cannot excuse himself at common law except by showing that the act of God or of the public enemy prevented him from performing his duty. In the carriage of passengers he must exercise extraordinary care to insure his passenger's safety, and the burden is upon him to show that he exercised this degree of care. Such, briefly stated, are some few of the onerous duties and burdens cast by the law upon common carriers. In return for these, railroad companies are given the right to construct and operate their railroads, and are, for these purposes, vested with the power of eminent domain. But in all their operations they are public servants, subject to regulation by the public, and answerable to the public for any dereliction of duty. Indeed, they are public instrumentalities to such an extent that the public may not only be taxed to aid in the construction of their railroads, but, after such construction, may regulate the fares and tolls that are to be charged for the use of the railroads, A merchant may charge as much as he sees fit for his goods, a