Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/418

 388 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. SEss. I. CHS. 414, 415. 1896. · the Secretary of War; that such alterations and changes as may be required by the Secretary of War in said bridge so as to preserve free and convenient navigation shall be made under the direction of the Secretary of War at the expense of the company or persons owning, controlling, or operating said bridge. That during original construction or in carrying out any authorized change or repairs of said bridge a navigable channel shall be preserved at the site of the bridge at all times, and the waterway of the river shall not be obstructed to a greater extent than is absolutely necessary, and such lights and buoys shall be kept on all coiferdams, piles, and so forth, as may be necessary for the _ security of navigation. ,_E§:Q’Y“"'“°'*°°'“‘ Sec. 9. That all railroad companies desiring the use of the bridge authorized by this Act shall have and be entitled to equal rights and _ privileges relative to the passage of railway trains or cars over the _ same and over the approaches thereto upon the payment of a reasona- C°'”P°'*°°*~‘°"· ble compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of such bridge and the several railroad companies, or any one of them, desiring such use shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, all matters at issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph and telephone companies. m{·,';,'B{‘;,(f“:_j‘f'“°‘“’° Sec. 10. That the bridge constructed, maintained, and operated under this Act and according to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post route, upon which also no higher charge shall be made for the transportation over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation of said mails, troops, and munitions over the railroads and public highways leading to said bridge; and the United States shall have the right of way for postal telegraph and telephone purposes over said bridge. Cvmmpnummt md Sec. 11. That this Act shall be null and void if actual construction °°"“’l°f°"' of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date of approval thereof. .-xmemimm, ac. Sec. 12. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby expressly reserved; and the right to require the entire removal of the bridge constructed under the provisions of this Act, at the expense of the owners thereof, whenever Congress shall decide that the public interests require it, is also expressly reserved. nmiutnminng Sec. 13. That the Act approved February ninth, eighteen hundred §§‘@L€‘f {ffl ,;;,,“§{‘c',}{ and ninety-three, entitled "An Act to authorize the construction of a \’¤1.2‘¢.v-431 bridge across the Warrior River by the Montgomery, Tuscaloosa and Memphis Railway Company,” is hereby repealed. Approved, June 11, 1896. .1 une 11, 1896. CHAP. 415.—An Act To authorize the construction of a bridge across the Cahaba r M  ··’‘ — River, in Bibb County, Alabama, by the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United n obile_and emo States ¢y'Axmeriea in Congress assembled, That the Mobile and Ohio Rail- §§$"’{;j§,,,;*e°“},{;{j,;},*/,] road Company, a corporation existing under the laws of Alabama, its {Hier. Bibb 0<>¤¤ry. successors and assigns, be. and is hereby, authorized to construct and “‘ maintain a bridge across the Cahaba River, at a place suitable to comimnaou. merce and not interfering with navigation, at a point in Bibb County, in the State of Alabama, and to lay on or over said bridge a track or tracks for the more perfect connection of any railroad or railroads that are or shall be constructed to said river, on either or both sides thereof, _ _ _ at or opposite said point, under the limitations and conditions herein L‘"g““"“‘ after provided. That said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigation of said river, and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river