Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 29.djvu/515

 FIFTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 12. 1897. 485 SEO. 3. That said bridge shall be under and subject to such regula- mmm; of WNW tions tbr the security of the navigation of said lake as the Secretary °m”°v° ° °°g°°'°t°' of \Var shall prescribe, and the present plan and structure of said bridge shall not be altered or changed except by consent of the Secretary of War, and with his approval of the proposed change or alteration; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for file, a design and drawings of said bridge and a map of the location, prepared with reference to a known datum plane, upon prescribed scale, furnished by the engineer officer having supervision of said lake, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the location of the bridge, the topography of the banks of the lake, with shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject: Provided, That §’°***·>·- f any change or alteration in the said bridge which the Secretary chanfggs? D ° ° ° ° of War may deem necessary in the interest of navigation shall be made by the said railroad company at its own expense: Provided, also, That said bridge shall be so kept and managed by the company AM to navigation. owning or operating it as to aiiord during the periods at which the lake is navigable proper ways and means for the passage through or under it of vessels, barges, or rafts, both by day and by night; and during the periods at which the lake is navigable there shall be dis- _ played on said bridge from sunset to sunrise such lights and signals I“g"“~°*°· as may be directed by the Light-House Board. Sec. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge D,g_”° by ****1** °°·¤P*· shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the ` passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches _ thereto, upon payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and °°’“P°“““"°“· in case the owner or owners of said 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. . Spc. 5. That Congress reserves the right to alter, amend, or repeal —*¤•>¤¤¤¤¤¤¤· ¤*¢· this Act at any time. Approved, January 13, 1897. CHAP. 13.-An Act Authorizing the Kansas City, Watkins and Gulf Railway ·l“*°“7 H- ls"- Company to construct and maintain a bridge across the Black River, in Louisiana. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United __ States of America in Congress assembled, That the Kansas City, Wat- kifjnjga gm Qgjj kins and Gulf Railway Company, acorporation created and existing wg Crgppnuy my under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Louisiana, be, and is }j'Q,‘u§,‘§,m,_“°k R“"°'· hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge across Black River, in the State of Louisiana, at such point suitable to the interests of navigation as may hereatter be selected by said railway company for _ crossing said river with its railroad line. Said bridge shall be con- u$¤;;;·{hd;;·8¤¤ structed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and at the option of said railway company, inay be used for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot passengers, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be fixed by said railway com- T°“· pany and approved by the Secretary ot War. _ _ _ _ L m Sec.  That said bridge built under this Act and subject to its limi- mfgm rj,{,j,[""“'”° tations 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 transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and munitions of