hereby, authorized to construct a bridge over the river Saint Mary's, in the county of Camden and State of Georgia, and in the county of Nassau and State of Florida, at the point where said railroads cross said river.

SEC. 2. That the Jacksonville and East Tennessee Railroad Company be, and is hereby, authorized to construct a bridge over the river Satilla, in the county of Camden, in the State of Georgia, at the point where said railroad crosses said river.

SEC. 3. That said bridges shall be so constructed, either by draw, span, or otherwise, so that a free and unobstructed passage may be secured to all vessels and other water-craft navigating said rivers.

SEC. 4. That the said Jacksonville and East Tennessee Railroad Company be, and is hereby, authorized to construct fixed bridges over the Little Satilla River, between the counties of Camden and Glynn, and over Crooked River, in the county of Camden, in said State of Georgia, at the points selected by said company where said railroad crosses said rivers, with one span, and to make said bridges of such height as they may see fit: Provided, That the height be sufficient to permit the passage of timber rafts and other vessels navigating said rivers under said bridges.

SEC. 5. That any bridge built under this act and subject 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 transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or passengers or freight pass ing over said bridge, than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph companies, and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches for said postal-telegraph

purposes.

SEC. 6. That if any of the said bridges authorized to be constructed by this act shall be constructed as a draw-bridge, the draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats; and said company or corporation shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset till sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridge or bridges as the Light-House Board shall prescribe. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such obstructions shall be removed and alterations made at the expense of the owner or owners of said bridge: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge erected under this act from the operation of the same.

SEC. 7. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge 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 payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and 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.

SEC. 8. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War a design and drawings of said bridge to be erected, for his examination and approval, and a map of its location, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject, and in all things shall be subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War; and until said plan and location of said bridge or bridges are approved by the Secretary of War said bridge or bridges shall not be built; and should any change be made in the plan of any bridge authorized to be constructed by this act, during the progress of the work of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.

SEC. 9. That this act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridge therein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the date thereof.

SEC. 10. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved; and the right to require any changes in said structures, or their entire removal, at the expense of the owners thereof, whenever the Secretary of War shall decide that the public interest requires it, is also expressly reserved.

Approved, April 9, 1888.

AN ACT authorizing the construction of a bridge across the Tennessee River at Chattanooga, Ten

nessee.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the consent of Congress is hereby given to the Chattanooga Bridge Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Tennessee, having its principal office at Chattanooga, in said State, and to its successors or assigns, to build, construct, and maintain a bridge, as hereinafter described, across the Tennessee River at Chattanooga, in the State of Tennessee, the southern terminus of said bridge to be at some point between the west line of Market street and the east line of Georgia avenue of said city, and the bridge to be constructed at right angles to said stream to a point on the north side thereof. Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of street cars, wagons, and vehicles, and the transit of animals and foot-passengers, and equal facilities for passage across said bridge shall be afforded to all wagons and vehicles and the cars of all street car companies.

SEC. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject to its limitations shall be a lawful structure, and shall be recognized and known as a post-route, upon which no higher charge shall be made for the transmission over the saine of the mails, troops, and munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the highways leading to said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-routes in the United States, and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph companies, and the United States shall have the right of way across said bridge and its approaches for postal-telegraph pur

poses.

SEC. 3. That if said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuous spans, the two main spans thereof shall be over the main channels of the river, and not less than three hundred feet each in length in the clear, and the remaining spans shall not be less than two hundred feet each in length in the clear. The lowest part of the superstructure of the south span of said bridge shall not be less than one hundred feet and the remaining spans not less than ninety feet above low-water mark, as understood at the point of location, and the bridge shall be at right angles to and its piers parallel to the current of the river: Provided, That if any bridge built under this act shall be constructed as a pivot draw-bridge, its draw shall be over the main channel at an accessible and the best navigable point, and with spans giving a clear water-way, measured at the lowest stage of water known at the locality, of not less than one hundred and sixty feet in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier of the draw; the main unbroken span of the bridge shall not be less than three hundred feet in the clear, and the remaining spaus not less than two hundred feet each in the clear, and the lowest part of the superstructure of all the principal spans shall not be less than seventy-five feet above low-water mark, as understood at the point of location, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel to, and the bridge itself at right angles to, the current of the river: Provided, That said draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signals for the passage of boats or vessels; and said corporation shall maintain at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such light or other signals as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.

SEC. 4. That any bridge anthorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of the navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War for his examination and approval a design and drawings of the bridge, and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river; the shore-lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the current 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; and until said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge shall not be built; and should any change be made in the plans of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to theapproval of the Secretary of War. Said company shall be allowed to charge reasonable tolls for transit over said bridge, but the Secretary of War shall have the right from time to time to revise, prescribe, and determine such rates or tolls.

SEC. 5. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this act, so as to prevent or remove all material and substantial obstructions to the navigation of said river by the construction of said bridge is hereby expressly reserved; and any alteration or change that may be required by the Secretary of War in the bridge constructed under this act, or the entire removal thereof, shall be made by the corporation or party owning or controlling the same at its own expense. If any litigation shall be necessary for the purpose of enforcing the requirements of the War Department as to altering said bridge or removing the whole structure, the same shall be had in the circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction the bridge or any part thereof is located. If ENG 88-178

the construction of said bridge shall not be commenced within two and completed within four years after the passage of this act, all privileges conferred hereby, and this act, shall become null and void.

Approved, April 20, 1888.

AN ACT to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis, Ten

nessee.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Kansas City and Memphis Railway and Bridge Company, a corporation created and organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Arkansas, its successors and assigns, be, and the same are hereby, author. ized and empowered to erect, construct, and maintain a bridge over the Mississippi River, from or near the town of Hopefield, in the State of Arkansas, to or near the taxing district of Shelby County, commonly known as the city of Memphis, in the State of Tennessee. Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and, at the option of the corporation by which it may be built, for foot-passengers, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be approved from time to time by the Secretary of War.

SEC. 2. That any bridge built under this act and subject 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 transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and munitions of war of the United States than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States. SEC. 3. That the said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuous spans. Before approving the plans for said bridge, the Secretary of War shall order three engineer officers from the Engineer Bureau to be detailed to the duty of examining, by actual inspection, the locality where said bridge is to be built, and to report what shall be the length of the main channel-span and of the other spans: Provided, That the main channel-span shall in no event be less than seven hundred feet in length, or the other spans less than six hundred feet each in length; and if the report of said officers shall be approved by the Secretary of War, the spans of said bridge shall be of the length so required. The lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge shall be at least seventy-five feet above extreme high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, and the bridge shall be at right angles to, and its piers parallel with, the current of the river. No bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said river; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, in the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause such change or alteration of said bridge to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of the owner or owners of said bridge; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: Provided further, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers, or to exempt this bridge from the operation of the same.

SEC. 4. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge 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 payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and 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 reasonable notice to the parties in interest and upon consideration of such allegations and proofs as may be submitted to him. But the last foregoing provision shall not be held to exclude the ordinary jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in such cases.

SEC. 5. That any bridge authorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object, the said companies or corporations shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of the bridge and a map of the location, giving, for the space of two miles above and two miles below the proposed location, the to

pography of the banks of the river, the shore-lines at extreme 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; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are approved by the Secretary of War, the bridge shall not be built or commenced; and should any change be made in the plans of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to approval of the Secretary of War, and shall not be made or commenced until the same is so approved.

SEC. 6. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, on satisfactory proof that a necessity exists therefor, to require the company or persons owning said bridge to cause such aids to the passage of said bridge to be constructed, placed, and maintained at their own cost and expense, in the form of booms, dikes, piers, or other suitable and proper structures for the guiding of rafts, steam-boats, and other water-craft safely through the passage-way, as shall be specified in his order in that behalf; and on failure of the company or persons aforesaid to make and establish and maintain such additional structures within a reasonable time, the said Secretary may cause the said bridge to be removed at the expense of the owners thereof or may proceed to cause the same to be built or made at the expense of the owners of said bridge and in that case shall refer the matter without delay to the Attorney-General of the United States, whose duty it shali be to institute, in the name of the United States, proceedings in any circuit court of the United States within whose jurisdiction such bridge or any part thereof is located, for the recovery of the amount so expended by the Government and all costs of such proceedings; and all moneys accruing from such proceedings shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States.

SEC. 7. That if the construction of the bridge hereby authorized shall not be commenced within one year from the time this act takes effect, and be completed within four years after the same date, then this act shall be void, and all rights hereby conferred shall cease and determine.

SEC. 8. That an act entitled "An act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River at Memphis, Teunessee," approved February twentysixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

SEC. 9. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved, and the right to require any changes in said structure, or its entire removal, at the expense of the owners, whenever the Secretary of War shall decide that the public interests require it, is also expressly reserved.

Approved, April 24, 1888.

AN ACT to facilitate the prosecution of works projected for the improvement of rivers and harbors.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War may cause proceedings to be instituted, in the name of the United States, in any court having jurisdiction of such proceedings, for the acquirement by condemnation of any land, right of way, or material needed to enable him to maintain, operate or prosecute works for the improvement of rivers and harbors for which provision has been made by law; such proceedings to be prosecuted in accordance with the laws relating to suits for the condemnation of property of the States wherein the proceedings may be instituted: Provided, however, That when the owner of such land, right of way, or material shall fix a price for the same, which in the opinion of the Secretary of War, shall be reasonable, he may purchase the same at such price without further delay: And provided further, That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to accept donations of lands or materials required for the maintenance or prosecution of such works. Approved, April 24, 1888.

AN ACT authorizing the Kansas City. Texarkana and Gulf Railway Company to bridge the Red and Little Rivers, in the State of Arkansas.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Kansas City, Texarkana and Gulf Railway Company, its successors or assigns, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a railway bridge, and approaches thereto, over and across Red River, in the State of Arkansas, at or near the point where the eastern boundary line of the State of Texas intersects the said river and the State line of the State of Arkansas; and also a railway bridge, and approaches thereto, over and across Little River, in the said State of Arkansas, at such point as may be selected by said railway company for crossing said

river with its railroad line. Said bridges shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and, at the option of said company, may 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 approved from time to time by the Secretary of War. That if the said bridges, or either of them, over the said rivers, shall be made with unbroken and continuous spans, there shall be at least one span of a height of not less than eighty feet above low water or fifty feet above highest water, as understood at the point of location, measured to the lowest part of the superstructure of said bridge; and said span shall have a clear opening of at least two hundred feet between the piers, measured at right angles to the current, and shall be over the main channel of the river, and the bridge or bridges shall be at right angles to, and the piers parallel with, the current of the river. And if the bridges, or either of them, over the said rivers, shall be constructed as draw or pivot bridges, the draw or pivot pier shall be over the main channel of the river at an accessible navigable point, and the openings on each side of the pivot-pier shall not be less than one hundred and thirty feet in the clear, unless otherwise expressly directed by the Secretary of War, and if so directed shall be according to such direction, and, as nearly as practicable, the said openings shall be accessible at all stages of water, and the spans shall be not less than ten feet above extreme high water, as understood at the point of location, to the lowest part of the superstructure of the bridge, and the piers and draw rests shall be parallel with, and the bridge or bridges at right angles to, the current of the river or rivers; and no riprap or other outside protection for imperfect foundations shall be permitted to approach nearer than four feet to the surface of the water at its extreme low stage, or otherwise to encroach upon the channel-ways provided for in this act; and all and each of said draws shall be opened promptly upou reasonable signal for the passing of boats; and said company shall maintain, at its own expense, from sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals on said bridges as the Light-House Board may prescribe.

SEC. 2. That any bridge built under this act, and subject 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 transmission 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 over the railroad or public highways leading to the said bridge; and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States. SEC. 3. That no bridge shall be erected or maintained under the authority of this act which shall at any time substantially or materially obstruct the free navigation of said rivers; and if any bridge erected under such authority shall, iu the opinion of the Secretary of War, obstruct such navigation, he is hereby authorized to cause. such change or alteration of said bridge or bridges to be made as will effectually obviate such obstruction; and all such alterations shall be made and all such obstructions be removed at the expense of the owner or owners of said bridge. And in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be brought in the district court of the United States for the State of Arkansas in whose jurisdiction any portion of said obstruction or bridge may be located: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to repeal or modify any of the provisions of law now existing in reference to the protection of the navigation of rivers or to exempt said bridges from the operation of the same.

SEC. 4. That all railway companies desiring the use of said bridges, or either of them, 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.

SEC. 5. That the bridges authorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said rivers as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of said bridges, and each of them, and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river, the 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; and until the said plan and location of the bridge or bridges are approved by the Secretary of War the bridge or bridges shall not be built; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridges, or either of them, during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to approval of the Secretary of War; and the said structures shall be changed at the cost and expense of the owners thereof, from time to time, as the Secretary of War may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said rivers; and the authority to erect and continue any and all of said bridges shall be subject to revocation by the Secretary of War whenever the public good, in his judgment, so requires.