PITNEY, J., dissenting. 244 U.S. The expression on page 575 respecting the uniform operation of the maritime law was predicated only of the operation of that law as administered in the courts of admiralty, for it is not to be believed that there was any purpose to overrule Atlee v. Packet Co., 21 Wall. 389, 395, decided at the same term and only about two months before The Lottawanna by a unanimous court including Mr. Justice Bradley himself, in which it was held that where there was concurrent jurisdiction in the courts of common law and the courts of admiralty each court was at liberty to adopt its own rules of decision. Moreover, the principal question at issue in The Lottawanna was whether the case of The General Smith, 4 Wheat. 438, should be overruled, in which it had been held that, in the absence of state legislation imposing the lien, a ship was not subject to a libel in rem in the admiralty for repairs furnished in her home port. The general expressions referred to relate to that state of the law-the absence of state legislation, as well as of legislation by Congress and upon this the decision in The General Smith was upheld (p. 578). But in proceeding to discuss the subordinate question whether there was a lien under the state statute, it was held (p. 579): "It seems to be settled in our jurisprudence that so long as Congress does not interpose to regulate the subject, the rights of material-men furnishing necessaries to a vessel in her home port may be regulated in each State by State legislation." And again (p. 581): "Whatever may have been the origin of the practice, and whether or not it was based on the soundest principles, it became firmly settled, and it is now too late to question its validity. It would undoubtedly be far more satisfactory to have a uniform law regulating such liens, but until such a law be adopted (supposing Congress to have the power) the authority of the States to legislate on the subject seems to be conceded by the uniform course of decisions." 244 U.S. PITNEY, J., dissenting. Again, in Workman v. New York City, 179 U. S. 552, which, like The Lottawanna, was a proceeding in admiralty, the court, in quoting the declarations contained in that case respecting the general operation of the maritime law throughout the navigable waters of the United States, was dealing only with its application in the courts of admiralty. This is plain from what was said as a preface to the discussion (p. 557): "In examining the first question, that is, whether the local law of New York must prevail, though in conflict with the maritime law, it must be borne in mind that the issue is not-as was the case in Detroit v. Osborne (1890), 135 U. S. 492-whether the local law governs as to a controversy arising in the courts of common law or of equity of the United States, but does the local law, if in conflict with the maritime law, control a court of admiralty of the United States in the administration of maritime rights and duties, although judicial power with respect to such subjects has been expressly conferred by the Constitution (Art. III, sec. 2) upon the courts of the United States." In the argument of the present case and companion cases, emphasis was laid upon the importance of uniformity in applying and enforcing the rules of admiralty and maritime law, because of their effect upon interstate and foreign commerce. This, in my judgment, is a matter to be determined by Congress. Concurrent jurisdiction and optional remedies in courts governed by different systems of law were familiar to the framers of the Constitution, as they were to English-speaking peoples generally. The judicial clause itself plainly contemplated a jurisdiction concurrent with that of the state courts in other controversies. In such a case, the option of choosing the jurisdiction is given primarily for the benefit of suitors, not of defendants. For extending it to defendants, removal proceedings are the appropriate means. Certainly there is no greater need for uniformity of PITNEY, J., dissenting. 244 U. S. adjudication in cases such as the present than in cases arising on land and affecting the liability of interstate carriers to their employees. And, although the Constitution contains an express grant to Congress of the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, nevertheless, until Congress had acted, the responsibility of interstate carriers to their employees for injuries arising in interstate commerce was controlled by the laws of the States. This was because the subject was within the police power, and the divergent exercise of that power by the States did not regulate, but only incidentally affected, commerce among the States. Sherlock v. Alling, 93 U. S. 99, 103; Second Employers' Liability Cases, 223 U. S. 1, 54. It required an act of Congress (Act of April 22, 1908, c. 149, 35 Stat. 65) to impose a uniform measure of responsibility upon the carriers in such cases. So, it required an act of Congress (the so-called Carmack Amendment to the Hepburn Act of June 29, 1906, c. 3591, 34 Stat. 584, 595) to impose a uniform rule of liability upon rail carriers for losses of merchandise carried in interstate commerce. Adams Express Co. v. Croninger, 226 U. S. 491, 504. In a great number and variety of cases state laws and policies incidentally affecting interstate carriers in their commercial operations have been sustained by this court, in the absence of conflicting legislation by Congress. Among them are: Laws requiring locomotive engineers to be examined and licensed by the state authorities, Smith v. Alabama, 124 U. S. 465, 482; requiring such engineers to be examined for defective eyesight, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry. v. Alabama, 128 U. S. 96, 100; requiring telegraph companies to receive dispatches and transmit and deliver them diligently, Western Union Telegraph Co. v. James, 162 U. S. 650; forbidding the running of freight trains on Sunday, Hennington v. Georgia, 163 U. S. 299, 304, 308, etc.; regulating the heating of passenger cars, New York, New Haven & Hartford R. R. Co. v. New York, 165 U. S. 244 U. S. PITNEY, J., dissenting. 628; prohibiting a railroad company from obtaining by contract an exemption from the liability which would have existed had no contract been made, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Ry. Co. v. Solan, 169 U. S. 133, 136, 137; a like result arising from rules of law enforced in the state courts in the absence of statute, Pennsylvania R. R. Co. v. Hughes, 191 U. S. 477, 488, 491; statutes prohibiting the transportation of diseased cattle in interstate commerce, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Ry. Co. v. Haber, 169 U. S. 613, 630, 635; Reid v. Colorado, 187 U. S. 137, 147, 151; statutes requiring the prompt settlement of claims for loss or damage to freight, applied incidentally to interstate commerce, Atlantic Coast Line R. R. Co. v. Mazursky, 216 U. S. 122, even since the passage of the Carmack Amendment, Missouri, Kansas & Texas Ry. Co. v. Harris, 234 U. S. 412, 417, 420; statutes regulating the character of headlights used on locomotives employed in interstate commerce, Atlantic Coast Line R. R. Co. v. Georgia, 234 U. S. 280; Vandalia R. R. Co. v. Public Service Commission, 242 U. S. 255. All these cases affected the responsibility of interstate carriers. Until now, Congress has passed no act concerning their responsibility for personal injuries sustained by passengers or strangers, or for deaths resulting from such injuries, so that these matters still remain subject to the regulation of the several States. We have held recently that even the anti-pass provision of the Hepburn Act (34 Stat. 584, 585, c. 3591, § 1) does not deprive a party who accepts gratuitous carriage in interstate commerce with the consent of the carrier, in actual but unintentional violation of the prohibition of the act, of the benefit and protection of the law of the State imposing upon the carrier a duty to care for his safety; Southern Pacific Co. v. Schuyler, 227 U. S. 601, 612. In the very realm of navigation, the authority of the States to establish regulations effective within their own borders, in the absence of exclusive legislation by Con gress, has been recognized from the beginning of our government under the Constitution. As to pilotage regulations, it was recognized by the First Congress (Act of August 7, 1789, c. 9, § 4, 1 Stat. 53, 54; Rev. Stats., § 4235), and this court, in many decisions, has sustained local regulations of that character. Cooley v. Board of Wardens, 12 How. 299, 320; Steamship Co. v. Joliffe, 2 Wall. 450, 459; Ex parte McNiel, 13 Wall. 236, 241; Wilson v. McNamee, 102 U. S. 572; Olsen v. Smith, 195 U. S. 332, 341; Anderson v. Pacific Coast S. S. Co., 225 U. S. 187, 195. It is settled that a State, in the absence of conflicting legislation by Congress, may construct dams and bridges across navigable streams within its limits, notwithstanding an interference with accustomed navigation may result. Willson v. Black-Bird Creek Marsh Co., 2 Pet. 245, 252; Gilman v. Philadelphia, 3 Wall. 713; Pound v. Turck, 95 U. S. 459; Escanaba Co. v. Chicago, 107 U. S. 678, 683; Cardwell v. American Bridge Co., 113 U. S. 205, 208; Hamilton v. Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad, 119 U. S. 280; Willamette Iron Bridge Co. v. Hatch, 125 U. S. 1, 8; Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Ry. Co. v. Ohio, 165 U. S. 365; Manigault v. Springs, 199 U. S. 473, 478. So, as to harbor improvements, County of Mobile v. Kimball, 102 U. S. 691, 697; improvements and obstructions to navigation, Huse v. Glover, 119 U. S. 543, 548; Leovy v. United States, 177 U. S. 621, 625; Cummings v. Chicago, 188 U. S. 410, 427; inspection and quarantine laws, Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 203; wharfage charges, Packet Co. v. Keokuk, 95 U. S. 80; Packet Co. v. Catlettsburg, 105 U. S. 559, 563; Transportation Co. v. Parkersburg, 107 U. S. 691, 702; Ouachita Packet Co. v. Aiken, 121 U. S. 444, 447; tolls for the use of an improved waterway, Sands v. Manistee River Improvement Co., 123 U. S. 288, 295. So, of provisions fixing the tolls for transportation upon an interstate ferry, Port Richmond &c. Ferry Co. v. Hudson County, 234 U. S. 317, 331; or upon vessels plying be |