[83]. E. g., Neal v. Gillett, 23 Conn. 437 (child of 13; charge that age was not to be taken into account upheld). This is universally rejected. Lynch v. Nurdin, 1 Q. B. 29; Washington R. Co. v. Gladmon, 15 Wall. 401; Government R. Co. v. Hanlon, 53 Ala. 70; Chicago R. Co. v. Murray, 71 Ill. 601; Indianapolis R. Co. v. Wilson, 134 Ind. 95; McMillan v. Burlington R. Co., 46 Ia. 231; Kansas R. Co. v. Whipple, 39 Kan. 531; Lynch v. Smith, 104 Mass. 52; Huff v. Ames, 16 Neb. 139; Swift v. Staten Island R. Co., 123 N. Y. 645; Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Kelly, 31 Pa. St. 372; Queen v. Dayton Coal Co., 95 Tenn. 458; Cook v. Houston Navigation Co., 76 Tex. 353; Roth v. Union Depot Co., 13 Wash. 525.
[84]. Smith v. Pittsburgh R. Co., 90 Fed. 783; Warble v. Sulzberger, 185 Ala. 603; Denver Tramway Co. v. Nicholas, 35 Col. 462; Rohloff v. Fair Haven R. Co., 76 Conn. 689; Goldstein v. People’s R. Co., 5 Pennewill, 306; Elwood R. Co. v. Ross, 26 Ind. App. 258; Wyman v. Berry, 106 Me. 43; Munn v. Reed, 4 All. 431; Rasmussen v. Whipple, 211 Mass. 546 (but see Angelary v. Springfield R. Co., 213 Mass. 110); Lucarelli v. Boston R. Co., 213 Mass. 454; Strudgeon v. Village, 107 Mich. 496; Consolidated Traction Co. v. Scott, 58 N. J. Law, 682; Swift v. Staten Island R. Co., 123 N. Y. 645; Laferty v. Third Ave. R. Co., 176 N. Y. 594; Lake Erie R. Co. v. Mackey, 53 Ohio St. 370; Box & Label Co. v. Caine, 11 Ohio Cir. Ct. R. N. S. 81 (Aff’d 78 Ohio St. 405); Dubiver v. City R. Co., 44 Or. 227; Rachmel v. Clark, 205 Pa. St. 314; Parker v. Washington R. Co., 207 Pa. St. 438 (but compare Mulligan v. Burrough, 243 Pa. St. 361); Texas R. Co. v. Phillips, 91 Tex. 278; Christensen v. Oregon R. Co., 29 Utah, 192; Blankenship v. Chesapeake R. Co., 94 Va. 449; Deputy v. Kimmell, 73 W. Va. 595 Accord.
Children are seldom made defendants in actions for negligence. Most of the discussions as to the standard of care required of children are to be found in cases where the children, or their parents or representatives, were plaintiffs seeking to recover for damage to the children alleged to be caused by defendant’s negligence, and where the defendant contended that the action was barred by the contributory negligence of the child. A good discussion where defendant was an infant may be found in Briese v. Maechtle, 146 Wis. 89.
[85]. Arguments and part of opinion omitted.
[86]. Northern R. Co. v. Heaton, 191 Fed. 24; Little Rock Traction Co. v. Nelson, 66 Ark. 494 (boy ten years old); Quincy Gas Co. v. Bauman, 203 Ill. 295, 104 Ill. App. 600 (seven); Fishburn v. Burlington R. Co., 127 Ia. 483 (six); Kentucky Hotel Co. v. Camp, 97 Ky. 424 (seven); McMahon v. Northern R. Co., 39 Md. 438 (six); Purcell v. Boston R. Co., 211 Mass. 79; Giaccobe v. Boston R. Co., 215 Mass. 224 (seven); Godfrey v. Boston R. Co., 215 Mass. 432 (six); Weitzel v. Detroit R. Co., 186 Mich. 7 (nine); Ritscher v. Orange R. Co., 79 N. J. Law, 462 (six); Verdon v. Automobile Co., 80 N. J. Law, 199 (seven); Citizen’s R. Co. v. Bell, 26 Ohio Cir. Ct. R. 691 (seven); Galveston R. Co. v. Moore, 59 Tex. 64 (six); Robinson v. Cone, 22 Vt. 213 (three); McVoy v. Oakes, 91 Wis. 214 (seven); Frasers v. Tramways Co., 20 Sc. L. R. 192 (six); Plantza v. Glasgow, 47 Sc. L. R. 688 (five) Accord.
A few jurisdictions have an absolute rule as to children under seven. Government R. Co. v. Hanlon, 53 Ala. 70; Chicago R. Co. v. Tuohy, 196 Ill. 410; Reichle v. Transit Co., 241 Pa. St. 1 (six); Schnurr v. Traction Co., 153 Pa. St. 29; Dodd v. Gas Co., 95 S. C. 9. Also several jurisdictions rely on presumptions as to children between seven and fourteen (or sometimes twelve). Birmingham R. Co. v. Jones, 146 Ala. 277; City v. McLain, 67 Miss. 4; Hebert v. Hudson Electric Co., 136 App. Div. 107; Rolin v. Tobacco Co., 141 N. C. 300; Dowlen v. Texas Power Co., (Tex. Civ. App.) 174 S. W. 674; City v. Shull, 97 Va. 419; Traction Co. v. Wilkinson, 101 Va. 394. See also (as to children over fourteen) Central R. Co. v. Phillips, 91 Ga. 526; Frauenthal v. Laclede Gas Co., 67 Mo. App. 1; Murphy v. Perlstein, 73 App. Div. 256; Travers v. Hartmann, 5 Boyce, 302.
In Berdos v. Tremont Mills, 209 Mass. 489, 494, Rugg, J., says: “It is common knowledge that children under the age of fourteen are lacking in prudence, foresight, and restraint, and that their curiosity and restlessness have a tendency to get them into positions of danger. There is some point in every life where these conditions are present in such degree as to deprive the child of capacity to assume risk intelligently, or to be guilty of negligence consciously. That point varies in different children for divers reasons. There is no hard and fast rule that at any particular age a minor is presumed to be able to comprehend risks or to be capable of negligence. Extreme cases can be stated which obviously fall on one side or the other of the line. In some jurisdictions it has been held that prima facie a child under fourteen years of age is presumed not to be capable of contributory negligence. Tucker v. Buffalo Cotton Mills, 76 S. C. 539, and cases cited. Tutwiler Coal, Coke & Iron Co. v. Enslen, 129 Ala. 336. But the sounder doctrine seems to be that age is an important though not decisive factor in determining capacity, and that the decision of that question is not helped or hampered by any legal presumption. This is the law of this Commonwealth.”
Compare Jacobs v. Koehler Co., 208 N. Y. 416.
In Kyle v. Boston R. Co., 215 Mass. 260, a boy five years and eleven months old, who ran in front of an approaching car was held negligent as a matter of law. It has generally been held that children under six are not to be charged with negligence. See City v. Lewis, 155 Ky. 832; Johnson v. City, 164 Mich. 251; Love v. Detroit R. Co., 170 Mich. 1; Eskildsen v. City, 29 Wash. 583.
As to lower ages, see Morgan v. Bridge Co., 5 Dill. 96; Louisville R. Co. v. Arp, 136 Ga. 489; Indianapolis R. Co. v. Bordenchecker, 33 Ind. App. 138; Fink v. City, 115 Ia. 641; Berry v. St. Louis R. Co., 214 Mo. 593. Compare Gardner v. Grace, 1 F. & F. 359; Dorr v. Atlantic R. Co., 76 N. H. 160 (five and a half); Campbell v. Ord, 11 Sc. L. R. 54; McGregor v. Ross, 20 Sc. L. R. 462.