ART. 23] COMMON CARRIEES. 741

any such common carrier in its failure to obey, observe and comply with
any such order or provision, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Whenever the commission shall be of the opinion that a common
carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad corporation, or other cor-
poration, subject to its supervision, is failing or omitting, or about to
fail or omit to do anything required of it by law, or by order of the
commission, or is doing anything, or about to do anything, or permit-
ting anything or about to permit anything to be done, contrary to or in
violation of law or of any order of this commission, it shall direct the
general counsel to the commission to commence an action or proceeding
before one of the judges of the supreme bench of Baltimore city or in
the circuit court of the county in which such corporation has its princi-
pal place of business, or carries on its business in the name of the
commission, for the purpose of having such violations or threatened
violations stopped and prevented, either by mandamus or injunction.
Counsel to the commission shall thereupon begin such action or pro-
ceeding by a petition to and in any of the said courts, as the case may
require, alleging the violation or threatened violation complained of,
and praying for appropriate relief by way of mandamus or injunction.
It shall thereupon be the duty of the court to specify the time not
exceeding twenty days after service of the petition, within which the
common carrier, railroad corporation or street railroad corporation
complained of must answer the petition. In case of default in answer,
or after answer, the court shall immediately inquire into the facts and
circumstances in such manner as the court may direct, without other
or formal pleadings, and without respect to any technical requirement.
Such other persons or corporations as the court shall deem necessary or
proper to join as parties in order to make its order, judgment or writs
effective, may be joined as parties upon application of counsel to the
commission. The final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall
either dismiss the action or proceedings or direct that a writ of man-
damus or an injunction issue, as prayed for in the, petition or in such
modified or other forms as the court may determine will afford the
appropriate relief.

Any corporation, other than a common carrier, which shall violate
any provision of this sub-title, or shall fail to obey, observe and comply
with every order made by the commission under authority of this sub-
title, so long as the same shall be and remain in force, shall forfeit to
the State of Maryland a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars for
each and every offense; every such violation shall be a separate and
distinct offense, and the penalty or forfeiture thereof shall be recov-
ered in an action as provided in this section.

Every person who, either individually or acting as an officer or agent
of a corporation or person, other than a common carrier, railroad cor-
poration or street railroad corporation, shall violate any provision of
this sub-title, or fail to obey, observe or comply with any order made
by the commission under this sub-title, so long as the same shall be or
remain in force, or who shall procure or aid or abet any such corpora-