State ex rel. Silver Lake Railway & Lumber Co. v. Public Service Commission

Citations

• 117 Wash. 453
• 201 P. 765
• 1921 Wash. LEXIS 878

Syllabus

<p>Carriers (2) — Who are Common Carriers — Railroads-—Powers of Public Service Commission. Tbe status of a carrier as a common carrier is a question of fact to be determined by the courts upon the evidence presented in the record, irrespective of the finding of the public service commission.</p> <p>Same (2) — Effect of Charter Provisions. Power conferred on a corporation by its charter to perform service as a common carrier will not establish its character as a common carrier, where it has never undertaken to exercise that power.</p> <p>Same (2) — Evidence-—-Sufficiency. The fact that a logging corporation brought an action to condemn land for a railroad right of way, while evidence to be considered, would not be sufficient in itself to establish a status as common carrier contrary to the actual facts.</p> <p>Same (2). A logging and railway company organized for the purpose of getting out timber owned by the stockholders has no other status than that of a private carrier, where it does not carry on a general freight business but occasionally transports articles for others at less than the cost of service.</p>