eight miles south of Edmond, and is also reached from Oklahoma City by street car line. The Commission further finds from the evidence that the depot facilities at Britton are inadequate and that the proposed changes by the defendant would still leave the depot inadequate and insufficient for the reasonable necessities of the town of Britton and vicinity, and will be very unattractive and humiliating to the people of that vicinity as compared with other improvements at Britton and other depot facilities for similar towns and communities.

It is, therefore, ordered by the Corporation Commission that the defendant, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company build a depot at the town of Britton; the plans and specifications for which to be submitted to the Commission for approval. That said depot shall be erected and ready for use by November 1, 1908.

Guthrie, Oklahoma, August 25, 1908.

Defendant excepted to order and filed a motion for a new trial; motion was overruled.

September 18, 1908, case made was completed, signed and filed. Appeal pending in Supreme Court.

COMPLAINT NO. 131.

A. W. DUKE, ET AL., of Payson,

VS.

ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY.

Filed April 13, 1908.

Asking that telegraph service be restored.

Evidence was heard on August 17, 1908, and an order was issued as follows:

CORPORATION COMMISSION OF OKLAHOMA.

ORDER NO. 92.

A. W. DUKE, ET AL., of Payson, Complainants,

VS.

ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY, Defendant.

On the 13th day of April, 1908, the complainants filed a petition with the Commission, alleging that telegraph service had been discontinued at the town of Payson, and alleging great inconvenience by reason thereof, and praying that the Commission require the defendant to reinstate such service.

The case was heard August 17, 1908, and after examination of several witnesses, and due consideration of the evidence, the Commission finds that Payson is a town of some two hundred people or more, situated in a good agricultural community and that it is from. six to eight miles to other telegraph stations; that the defendant maintained telegraph service at this station for a number of years and discontinued the same during the month of February, 1908.

It is shown by the evidence that this was a cotton market and that the various farm products were shipped from there, as is customary in a community of this kind, and it is further shown by the evidence that the defendant furnish telegraph service to other communities similarly situated, and the Commission is of the opinion that the defendant should re-establish telegraph service, for commercial and other purposes, and for the purpose of bulletining the arrival of its trains as required by the Commission's order No. 4.

It is, therefore, ordered by the Commission that the derendant, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company establish telegraph service at the town of Payson for such purposes as such service is commonly used by the public. That said service shall be established by September 15, 1908.

Guthrie, Oklahoma, August 31, 1908.

Defendant filed a motion for new trial which was overruled.

On September 18, 1908, case-made was completed, signed and filed.

May 15, 1909, received mandate. Opinion of Supreme Court as follows:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA. THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA & SANTA FE RAILWAY COMPANY, Appellant,

VS.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA, ET AL., Appellees.

No. 438.

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.

A railway company engaged as a common carrier in the transportation business, is not required to install and maintain telegraph stations to receive and transmit messages for commercial purposes, independent of its business as such common carrier.

2.

A railway company is required to furnish all necessary equipment and facilities for the discharge of its duties as a common carrier, but when such are not reasonable and necessary for such purpose, it is not, independent of its duties as a common carrier, to be required to furnish them that the public may, conimercially, derive convenience therefrom.

Appeal from the Corporation Commission.
Cottingham & Bledsoe, for Appellant.

George A. Henshaw, Assistant Attorney General, for Appellees.
Reversed.

STATEMENTS OF FACTS.

On April 13, A. D., 1908, certain resident tax payers of the town of Payson and vicinity petitioned the Corporation Commission to investigate the action of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company, whereby said company had withdrawn its telegraph operator

and the telegraph instruments froom its office in said town of Payson, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, representing that since the construction of said railroad the residents of said town of Payson and vicinity have had the use and benefit of a well conducted telegraph office, and that its absence at said place at said time was detrimental to the entire citizenship of that community; and they prayed that telegraph service be re-established at said station.

On the 2nd day of May, A. D., 1908, there was filed with the Corporation Commission of the State of Oklahoma, a response to said complaint, being referred to as "File No. 131" dated April 13, A. D., 1908, to the effect that said telegraph office was closed because it was not needed in the handling of the business of the appellant, it having sufficient facilities for taking care of the business from that station; that on account of reduction of business it was necessary to curtail expenses as much as possible, and as the telegraph office at said station was not needed, it was accordingly closed; that as to its commercial business that fall, for the past four months preceding the date of said response, the earnings averaged $1.93 per month; that in the month of February, yo8, the commercial earnings of the telegraph service for said month was 90 cents.

Said cause was set for hearing on the 17th day of August, A. D., 1908, and W. C. Parnell, for the complainant, testified that he lived at Payson in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, and that the people residing around said station desired a telegraph office, for the accommodation of the public generally, established or re-established there; that Payson is located on the Santa Fe line about eighteen miles north of Shawnee, having about 250 inhabitants, and is about five miles from Meeker and Sparks, one being to the north and the other to the south, each having a telegraph station; that the inhabitants of Payson are subjected to inconvenience, in that if either of them desire to send or receive a message they have to 'phone the telegraph operator at either Meeker or Sparks, and if they are unknown personally to the operator it is necessary to get the bank at Payson to guarantee the charges at these places; that there is maintained a station agent at Payson by the railway company, but he is not an operator, at least, he does not operate the instrument. Witness stated that he had heard that he was an operator, but did not know of his own knowledge; that this agent's duties were to sell tickets and deliver and receive freight. There is no proof as to what it would reasonably cost the company to maintain a telegraph station with an operator at said place. Witness stated that the station agent, as to the selling of tickets and receiving and delivering freight, performed his duties in a satisfactory manner, other than that, he did not afford any telegraph service; that the telegraph service was discontinued somewhere in February or March, possibly May, 1908. The Attorney General propounded the following questions:

"Q. How much does it cost you to communicate with the other office?"

Mr. Love, Chairman: "Mr. Attorney General, I would like for you, in all these public service cases to confine yourself-to leave out the cost of everything, and to see whether or not the people are served as they should be served by these public service corporations."

Mr. Henshaw, Assistant Attorney General: "Q. Well, have you any means of knowing when trains are coming?"

Witness: "A. Why, no; nothing except the time card."

"Q. Well, the trains are not bulletined? A. I couldn't say from my personal knowledge if it is or not, but I have understood that he is not using the instrument at all; the signal boards are down, I don't know....

"Q. What is your business there? A. I am a farmer, own property in our little town, live close in, have some interests in the town, but I live on the farm.”

On cross-examination witness stated that said telegraph office had been maintained at said station of Payson prior to the time it had been discontinued about four years; that there were proper station facilities there now. The following questions were propounded to the witness on cross-examination by counsel for the appeliant:

"Q. Well, I have the recori on it. You know what the receipts from the telegraph business at this station were for twelve months prior-"

Mr. Love, Chairman: "As was stated before, we don't care anything about receipts or anything about that, we are going to eliminate that part of it."

"Q. The telegraph service at this station, the business being discontinued in February, 1908, do you know what the receipts were from the telegraph business for twelve months prior to the time when the service was discontinued?"

Mr. Love, Chairman: "Question objected to."

Counsel for Appellant: "I would like to say, the attorney for the Santa Fe now offers to prove what the receipts were at the station of Payson for the telegraph business for each month during the period of twenty-four months immediately preceding the discontinuance of the service at that station."

Mr. Love, Chairman: "It is not allowed by the court."

Exception taken to the ruling by counsel for appellant.

Mr. Love, Chairman: "It has no bearing in a case of this nature, as all public service corporations have a monopoly of certain special privileges take upon themselves obligations to serve the people first and then the making of money afterwards."

Counsel for Appellant: "Q. Mr. Parnell, how far did you say it is from Payson north to Sparks? A. Approximately six iniies, I don't know just how far it is.'

"Q. There is a telegraph office maintained there? A. I think there is, yes sir."

"Q. A telephone from Payson to Sparks? A. Yes, sir."

"Q. How far is it from the station of Payson south to the first station? A. About the same distance about six miles."

"Q. What is the name of that station? A. Meeker."

"Q. Is there a telegraph office there? A. Yes, sir."

"Q. And there is a telephone from Payson to Meeker? A. Yes, sir."

"Q. So that the greatest distance any persons between these towns would have to go to reach a telegraph office already in existence and furnishing a service would be six miles north or south? A. Yes,sir. I would like to state to the court that Mr. Franks, who is a shipper, that he might be interviewed on this particular point."

"Q. How many stores are there in Payson? A. Well, there is three stores, two stores handling hardware and implements, one drug. store, I believe."

"Q. About 200 people there? A. I think the census report taken last year shows about two hundred, possibly two hundred and fifty, two hundred and forty or two hundred and fifty."

The next witness examined on the part of the complainants was W. F. Frank, who testified that he lived at Payson, and that his business was that of a general merchant and also engaged in the cotton business.

Assistant Attorney General: "Q. Now, you may state what inconvenience the lack of telegraph facilities bears upon your business? A. Well, as a business man and from a Western Union standpoint, I have the same report to n.ake that Mr. Parnell has to make. The report from the Chandler office covers my business, and I paid them myself, because I am acquainted there and 'phone down and paid the bill. I lived and owned property in Chandler before I came to Payson. I also did some business with Sparks and Meeker in the same month when I could send telegrams the other way collect, and have since received telgrams from these stations, and I have this objection from a Western Union standpoint and as a shipper of cotton and anything I have to sell; have shipped some grain in the last year, I find it very hard to get cars there because of no operator. It is hard to get cars without an operator, because they wire for cars, and it is also hard to have your cars picked up, because it is the custom for the agent to wire the dispatcher to wire the conductor on these trains to pick up certain carɛ."

"Q. You mean through trains? A. No, the local picks them. up, they wire the local crew to pick them up, that is the custom, and I find it very inconvenient in that way. And as for the citizens it is very hard to get messages. This last month I know that there were at least three messages that were never delivered, couldn't get them