VICTORIA, FISHER & WESTERN RAILROAD. The Victoria, Fisher & Western Railroad Company is owned by the stockholders of the Louisiana Long Leaf Lumber Company, the stock in the two companies being held by the same persons and in the same relative proportion. They have the same officers. The railroad corporation was formed in November, 1902, and its capital stock, amounting to $300,000, was issued as a dividend to the stockholders of the lumber company in exchange for the tracks and equipment then owned and theretofore operated by the lumber company. A part of the track seems to have been constructed some 25 years ago and was acquired by the lumber company in 1900. The tap line connects with the Texas & Pacific at Victoria, La., and runs southward, crossing the Kansas City Southern at Fisher and terminating at a point known as Cain, a total distance of about 31 miles. There are about 25 miles of logging spurs and sidetracks. The tap line has 5 locomotives, 4 cabooses, 3 box cars, 1 flat car, and 105 logging cars. It does not operate any trains on regular schedule.

The lumber company has two mills, one about a mile from the junction with the Texas & Pacific at Victoria, and the, other about half a mile from tracks of the Kansas City Southern at Fisher. The Victoria mill has been in operation for about 25 years. The timber holdings of the lumber company approximate 95,000 acres, in addition to which it owns some 80,000 acres of cut-over land.

The tap line hauls the logs from the woods to the mill, making a charge of $1.50 per 1,000 feet, which is supposed to cover only the service performed on the logging spurs and not the haul over the main track. The greater portion of the lumber manufactured at Fisher is delivered to the Kansas City Southern, being switched about one-half mile by the tap line, while the greater part of the lumber produced at the mill at Victoria is moved by the tap line one mile to the Texas & Pacific. A small amount of the lumber from each mill moves over the tap line to the more distant trunk line, but the same divisions are paid by the two trunk lines from both mills.

These allowances range from three-fourths cent to 4 cents per 100 pounds; and the joint rates are the same as the rates published from adjacent mills on the trunk lines, with the exception of traffic moving to points in Texas, where 11 cents per 100 pounds is added to the junction-point rate.

The tap line does not carry passengers; and more than 99 per cent of the total tonnage, amounting for the year 1910 to 316,676 tons, is furnished by the proprietary company. Its annual reports to the Commission indicate an accumulated surplus of $13,509.17 at the end of the fiscal year, June, 1910.

We can not recognize the right of this tap line to participate as a common carrier in joint rates on the product of the mills of the proprietary company. The lumber rate of the Kansas City Southern must be held to apply from the mill at Fisher, and the rate of the Texas & Pacific from the mill at Victoria. Each of those lines may arrange with the lumber company to perform the necessary switching service for the distance of one-half mile and one mile, respectively, and may make it a reasonable compensation under section 15.

ADDENDUM: The Victoria, Fisher & Western Railroad case was appealed through the United States Commerce Court, and eventually decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1914. The following was abstracted from that decision, published in 234 U.S. 1:

VICTORIA, FISHER & WESTERN RAILROAD.
The Victoria, Fisher & Western Railroad Company and the Louisiana Long Leaf Lumber Company have the same stockholders and officers. The tap line extends from Victoria, where it connects with the Texas & Pacific, to Fisher, where it crosses the Kansas City Southern Railway, and then extends to Cain, in all about 31 miles. A part of the track was built some time ago and was acquired by the Lumber Company in 1900. In 1902 the Railroad Company was incorporated and its stock exchanged as a stock dividend for the line. There are about 25 miles of logging spurs and sidetracks. The equipment consists of 5 locomotives, 4 cabooses, 3 box cars, 1 flat car and 105 logging cars. It does not operate any trains on regular schedule. There are two mills owned by the Lumber Company, one about a mile from the junction with the Texas & Pacific and the other about half a mile from the tracks of the Kansas City Southern.

The tap line hauls the logs from the forest to the mill, charging $1.50 per 1,000 feet, which is supposed to cover only the service performed on the logging spurs and not the haul over the main track. The greater part of the lumber from Fisher is turned over to the Kansas City Southern, involving a one-half mile switch by the tap line, and from Victoria is moved by the tap line one mile to the Texas & Pacific; a small amount of the lumber from each mill is taken by the tap line to the more distant trunk line, but the same divisions are paid. The allowances range from 3/4 to 4c per 100 pounds, and the joint rates are the same as the rates published from adjacent mills on the trunk lines, except traffic moving to Texas, for which 1 1/4c per 100 pounds is added to the junction-point rate. No passengers are carried, and of 316,676 tons of freight for the year 1910, over 99% was furnished by the proprietary company, and the accumulated surplus at the end of June, 1910, was $13,509.17.