State ex rel. Caster v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Mason, J.:

This is an original proceeding in mandamus, brought by the public utilities commission to compel the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company to obey an order made by the commission requiring it to rebuild a telephone line between Garnett and Bone Elm. It is submitted upon certain stipulations and the evidence taken before the commission prior to the making of the order.

The line (of iron wire) was built in 1900 by a local company which owned an exchange at Garnett. The subscribers to that exchange and to the one at Lone Elm, which lies fourteen…