The Right to Seize Silent Tracks

During the debate in the Legislative Council on a bill for the condemnation of railroads for non-use, Judge Jacobs argued that the foundation of the right granted to railroad companies to condemn property was the concept of 'public use.' He contended that when a corporation ceases to operate a line—leaving the rails to rust while hoarding the land—the justification for their ownership evaporates. He stated, 'If that public use fails by ceasing to operate the road, the consideration for the condemnation is gone, and to continue the right in the company longer would be the dog in the manger policy.'

Mr. Heavis of Yakima joined the debate, emphasizing that while he opposed the seizure of private property, the state has a duty to protect its people from corporate neglect. He pointed out that 'there are miles of railway in this territory that are not operated. That property has been condemned, tracks laid down, and competing lines kept out, because whenever you build a railway on one line, you will not have a competing line parallel to the road built.' The proposed law sought to allow the state to condemn these abandoned lines and auction them off to operators who would actually serve the public, declaring, 'It is an old maxim, full of wisdom, that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'