Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-03
More Telephone Legislation.

It is unfortunate that while the House
was in an anti-telephone mood yesterday
It did not adopt a more surely effective rate
amendment than that which was finally
evolved. The major portion of the amend
ment is virtually the same as that which
has for some years been the subject of liti-
cation and which now stands practically
nullifed. The Supreme Court of the United
States. on final appeal remanded the case
to the lower court for decision as to the
precise kind of service the company was
required by the statute to render for the
rates specified The District court held
that the rates called only for the grounded
circuit which at the time of the passage
of the act was in use in a great majority of
cases. In other words. the lower court
finally ruled that the rates applied to the
average or standard of service at the time
Of the enactment. Since the enactment,
however. the company had voluntarily
changed almost universally to the metallic
circuit As a final consequence of the va
rfous court proceedings all litigation was
dropped in accordance with an agreement
between the corporation and the subscrib-
ers association. and as the case now stands
the law of 1898 is imperative as regards
the citizens and operative as to the official
service. for which only appropriations in
accordance with the rates of 1898 are pro-
vided.
But the amendment. as further amended
by motion of Mr.. Hepburn. does go further
than the law of 1898 by STIMULATING that any
violation of the rates provision shall work a
forfeiture of all rights to conduct a tele-
phone business in the District The statute
of six years ago carried no penalty what
ever. Thus question arises whether the
fol ar1hn ~
final passage of the paragraph In it's pres
ent shape, will defy the law as it did In
1898 and trust to the court decisions al
ready rendered to shelter it from forfeiture.
or will yield under the threat of loss of
all rights to the repeated mandate of Con-
gress to grant rea sonable rates to it's SUBJ
scribers.
In any case there should be a further eff
fort to strengthen this rate provision of
the law. II the House has not the time
TO do SO before the bill is passed. then the
Senate should take up the matter for seri-
Gus consideration. To be most certain of
efrecting the desired ends the paragraph
should embrace three distinct propositions,
and it is to be hoped that the Senate ap-
preparations committee will take them I'M
der careful Amusement In the first place.
the statute should define the kind of service
which Is TO be rendered for the rates named,
whether metallic or grounded circuit and
what manner of equipment That definition
should be in terms of the best standard
service of today. Then, the rates for such
service should be most carefully determined
with full reference to the court decisions
and especially to the figures submitted by
the company and the telephone users in the
course of the arguments and hearings. The
company it will be remembered, in con-
tending that the $50 rate was confiscatory
urged that it actually cost between $50 and
$40 year to maintain what it described as
the average or standard service. These fig
ures might well be questioned, but they af-
ford a basis for such reckoning as 1T Is
to be hoped Congress will now undertake
IN the interest of effective rate-reform leg
islat1on- Finally, the paragraph when fin
ally shaped should state the penalty In
definite terms and with safeguards to pre-
vent vexatious delays in the Inauguration
of the process of forfeiture In case of viola
ton of the law
In short, If Congress intends to bring
this recalcitrant corporation to book it
should go at the work in the light of all
past experience. 1t should bear especially
In mind the fact that the Chesapeake and
Potomac Company is now giving to its pa
uohS very poor service, and IL not dis
posed to go after it in the matter of the
rates in a way to insure results for reform
Congress might at least write effective laws
which will compel it to yield a fair meas
ure of real value for the extortionate rates
now charged. The company is not only in
contempt of the law-making power in that
1t has defed it's mandate in the past, but
1t is now engaged in offending the telephone
users at every turn with its misera Bile sery-
ice.