Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-29
An Adequate Rate Law Needed.

The undertaking by Congress of the reg
ulation of the telephone rates of domestic
subscribers only is no more logical than
would be the distinct limitation OF the
statute relating to the price of gas to those
who Use 1t for cooking purposes alone, or
for the illumination of wooden as distin-
guished from brick dwellings Had Con-
gress. I'm framing its gas-rate laws in the
past. attempted to draw any distinction be-
tween the classes of gas users, and espe-
cially if it had reduced the price to only a
small fraction of consumers 1t would have
been criticised severely on the score of
leaving open large loophole for the re-
coupling of corporation profits. The bust
ness men of Washington are today urging
that this pending rate regulation shall, in
common justice and for the statutes effect
I've working. cover all telephones used just
as completely as did the law of 1898 of
which il takes the place. They do not es-
pecially fear that the Chesapeake and Po-
tomac Company will take immediate and
extortionate advantage of the lack of a
maximum charge for business telephones.
They apprehend no raid on them in the
very near future along this line. But they
feel that 1t would be foolish to remain
satisfied with the discriminating promise of
a fractional regulation which only partially
establishes the congressional power Of con-
troll, and leaves two-thirds of the field open
to the company's own unrestrained de-
vices. For the writing of a residential
rate only may serve to establish a prece-
dent which will be more or less difficult to
overturn in later years.
There is another difficulty about any sys-
tenn of telephone rate regulation which APP
plies only to a small fraction of the phones
and leaves the vast majority unregulated.
There are many phones which fall under
both the business and residential heads. as
where one maintains his place of business
in his residence. Will such phone be
charged at the limited residential or the
unlimited business rate? Suppose the tele-
phone company should at any time display
a reasonable preference for constituting
doubtful cases into the unlimited and out
OF the limited class. Would not the indi-
vidual subscriber have to make the ex-
pensive and enjoying journey to the Su-
preme Court of the United States before he
could effectively question the telephone
company's decision in its own favor?
Congress should in no case approach this
subject solely from the point of view of
what the corporation Is willing to grant or
agree to in the statutes The fact that it
Fought the legislation of 1898 in the courts
and finally won a virtual victory by chang
Ing telephone conditions and eliminating
the subject matter of the controversy, by
no means precludes further legislative pro-
ceedings based on the rights of the people
as modified by the reasonable right of the
corporation to fair profit. If this pend
Ing legislation is framed solely with the
view of writing into law the company's
own desires there is little or no reason for
writing any regulations at all.
Thus far no argument whatever has been
advanced for not writing the business rates
into the law. There are many reasons, on
the other hand. for doing so, and they are
of a nature to appeal strongly to the con-
ference committee In charge of the District
appropriation bill, II genuine disposition
prevails to secure at this session a fair, all
embracing. effective rate law