The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-11-21
FOR public service ACT
LEGISLATURE TO FIX PRICE
Case Involves Tariff on Gas
and Electricity in Sara
toga Springs.

Albany. Nov 2O.-By divided court
the Appellate Division, Third Depart
ment, to-day upheld the right of the
legislature to delegate it's power to fix
a tariff of rates for a public service
corporation to commission
The constitutionality of the new
Public Service Commissions act also
was involved in this case.
The prevailing opinion is by Presid-
ing Justice Smith Justices Chester
and Cochrane concur justice Kellogg
in an opinion dissents and is concurred
with by Justice sewell,
The appeal was from an order Of the
State Commission Of Gas and Electric
ity, recently succeeded by the Public
Service Commission in the Second Dis
trict, fixing maximum charge for gas
and electricity within the village OF
Saratoga Springs. Former Senator Ed
gar T. Bracket and John B. Stanch-
field Of counsel appeared for the com
pany. Frank Click, Marcus T. Hun
and John L. Henning or counsel rep
resented the trustees Of the village of
Saratoga, who made the complaint to
the commission. Briefs were submit
ted by the attorney general and by the
Public Service Commission in the Sec
ond District
Presiding Justice Smith In his opinion
refers to the brief submitted by the
Pubic Service Commission in which he
says, is also found a quotation from
the opinion given by Attorney General
Moody to congress, in which he reach
es two conclusions:
Il. There is a governmental power
to fix the maximum future charges of
the carriers by railroads vested in the
legislature of the states with regard
to transportation exclusively within
the states, and vested in congress with
regard to all other transportation.
90 Although legislative power, prop
erly speaking, cannot be delegated, the
law-making body, having enacted into
the statutes the standard of charges
which shall control, may intrust to an
administrative body not exercising in
the true sense judicial power, the duty
to fix rates in conformity with that
standard" In the same brief twenty
states are named which have similar
statutes.
In the courts of this state this ques-
tion has not been directly decided, but
The principle is, think, established in
analogous cases. 1t will thus be seen
that the assumption of this power by
the commission is justified by convinc-
ing authority. Not a decision is cited
in the state or federal courts which
questions the power provided the de-
termination of the commissioners is
directed by some standard which is
presented in the statute"
'The commissioners are not required
in explicit terms to fix a reasonable
rate, nor just rate, nor an equal rate.
They are given no standard as a per-
centage Of profits by which they are
to fix the rate, Their only guide is to
fix the rate within the limits prescribe
ed by law The law is settled by re-
peated adjudication that the legisla-
4 ture itself cannot fix a rate which
would be confiscatory of the property
of the corporation. The law is equally
well settled that public service cor
poratlon has not the right of a purely
private corporation to charge what 1t
4 will for its product, but must serve the
Il public at just and reasonable rates.