Los Angeles herald., 1907-02-28
COUNCIL FIXES
UTILITY RATES
FOR THE YEAR
Phones More, Electric
Lights Less
Gas ls Placed on 8o-cent Basis by
Law Makers, Who Spend All
Day In Discussing Prices
to BE Charged

For hours yesterday the city council
debated the rates to be fix on public
utilities and reached this decision
Fix gas rate at so cents per 1000 cubic
feet.
Fix electric light at 10 cents per kiio-
watt hour, reduction of / cent.
Fix Sunset telephone rates at last
years schedule. $S per month for busi-
ness phones being the maximum and ~
a month for Home business phones
This latter is an increase of 81.
The telephone changes caused many
spirited passages.
Councilman Pease urged that the
Home telephone people get considera-
ton, as they were about to float bonds
In the east to put in many improve
ments here. If the Home rates were re-
stricted to $5.25, the present maximum
rate with rs cents off for payments be-
fore the 10th of each month, he argued
that bond buyers would say that the
Home company was disseminated
against compared with the Sunset and
the bonds would find no takers.
Councilman Lyon led the fight to
make the present rates hold good Tor
ness men who would have to pay 81
more for Home telephones each month
would resent the action of the council
proposed by the motion.
The Home rates were in the nature OF
n compromise, as some councllmen
wanted to put figures ligher, while
others wanted to reduce the Sunset rate
from So down.
Attorneys Dunn and Haskins repre-
AtfOr-
ney Oscar A. Trippet and others the
Home company.
In Committee Of Whole
The discussion was first heard in the
committee of the whole, Councilman
Dromgold presiding.
ATTORNEY Trippet made the announce
ment that under the Home franchise
after five years the company would pay
each year percentage of the gross
antsafb ments fbeslf6niaSfs sRf His yea The sum
IN Increasing for forty-five years. This
was good news to most of the law max
ers The Home company also supplies
free phones in city offices.
Councilman Pease said: Il see no
reason for handicapping the Home COM
many. Excepting perhaps Mr. Huntlng-
ton. it has done more good lor llle cily
means Of forcing ths Sunset company
to improving It's serfi0o' mo poop'' ''
Attornev Dunn aid none of the COM
,anies was posins as charitable insti-
tutions. but it gas fact that only
about 500 Of thar Subscribers USED the
60 month unlimited service. Most or
the patrons pad less-some as low as
s1 IN a month IN party lines.
Touncilman Wallace said he regretted
.hot tbe cha fer put the duty of fixing
tt,o ,ates IN ihe council. The attorneys
- t,,a oornJilies could do 1t better. The
nno,lnoenhad heard so much discus
( ,;on that FEY were now well informed,
/ yet they build not do the subject JUS
''0e' Could Not Antagonlze
Yos Angeles could not be antagonistic
Its own business men who formed the
,Home company. On the other hand, the
= Home company paid $4,000 year from
now on aside from taxes. The Sunset
company has more phones and was here
first, and keeps Los Angeles In touch
with the outside world. Personally he
would like to bring them both to a 81
a month basis for maximum.
Councilman Blanchard urged that the
companies should make the raise of
rates themselves and not put the bur-
den on the council.
Theirs vote was on the motion to let
the rates remain unchanged. This was
amended by Wallace and the vote on
the amendment had five noes-Blan-
chard Healy, Lyon, Wren and Clam
pitt-and tour ayes
The original motion was then lost the
noes being Clampitt, Dromgold, Wal
| lace, Wren, Yonkin and Pease. Finally
kpn Pease's motion the Home rate was
PRAISED to Sc, which carried. the five af-
f1rmative votes coming from Dromgold.
Pease, Wallace, Wren and Yonkin.
Mayor Harper said last night that
the pressure to sign the bill had be-
come so strong late In the afternoon
shat he had determined, to consider the
NIL carefully. He may take the full ten
days allowed him for consideration.
The council under the law must fix
fha rates hU Maroh