Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-01
TELEPHONE RATES

cific Telephone company to the
city of Los Angeles are considered the
present condition of the rates of the
appears to be one of those examples
of municipal legislation which cannot
be explained upon any system of JUS
tee or reason, and which must have
had its origin in unjust favorithsin
shown to one OF the parties concerned
by the council enacting the ordinance.
The Pacific company in its relations
TO the city pays no part of its income
to the city. is under no obligation to
accommodate the city by carrying any
of its wires upon it's poles or its con-
ctuits. ana last year paid city and
county taxes of 100000 in round figures.
The Home company, on the contrary
is obliged by it's franchise to pay to
the city 2 per cent of it's gross annual
income, which at the last payment.
made a short time ago, brought into
the city treasury $14,5Oo: is required to
furnish the city accommodations for its
police and fire alarm wires in it's con-
duits and upon its poles, and the Home
company lately paid in city and county
taxes 100000 in round figures.
1t would appear from the foregoing
that If either company should receive
favoritism at the hands of the law
making power of the city of Los An
geles it should be that company which
contributes most to the city. and yet
we find the present condition of the
city legislation to be as follows:
The Pacific company may charge for
ordinary business phones $5 per month;
for resident phones on independent
lines SO per month and for private ex-
changes connecting with one trunk line
SO per month, with Sc per month for
each additional trunk line.
The Home company may charge for
ordinary business phones S. per month.
for resident phones on Independent
line 50 per month, and for private ex-
changes connected with one trunk line
IS per month, and 81 per month for
each additional trunk line.
There is thus shown a discrimination
against the Home company, a company
which for the past year has contrib
uted to the public treasures of the city
and county of Los Angeles more than
$45, 900 in excess OF the contributions of
the Pacific company, to say nothing OF
4 ,fol,
he Home company renders to the city
in carrying in it's conduits and upon its
poles the city's wires.
The burden is made additionally hard
doubted fact that it is today rendering
to the people of Los Angeles a very
much larger telephone service than is
the Pacific.
While the Pacific claims to have in
service more instruments than the
Home, there cannot be in the mind of
any user OF the two systems any ques-
ton as to the amount of service rem
dered by the two companies.
A somewhat careful observation con-
Quoted in the office of the writer, who
las unlimited Independent line service
on the two systems, indicates that the
calls into the office over the Home line
are more than ten times greater than
the calls over the Pacific line, and in
quiry establishes the fact that this
ratio obtains pretty generally through
cut the city.
In view of the foregoing statement OF
facts. which are rather under than
overstated so far as the Home COM
pany is concerned there would appear
to be no question as to the duty of the
city council in at least one aspect of
the regulation of telephone rates, and
that is that the council should relieve
the Home of the burden of discrimina-
ton under which it is laboring at the
present schedule.
While public service corporations
should be permitted to charge for the
service rendered sufficient to afford a
fair income upon the money invested
and, indeed, no regulation which would
prevent their doing this would be valid
If tested in the courts-they should not
be permitted to charge more than will
produce such fair income. And GER
tainly the city council should not make
irself means of unjustly discriminat-
ing in favor of one public service cor
poration against the other. and that
other the more Deserving of the two, as
is done by the rate regulation now in
fnrcn in thiq citN