Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-30
UTILITIES COMMISSION

CI ONE time ago Los Angeles Her.
- aid announced editorially and
~ in its news columns the Municipal
League, dissatisfied with the treatment
the council accorded the project for
a utilities commission, would appeal
to the voters with an ordinance drawn
up under the peoples supervision. Our
esteemed contemporary. the Pacific
Outlook, declares it is quite possible
that before the episode closes the
utility corporation managers may find
reason to regret they did not allow
their council to pass the very moderate
proposition that the civic bodies for
merly proposed"
For several years, says the outlook,
citizens organizations have been urg-
ing the council to treat seriously the
charter provision that calls for an
annual investigation of conditions in
the utility companies and fixing of
rates based on that investigation, in
stead of making it a farce as they
have done heretofore The people voted
it into the charter to MEAN SOME
THING, not to be made the basis of
a JOKE. Council has ceased even to
PRETEND to make an investigation;
indeed, investigating done in hurry
by a body of non-experts would be of
no particular value. Rates are fixed
by the simple process of letting them
alone, unless some company happens
TO have pull" enough to get its rates
lifted bit higher.
The civic bodies were well enough
satisfied with Councilman Lyons prop
osition that there should be an unpaid
commission of five citizens, to whom
two should be appointed by council
and three by the civic bodies. The ap-
pointment of the entire commission by
the mayor would have been more in
accordance with the general policy OF
the charter, but since council had re-
fused to consider that plan, joint Sc
lection was accepted as a compromise.
OF course it was not intended this COM
mission would do the work: it would
employ experts who would gather the
data which would then be carefully
dissected and considered by the COM
mission who would in their turn make
recommendation to council upon which
the latter could act
There was nothing new or unique
or revolutionary in this proposition.
1t was exactly in line with the treat
ment that is accorded utility corpor-
ations all over the country Sometimes
the commission is expert and sala led
where there is a huge volume Of
work to be done-but quite as often
it is non-expert and non-salaried, and
employs experts In some states the
members are appointed by the gov
ernor and are given wide powers, even
to the fixing of rates. In other states
the function is municipal and may be
merely advisory.
After foolng with it for some
Notwithstanding the matter so that it
will not be possible to take action for
the next year-cOuncll finally knocked
the whole proposition on the head. It
lacked the nerve to actually vote it
down; the ancient device of a dis
agreement over trifiing details was
used. Ridiculous plans were proposed
and voted down, and finally with pre-
tended petulance the whole scheme was
thrown out. OF course the real mean
ing of this is that the utility corpor-
ations are entirely ready to leave we'll
enough alone. Like everybody else,
they know when they are we'll off.
In this case, however, thanks to the
initiative clause of the charter the
council and the corporations rather
overreached themselves. The Munic-
ipal League will draw up an ordinance
in conformity with its own ideas, with
out any compromise features in it, and
will go before the people"