Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-13
PHONE CONCERNS
HAVE ADVANTAGE
RATE REGULATION WILL BE
DELAYED BY ELECTION
COUNCIL HANDICAPPED BY CALL
OF REFERENDUM
Turn of Events Leads to Suspicion
That Companies Assisted Petition
Placing Ordinance Be-
fore People

Did the telephone companies help cir
culate the referendum petition placing
the telephone rate ordinance before the
people? From the pleasant way in
which the operation of the referendum
plays into their hands there is strong
suspicion that either the telephone
companies assisted the referendum or
at least are quietly laughing in the
sleeves over the attempt to stop the
operation of the ordinance giving the
Home Telephone company little high
err rate for residence phones.
BY the operation of the referendum
there can be no regulation of telephone
rates until the people vote on the ordi-
nance passed by the council. 1t is not
likely the council will call a special
election for this referendum, but VIII
submit it to the people at the next
general election. to be held in Decem-
Der. as other referendum matters have
been laid over. Should the people vote
negatively on the ordinance there will
be no regulation of rates at all. should
they vote favorably, the matter VIII pc
in exactly the same shape 1t would
have assumed had the ordinance passed
by the council been allowed to become
operative July l.
If the people vote negatively on the
ordinance at the December election
there can be no regulation until the
first Of the following July, because the
ordinance under which the council fixes
the public utility rates makes it man
datory on the council to fix the rates
: in April and provides they shall go into
operation July l.
Looks Like Tempest in Teapot
The checking of the referendum petit
ton will probably be finished today.
There Is no doubt of the sufflciency OF
the petition. There are more than 1000
signatures and the loss will be about
20 per cent. About 2200 signatures are
required to make the petition sufheient.
Many persons have expressed the
opinion that the complaint against the
telephone rates was a tempest in tea
pot at best, and those who learned OF
the effect of the referendum would have
on telephone rates yesterday were sure
of it.
The only difference between the rates
made last year and those for the year
beginning July /, 1909, is that the Home
Telephone company is permitted to
charge SO a month for residence phones.
This is the same price the Pacific
States company has been permitted to
charge for a number of years. Under
the old ordinance the rate OF the Home
company for residence phones was
fixed at 50 a month but majority of
the council declared there should be
no discrimination.
A. B. Cass, president of the Home
company, filed a statement with the
council that the increased rate would
apply only to lodging houses and other
places where phones are used excess
sively. The increase, he stated, would
not affect more than 10 per cent Of the
telephone subscribers.
But unless the people vote favorably
on the ordinance passed by the council
equalizing the rates for both companies
there is nothing but good business
sense to prevent both companies from
scharging any price they see fit until
July /, 1910. Until the people have ex-
pressed themselves there will be no
regulation at all.