Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-01
MILLER ATTACKS
PASADENA MAYOR
ANSWERS FOR EDISON COM
PANY IN LIGHTING QUESTION
SAYS THERE is NO INTENTION
TO ENTER POLITICS
Both Mayor Farley and City Attorney
Wood Arraigned in Statement
Made Before City
Council
[spec.al to The Herald.l

Especial to The Heraldl
PASADENA, Sept. 30.-A personal
attack on Mayor Farley and City At
torney Wood by John B. Miller, presi-
dent of the Southern California Edison
company, and the circulation by the
Edison company of protests against
the new lighting rate ordinance, de-
signed to force it to abandon its fiat
rates and install meters, were today $
Developments in the controversy over
the proposed ordinance.
Edison officials today denied that the
company started the circulation OF the
petitions which oppose the new ordi-
nance, yet admitted that copies of the
protests have been furnished each OF
their solicitors and that copies are on
file in the company's office for their
customers to sign if they wish.
Interest in the discussion continues
unabated and there is much speculation
as to the legality of the measure. AS
to this, City Attorney Wood today re-
iterated his confidence in the stand
taken, saying: "The city unquestion-
ably has the right to regulate the light
ing rates, and certainly may prescribe
in what manner those rates shall be
maintained. The ordinance could only
be attacked on the basis that it is alb
solutly unreasonable, and I am sure
such a claim could not be set up in
this case"
Miller Makes Statement
Mr.. Miller's statement in which he
refers to the mayor and city attorney
as a minority of two and makes Bit
ter assertions relative to Mr.. Wood,
who framed the ordinance, is as fol-
lows;
"To enter in any way into Pasadena
politics, or to take any part whatso-
ever in matters affecting the munich
pal government, is the very last thing
that the Southern California Edison
company wishes to do. When 1t comes
however, to a personal attack upon the
company by it's mayor and city at
torney and in view of the signed state
ment of the latter, that it is necessary
to cripple the business of this COM
pany, in order that the municipal plant
may live, we feel that we have the
right to call attention to the thirty
odd thousand citizens of Pasadena
who may not share the opinions of the
minority, consisting of Mr.. Farley and
Mr. Wood--to the fact that fixed rates
are a perfectly legitimate method of
selling electricity, which would not be
questioned by any electrical expert,
and is simply trumped up by laymen
having no knowledge of the business,
for the purpose of attempting to drive
the company out of fair competition
with the municipal plant
Objects to Equal Rate
'In the signed statement of Mr..
Wood, published in yesterdays Herald,
l would pick this one as Illustrating the
labyrinth of plumbers and misstate-
ments which the writer has perpetrated
in order to prepare club for pounding
the Edison company. He says: Every
consumer using the same amount of
electricity is under the law entitled to
the same rate To illustrate the abso-
lutte absurdity of this high-sounding
epigram, let us assume that one con-
sumner has an installation of 100 lights,
and burning them one hour a day
would consume 100 lamp hours. Anoth-
er consumer has an installation of ten
lamps and burns them ten hours a day.
It of course follows that the lamp hour
consumption by both consumers is eX-
actly the same, Notwithstanding the
fact that the cost to the company of
equipment for the man with the ten
lamps is only one-tenth that of the
man with the 100 lamps. and he is there
fore entitled to a much lower rate.
ITO attempt to maintain that meter
measurement for the sale of electricity
is the only legitimate manner in which
it can be sold seems so irrational as to
bar it's serious consideration. There
have been such a number of similar
attempts to enact this class of legisla-
ton by city officials, who have attempt
ed to dabble with things of which they
have little knowledge, that the courts
have had frequent opportunity to abro-
gate laws and ordinances which were
not based on this common sense view
of constitutionality.
Says There Are No FaVorites
Decisions of record are so numerous
that one might almost expect that the
Pasadena city attorney would have
found some of them. No law has ever
stood or ever will stand which will en-
force the sale of an article which costs
various prices at a fixed price. If the
Pasadena city council enact the ordin-
ance. we shall certainly act upon the
wishes of hundreds of our consumers
who are asking us to contest it to the
supreme court Of the United States.
In the meantime we shall continue to
call the attention of the people of Pas
adena to the fact that our fixed rates
are not only offered to every one, but
advertised in the most public manner
possible, and that it requires no favor