Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-29

ell by Mr. Scattergood in his testimony,
giving reasons for the same, and the
power companies representatives had
every opportunity to disprove these ex-
ceptions, and certainly would have done
so had they been i'll advised The
exceptions were necessary because of
padded yearly expenses by the insertion
of extension charges, by exorbitant
charges for particular services, ETC.,
and by valuations of properties far in
excess of their true value. 1t Is GER
tain, therefore, that the rate as fixed
by ordinance is fair to the companies,
and that 1t was not fixed without due
consideration and without giving the
companies a fair hearing. In their
financial statements to investors these
companies show q very different con-
dition. For example, the Harris Trust
and Savings bank of Chicago re-
printed in bond circular an official
statement by the president of the
Southern California Edison company,
showing an estimated surplus for the
year 1910. after deducting full main
tenance charges and all interest
charges, of $1,025,000, or approximately
80 per cent of his company's gross earn
ings.
EIGHT-CENT COMPROMISE
Voters are encouraged to vote against
their interest by an offer of COM
promise scale of rates with an Scent
base and 75-cent minimum bill, which
scale comedies with the present scale
of rates for the quantities between 1888
and 5000 kilowatt hours per month.
With proof that 7-cent base rate is
fair to the companies there is no occa-
sion to consider any compromise. An
appeal Is made to the small consumer
based on the claim that he would be
greatly benefited by this 75-cent mini
mum, which the companies. now graci-
ously offer after charging him the dol
lar minimum all these years. The fact
is that the compromise scale is higher
than the one established by ordinance
for all consumers up to those using
5000 kilowatt hours per month. and is
lower for those using larger amounts.
Still the companies claim to be favoring
the small consumer.
BASE RATE
The citizens committees circular
also reprints a list of f1fty-seven other
cities with their respective populations
and base rates, made up and printed
originally by the lighting companies.
AS stated, these were selected by the
lighting companies, and it does not
necessarily follow that they are a fair
representation Of all cities, but, how
ever this may be, it is true that the
fixing of lighting rates by the majority
of American cities is controlled more
by politics than by statements of un-
biased and competent engineers. 1t is
also true that conditions affecting the
cost of delivering electrical energy for
lighting differ very materially in diff
ferent localities, and the proper rates
to establish in Los Angeles are those
which will allow Of a good and rea-
sonable return on the investment here
regardless Of what it may be in other
cities.
OTHER CITIES
Because of the attempt of the light
ing companies to influence public opin-
ion by such a list of rates, the board of
public utilities wrote to 100 Characters
tic cities, and to date has heard from
thirty-five, Of which all but four give
the base rate, but only five give the
full scale Of rates, which affords the
only reliable basis for comparison.
These five are Cleveland, Oakland,
Spokane, Seattle and Riverside, with
base rates varying from 8 to IA cents.
The accompanying cut gives a graphi-
cal representation of the scale of rates
from to 1000 kilowatt hours per
month for each of these cities, as we'll
as the present scale and also that re-
Gently established by ordinance for
Los Angeles. The circles represent in
size quantities proportional to the aver
age rates in each of these cities, which
would be approximately proportional to
the earnings in each case. The results
show in striking manner that, though
the base rate Is very much higher in
the other cities, the average rate up to
1000 kilowatts, and consequently the
earnings, will be greater by IL per cent
under the proposed Los Angeles rate
to which the companies so seriously OBJ
ject than they are in any of those five
cities, and that the average rate and
earnings under the present Los Angeles
schedule are 45 per cent higher than
the average for those five cities. This
shows how under machine rule the base
rate has been lowered from time to
time without very appreciably affecting
the average rate, and consequently the
earnings Of the lighting companies, al
though the people were led to believe
that such was the case, and now that
the average rate for consumers be-
tween and 1000 kilowatts, which
covers the bulk Of the business, has
been reduced to a point IL per cent
above that for the five cities on which
full returns have been received, the
companies falsely claim conhscation
and ruinous rates, and attempt to lead
the people to believe that their earnings
would be reduced far below that in
other cities by the presentation Of this
list of cities, while, in fact, the reverse
Is true. Their list contains four of the
five cities graphically represented in
the cut.
A circular addressed to the citizens
and electric light users of the city of
Pasadena and signed by J. d. Mer-
,cereau. chairman Of the lighting COM