The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-11-16
Railroad Commission Issues
Formal Order Restrain
ing New Rate.
OFFERS AN OPTIONAL RATE
kenosfs Gas and Electric Company
May Fix Rate at Minimum CHARGES
by Kenosha Electric Railway Com
pany Pending Investigation,

The Wisconsin Railroad Commission
slammed the door in the face of COM
petition in electric lighting and power
rates IN Kenosha on Tuesday when a
formal order was issued by the com
mission restraining the Kenosha Gas
and Electric Company from putting in
to operation the proposed new schedule
of rates in the city. The formal order
has not as yet reached Kenosha as it
was served on the attorneys for the
company in Milwaukee. 1t, however,
restraints the operation of the new rate
on the ground that it discriminates in
favor of the short hour user of cleo
trio lights. In the order the railroad
commission gives the Kenosha Gas and
Electric Company option to accept
two chances. One is to adopt the mini
mum rate of the Kenosha Electric
Railway Company, its competitor in
the business and the other is to CON
tinue the rates which were in existence
previous to the first day of November
until such a time as the commission
shall make a full examination into
conditions in Kenosha and fix a maxi
mum and minimum to be charged in
the city. The figures on which the com
mission based its order were taken
from the reports of the two Kenosha
companies on file with the commission
and the commissioners seem to have
gone deeply into these figures.
The directors Of the Kenosha Gas
an s.leefrs Company wiii leet il
Milwaukee on Thursday to take up the
question and to decide whether the
order of the commission will be com
piled with or whether the case will be
appealed and the judgment of the COM
mission tested in some court of record.
1t is thought possible that the COM
pany will accept the dictates of the
commission and permit things to run
along as they are until after rate
is set by tPe commission.
AS the case stands just at present
the commission is under contract to
protect three parties to the matter.
One is the people of the city of Ke-
nosha and the other two are the cor
testing companies. The commission
seems by its order to consider the fact
that competition in Kenosha was pro-
voked largely by the action of the
common council in acting in direct APP
position to the rules of the commission
in granting the franchise to the Keno
sha Electric Railway Company. The
commission has held that the council
is to a great extent responsible for
the coming of the competing company
into the field and seems from this
standpoint to find desire on, the part
of the people of Kenosha for the pro-
lection of the new company against
ruinous competition
It is generally believed that the out
come of the thing will be higher
rate for the small consumer and some
reduction for the larger consumer of
light and power. The commission has
held in cities where there was no com
petition that the utility company should
be allowed to earn profit at the rate of
seven per cent on its investment. At
torneys hold that where companies are
competing the rate to be realized may
be placed at higher per cent for the
companies. 1t looks as if the people
would be the goat in &enosha until
such time as the commission shall
have brought about union of the two
companies.
The people have been taking a great
interest in the outcome of the fight
and it is pretty certain that most of
them are in favor of competition in
lighting and that any effort on the
part of the commission to set a rate
eliminating competition viii be far
from satisfactory.