The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-04-26
1t May Greatly Affect Public
Utilities Law.
Removes Many Corporations
From Its Influence.
COMMISSION IN DOUBT.
Does Not Know What Interpre-
tatiOn to Apply.
Telephone and City Railway
Companies May Escape.

The introduction OF tne Woru PIN
cipally'' in the public utilities law sec
tions referring to the control ana reg
ulation of the utilities in cities may
mean a serious joker in the law Whlch
will prevent the utilities commission
doing much effective work with tele-
phone companies. The law as passed
allows the state commission to con-
troll and regulate the rates and ser
vice of all utilities which eXIenu over
the state generally and it has nothing
to do with the regulation OF any COM
pany whose business is 'prlnclpaiiS
within the confines of single city.
Much depends upon the interpre-
| tation of the word principally by the
| courts. One of the first cases that Will
| be taken into the courts Will be one
relating to the regulation of some 10
cal utilities where the right OF tne
commission to interfere will depend
upon the Interpretation of the word
principally Does the word mean
| that the greater or most important
part of the company'S physical prop
erty must be within the confines oil a
| single city or can the company nave
| the larger part of it's physical proper
! ty outside a city, but serve the city
principally and get most of its revenue
| from the city and still come under the
exception of the law. The law goes
| into effect about the middle of May.
sioners. who will become the utilities
commission has not determined what
| Interpretation is to be put upon the
word, but it is felt by the members
| that the Introduction of the word
principally into the law is going to
| stop effective regulation of some tele--
phone companies and possibly some
other utilities which the legislature
really intended to place under the ju-
risdiction of the utilities commission.
FH-,a1 IL 1rG nradO Mt oil nrah
company is one of the largest COM
panies in the state. 1t has numerous
| toll lines entering its offices and many
rural lines outside Topeka and extend
| ing into neighboring counties Still the
| companyS business is principally in
Topeka and it's lines are principally for
| the benefit of the Topeka subscribers
and the company does not come under
| the jurisdiction of the board. The Bell
company may make the same plea but
on account of the number of cities it
| reaches and the many toll lines it owns
it probably will come under the juris-
diction of the commission. 1t would
| only be necessary for the company to
prove that it's lines are principally
operated in any city of Kansas to avoid
coming under the jurisdiction of the
commission in the regulation of rates
and service.
''The. Interpretation of that word
| principally is going to cause more
section of the law" said E. H. Hogue-
land, secretary of the railroad commits
| sion, today. IF there is a joker in the
utilities law there it is Here is a big
| telephone company that might need the
attention of the commission the very
worst kind and we would be unable to
reach it because the company's bust
ness was principally within the con-
fines of a single city or serving the city
| principally. And that company might
be operating agents of a long distance
| company that did not own half the
property or have one-tenth the business
of the other company. And the long
distance company would be subject to
the rules and regulations of the COM
pany because one was a toll line prop
| erty and the other, while it had toll
lines of its own and did a toll line bust
ness over other lines served a city
wholly or principally.
| Another proposition is what does the
word principally mean? Does it mean
that the physical property should be
wholly or principally within one city or
does it mean that it's largest business
must be within that one city The
telephone company might have many
| miles of lines outside the city but it's
chief business would be within the city
The same is true of some street car
lines that run outside certain cities for
considerable distances and still the
business might be principally within
| the confines of a single city.
There is company in this state
that does a big toll line business but
does not own its own switch boards in
some of the more important noints n
reaches. 1t gets into towns through
the operating contracts with the local
telephone companies Now the COM
mission might make an order regard
ing service on this line and the COM
pany would be unable to comply with
the order because the local EXCHANGE
would not help them and there would
be no way to force the local exchange
to comply because it is under the ex
elusive jurisdiction of the municipal
authorities