The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-10-10
TELEPHONE HEARING
Continued from first page.)

the order of notice issued by your hon
orable commission, should be put into
effect.
There are, therefore, two issues oi
fact presented for adjudication by this
commission. 1t must first be determined
upon the evidence submitted that the
present rates are unreasonable, and il
must then be shown by those who pro
pose a new schedule that the proposed
schedule is reasonable. In both of these
issues the reasonableness of rates is
paramount, and the question at once
arises as to what is the basis for deter
mining the reasonableness of the rates
of a public service corporation, Fortu-
nately we have been advised upon this
point by the highest judicial tribunal
in the land. The supreme court of the
| United States has laid it down that the
basis of all calculation as to the rea-
sonableness of rates to be charged by a
public service corporation must be the
fair value of the property used by it
for the convenience of the public.
after the fair value of our property
has been determined. we are entitled to
earn a sum sufficient to meet the ex
penses of operating our plant, includ-
ing a sufficient sum to provide not only
for current repairs, but for making good
the depreciation and replacing the parts
of the property when they have ceased
to be useful in the service.
"As was recently said by the public
service commission of Nebraska: The
depreciation of a plant although it may
not be so apparent, is just as real and
substantial charge against revenues as
the wages paid to operators or any other
employee by the company. For the pub
lie to refuse to pay through addition to
the rates a sufficient allowance to guar
antee the company against seeing the
plant which it places at the disposal of
the public gradually fritter away and be-
come lost is uncomfortable and inequt-
able. No just or fair minded person any
longer expects this
COR, as was said by the public service
commission of the state of New York
in case involving street railway COM
pany operating in the city of New York;
If the company does not reserve a suf-
ficient portion of its revenue to replace
capital consumed during the year but
not requiring replacement within the
year, and then proceeds to treat the en-
tire supplies as divisibe profits, it is
actually violating the corporation law
against the declaration of dividends.
Unless, therefore, careful provision
is made for creation of depreciation re
serve, there may be another repetition
of the financial collapses that have been
so conspicuous in the history of stree
railways in Manhattan
''Or, as was said by the Massachusetts
board of gas and electric light commits
sieners in the Haverhill gas case: Pro I
vision for depreciation is only designed
to keep the plant good. 1t is as nee
essary part of the cost of carrying
on the business as the expenses for coal 4
and wood
"Then comes the question of what is ,
A fair rate of profit to be earned in addi-
ton TO the expense of operation. II
would seem to be clear from the deci- I
sions of the courts, that any net earn
ing in a business like that under con !
sideration amounting to less than six /
per cent per annum, unless accepted vol /
would be confscatory, but this |
bv no means determines what is rea- |
sonable rate. Everywhere the courts |
and public service commissions admit |
that a reasonable rate of profit must OK t
coed eonfscatory rate. In a state like
Vermont, where money loans freely at J