Evening journal., 1913-12-18
NEED MONEY
TO SAVE THE
COMMISSION
Continuod Trom First PAGE.

1pnunucQ FROM flrsL rage.
swer any questions you may ask"
remarked President Peirce. "He will
act as our spokesman"
Mr. Hastings began by explaining
the matter under discussion
81 suppose Council understands in
q general way what the commission
els want TO do" he began He re-
marked thai several months ago he
had stated fully the position the Com
mission was taking. He explained
tina the act creating the commission
gives the body authority TO contract
bills and approve them, and that the
language of the act is such that the
bills practically bind the city" The
money necessary TO properly investi-
gate a company against which a com
plaint has been filed. Mr. Hastings
said. would be considerable. and It
was the opinion of himself and the
T commissioners that masmuch as the
money must come from Council, the
Commission did not want TO take the
liberty of going ahead and contracting
bills Of such large amount without
first consulting Council This, he
stated, was the long and short of the
matter Should Council refuse the
money il would be an excuse for the
commission TO do nothing.
President white desired to know
upon what lines the Utility Commis-
sion proposes to make an investga-
ton
: "The situation is this" stated Mr..
Hastings "Whcn the Wilmington and
( Philadelphia Traction Company
/ stopped selling strip tickets a com
plant was Immediately filed by Sen
ator Thomas NJ Monaghan with the
commission TO investigate and see II
the company is IN condition to re-
quire that change
The city solicitor remarked that
i'm Interstate Commerce Commission
decisions IL had been held that a
company which for years before haC
hold to a certain rate was presumed
In law to he getting reasonable re-
turns al that rate. The decisions
held that it was on the company max
ing the change in rates. under such
conditions. to satisfy the commission
that such a change was necessary
and that IL was not a burden on the
person making the complaint to show
this
Traction Company Bitter.
Mr.. Hastings stated that when the
investigation was first begun in the
case of the Wilmington and Phila-
delphia Traction Company more or
less feeling had been injected into
the matter. "The traction company
was more or less bitter. he said. "and
certain statements they made got the
commission more or less annoyed, to
say the least"
He stated that when the matter was
taken into the United States Court
the company records we're not as ex-
haustive as they should have been.
owing TO the fact that out of economy
the commission had lacked stenog-
rapher's services He stated that
Judge Bradford at that time. did not
uphold his (the city solicitor's) re-
port on the line the Interstate Com
merce Commission had set forth. but
held that it was necessary for the
commission to investigate the com
pany as II is at present regardless
of its condition in past years.
Mr.. Hastings said he then advised
the commission 10 do nothing unless
they made a thorough Investigation
to sec if conditions necessitated a
charge of 5 cents.
III takes time and money" he de-
clared, 'and that is the situation to-
day. There has been nothine done
because we have been uncertain
about the money"
Mr.. Hastings explained in replv TO
! councilman Kane. that Judge Brad
ford did not pass upon all phases of
the case but had passed only upon
the point as TO whether the exam
! ination was being conducted legally.
IN other words. whether or not the
manner I'm which the case was con-
Quoted violated the constitution OF
the United States and was accord
ing TO "due process OF law"
- President White said he had heard
that the charter between the state
Z and the traction company gave them
( the right TO charge a straight 5 cent
fare. and he wished to know II that
were a fact
That is one Of the points raised nv
The traction company replied Mr.
Hastings. we took the position that
I the Commissio- did not have to pass
on that question as they we're not
/ lawyers. Judge Bradford objected to
this and stated that there are many