The labor world., 1913-08-09
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sent no tangible, value. OF course 1t
was nice for the commission to de-
plore the outrageous watering OF lts
securities by the Baltimore company,
but such depreciation has no practical
value to the Baltimore public. r.<5H$ +
/ The Baltimore company hasl aD-
sorbed a score Of other companies.
each com mbination giving opportunity
for, additional capitalization. The
commission reports that at the first
consolidation $l,S00,OOO was added
and that the securities exceeded tho
investment by ss,523,000 Of - per
cent. The three following consolida-
tions Increased this excess to 50, $780,
900. -~ ''>-.-* - ">-.. .:,..~. ..; r.
The commission sustained the con-
tention of the company that its ease
ment was real property, that 1t was an
asset and might be capitalized. An
easement is equivalent to franchise
permit to occupy a. public street. In
other words, the Maryland commits
sion endorsed the principal of capi-
talization of franchises. :
Old Bond Issues Upheld. !
The Maryland commission law pro-
vided that bonds issued previous to
it's existence should not be disturbed.
The company has outstanding $685.
S5s,o0o of bonds and s14,16o,osS Of
stock, total of $34,51S,O8S capitali-
zation, for the combined gas and cleo
! trio, plant. The commission depre-
Gated the fact of over-ca apltalization,
| but it refused to impose on the COM
pany a penalty for what their prece-
cessors were responsible for, declar-
| ing that such a course would ser-
ously impair its ability to meet the
! just demands of the community for
service
The commission contended that, lin
| applying remedies we must keep in
| mind not only the conditions which
We are striving to correct, but also
as far as our foresight permits, the
consequences that might fall from tha
! remedies themselves
The Gas Age official organ oA
the gas interests, in reporting this de-
cisicn declares, that it is very sane
way of looking at the matter.
It should be explained that the
Maryland commission in allowing
easement valuation follows the de-
cision Of the court of appeals, which
declared that the company's ease
ment was real property assessed at
$5,o00,0Oo. and so taxed.
New York Sorry Too.
The attitude of the public service
companies toward state commission
| rule Is we'll illustrated by an editorial
| in the Gas Age. published in New
York city, the official organ Of the gas
| companies in the United States.
The Gas Age was commenting on
! tho disposition of the New York leg
islature to go over the heads of the
| public service commission to give the
public some relief from alleged pub
lie service commissions to give the
| public some relief from alleged pub.
lie service expressions, among other
| bills passed being one to regulate
railway fares in New York city, hxlns
the price of gas in Brooklyn and fix
| ing telegraph rates in Greater New
| York and Syracuse.
! The Gas Age said that--"The
function of the public service COM
missi ons is to stand between the peo-
! ple,, or their representatives, and the
corportions serving them" 1T: conf
! plains that the legislature Yields the
big stick on the corporations in re-
! sponse to supposed prevalent senti-
! ment of constituents" This is a bad
thing, the Gas Age insists, as the leg
| islature can have no knowledge OF
| the real merits of the proposition.
The commission, it says, docs things
differently and that is why it costs
! SO much money to run it,
! In conclusion the Gas Age says:
This studied effort on the part OF
the state legislature to break down
| the public service law and revive ar
bitrary rate reductions is dangerous
and should be resisted. Governor
| Sulzer should be importuned to veto
any such bill on the grounds that the
matter is properly and adequately
| taken care Of now by state officials.
THE SIX YEARS OF COMMISSION
RULE HAVE LEFT ALL CORPORA
| TIONS AFFECTED IN BETTER
SHAPE THAN. THEY EVER WE'RE;
! why permit the legislature to 80 back
! to the days of corporation batting and
expensive lobbying?'
hta kaheH