The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-02-02

of the compliments to appear as defend.
ants before the commission.
The preface then proceeds "to call at
tention to the testimony which effectusl-
/ ly nails certain doubts and criticisms
| largely immaterial to the issue, but dex-
! terously thrust into the record by the
compliments. As at the hearings, SO
now the companies welcome the oppor-
tunity to explain to the commission and
to the public of Vermont their financial
| history, their record of dividends and
net earnings and to give the fullest de-
tail of the telephone business of YER
mont"
"No Evidence of Unreasonable Rates"
The brief calls attention more than
once to the fact that no evidence was
presented in support of the allegation
of unreasonable rates, although the state
had consulting telephone expert in
attendance for several weeks, and with
reference to its own presentation says:
/ 1.-THE facts upon which the contentious
of these defendants are based are prov
en- by the testimony of substantial, rep
utable business men," given as before
noted under oath, with all the solemnity
Of proceedings in a court of justice. We
insist that facts so esta blished. without
contradiction from any source, are proved
and proven to the extent that these
defendants are entitled to have findings
in accordance Herewith. These defend
ants, and the people of the state of
Vermont, are entitled to have facts
found as they are proven, and to have
allegations which are not proven--but
which are clearly and emphatically dis
proven-so branded"
Would Cripple Service.
'The inevitable effect of reduction
in rates upon the telephone service of
the state of Vermont" says the brief,
in closing, must be a crippling of the
service That the telephone-using pub
lie does not want, nor does it ask or de-
sire that the service should be operated
at an absolute loss, or, in fact, at less
than fair profit"
"Any action on the part of any pub
lie service commission" it goes on, ito
reduce rates to a point where the sery-
ice must necessarily be crippled or inn
paired is violation of its prime duty
to the public. What the public wants
is good service, at reasonable price,
which will allow a fair margin of profit
to those furnishing the service. This
is as true in the state of Vermont as
il is in the state of Massachusetts, or
the state of New Hampshire. The pub
lie of Vermont do not ask that rates be
reduced to a point yielding n profit
smaller than business men expect from
ordinary business ventures in this state.
The evidence presented in this case be-
fore this commission proves conciusiveiy
that the companies filing this brief are
giving good service; that they are fur
nishing this service at the lowest prices
at which such service is furnished at any
places in the territory of the New Eng
land system, and this in spite of the
fact that Vermont, by reason of its
sparse population, its widely scattered
centers, its Typographical features, is
difficult territory in which to give serv-
ice. So small is the profit of these com
panies that if their existing rates were
to be fixed by a commission as an obliga-
tory schedule of rates, the order would
be clearly confiscatory. How much more
then would an order fixing the proposed
schedule of rates, with all the reduc-
tions and increased expenses involved,
he cOnfiscatoryf Z"