Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-03-19

CUT IN PHONE
RATES ORDERED
Affects Chiefly the Six.Party
and Farmers Lines-Mi-
nority Report against
Change.
Continued from paEe niuc.)


tho electric company, cost to the cleo
per cent?, or
III shipped from any other point d.
rect to the telephone company, cost to
the electric company Plus one per CEN
tum tone per cent)
THE term cost as used in paragraphs
"a ana "e' OF this section, means the
net price which the electric company is
obligated to pay the supplicr after all
rebates. discounts and commissions have
been deducted When transportation
charges, in whole or in part, are treated
by the supplcr as part Of his net price
to the electric company they shall be
included In cost as herein defined. All
other transportation charges, exccp.
carriage to electric company'S storcrooms
on articles not made ny the electric COM
pany, shall! he charged the telephone COM
pany, but without the addition OF tho
aforesaid percentages Carriage charges
&c electric compunys storeroon1s shall "a
Borne by the electric company"
III arriving at the pole unit prices O
commission considered the prices used in
the Jackson inventory with 20 per cent.
added to allow FOR increase In price since
that date quotations on poles by A. II.
Growing. actual prices charged in the
construction Of a toll line between Bellows
Falls and Claremont, and prices appear
ing in a valuation of the Citizens Tele-
phone and Telegraph company plant and
the d. l.. Mcclure plant by Nh. Hager-
man of the New England Telephone and
Telegraph company when the Passumpslc
NJ 11a rIn In t1--
Ing the unit cost of poles the price Of
the bare pole was arrived at and a four
per cent. supply charge, six and one-half
cents for inspection on class "A'' and
"B" poles, and four cents on the larger
sizes of class &C" poles were added No
inspection charge was allowed on small
size class &C" and class ~ poles, as
it was testified that these were bought
on the spot without inspection. Freight
was allowed as figured by the companies
engineer.
The companies claimed that teanling
charges should be arrived at on the basis
of s. a day for team making one haul
per day averaging five to six miles and
drawing 5000 pounds to a load.
The commission believes that this allow
ance is excessive and has used two trips
a day and an average of 500 pounds to
load in computing the teaming charge
in its unit costs.
a three per cent. allowance was made
by the commission for general supervi-
sion. The unit prices of erected poles as
finally determined by the commission are
shown in Table II.
The number of poles and the size
classification Of the same used by the
commission, We're those submitted by the
companies at the hearing. But the COM
mission is of the opinion that it would be
impossible for the companies to classify
poles as to size to that degree of nicely.
Inasmuch as the a ual purchasing
specifications of the companies require
butt measurement which governs the size
classification regardless Of the top meas
prement. which latter measurement. how
ever, cannot be less than that given in
Eaid specification, the result is that many
poles purchased must necessarily be over
size at the top in order to meet the
specification as to butt measurement. AS
result of purchasing under these
specifications, the companies secure poles
with oversize tops at the cost price of a
pole with smaller top. The companies
distribution of the poles into various sizes
IN the inventory, based on the estimates
of the men who did the field work, seems
TO bring about the result of 4 total pole
cost somewhat larger than the companles
actually paid. The companies inventory
unit costs on pole fixtures, WIRE conduit,
central Office equipment and sub-statio,
equipment, weTo used with the 10 pei
cert. Increase on material and the q
per cent. increase on labor deducted and
an adjustment of teaIning as above
stated.
II Is significant to the commission that
The companies unit price OF No 70 iron
wire In place in this inventory is SAT-
II mile while the unit price OF such wire
En- place Used by Mr.. Hagerman in his
inventory for the company, when the
PaS5Lplpsic company WAS purchasing the
Mcclure and the Citizens company plants,
was but $40 a mile erected. The cost Of
erected aerial underground cable Is given
n tho present inventor without any
Division between material and labor and
from this cost the commission deducted
the 10 per ceIt. added upon tho material
only.
It appeared that tho companies actually
paid the owners less than s. per pole foI
property. Tho commission allowed s26C
per pole in addition, as expense in con-
necuon with obtaining said rights of way
The inventory price OF the ten foot right
OF way was reduced in proportion. The
valuation OF the right to set poles on
private property, without any specified
width on either side of tho line. was moi
changed
For rights OF way on highways, .hC
companies claimed the value of 20 cents
per pole, which the commission believe /,
an attempt to capitalize rights to AZ
amount in no way related to the cost o.
obtaining the same. An allowance OF q
cents per pole for obtaining these high
way rights in this State would he am
pie for all legitimate expenses includ
Ing the expense of necessary guying priv
eges.
The companies' inventory contain uni
cost Of $3.50 per pole for trimming tree
on SO-foot rights of way on private prop
erty. 1t does not seem probable that sucl
rights of way would be entirely in timber
Or even half In timber. as the tendenc,
would be to avoid such a legation i
possible. The commission allows s1.o5 pc
pole tor this item. An item of % cents Pc
pole for trimming rights OF way on tn,
highways was also contained In the in
Ventory The commission reduced thi
Item to 12s cents per pole for the sam,
reason
The table appended hereto shows tn,
In M ha nj mn af