The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-07-30
Kansas Public Utilities Feels
the Pinch of Poverty.
Lacks Money to Fight Railroads
i'm Rate Cases.
STATE APPEARS A MENDICANT
Suffers by Comparison With
Her Sister Commonwealth.
NiggardIy Policy of the Legls-
Iature Is Blamed.

The Kansas public utilities commls-
| sion feels the effects of the niggardly
/ policies of the 1915 legislature ana
| finds itself embarrassed before other
states and without funds with Whlch
to fight the big passenger rate cases.
While other states have given
their utilities commission thousands OF
dollars with which to conduct a pat
tie against increased passenger rates,
the Kansas commission is dragging
pennies and nickels from sundry funds
and apologizing for its inability to act
This morning Joseph l.. Brlstow;
chairman of the commission, ana freu
s. jackson, special counsel, held a fl
nancial meeting. At that meeting, they
had a heart to heart talk about money
matters. They found that the com
mission was without money with Whlcn
to fight the big cases and in the Worus
of Chairman Bristow is "a mend1cant
among other states before the inter-
state commerce commission
1t is all due to the squeeze polcy
of the legislature They admlttec'
ayowed and decreed as much While
Governor Capper was writing special
MESA ges and personally appearing be-
fore the legislature to urge program
of deficiency and economy. the
ways and means committee, actlng IN
der the governors direction, was
hunting chance to white appropria-
TONS Now the state faces cases which
mean many times as much as the
increased taxe"and there isn't a dol
lar with which to fight.
1t Is Embarrassing.
ut is most embarrassing" declared
Chairman Bristow with feeling. 1t
makes Kansas appear as mend1cant
among other states appearing before
the interstate commerce commission
in the interstate passenger rate case
Other states have thousands of dollars
with which to employ experts, gather
faStipOOU and make fight. We
haven't a dollar.
Oklahoma for example has appro-
prIated $4,000 to fight the two cent
passenger rate case. Nebraska, Wis
propriated $4,000. They have plenty
of money. We have none. We have
been digging up little money from
this fund or that to meet necessary
expenses, but it is most embarrassing.
1.-THE Santa Fe or some other big
railroad might put thousand men at
work for three or six months gather
ing figures with which to fight big
case Kansas must accept or reject
this testimony. We have no method
of combating such evidence.
Take the state cases. In Kansas
and Oklahoma and in other state
hearings, the Oklahoma formula is
used by the railroads. Before the in
terstate commerce commission, no
formulas are offered. That means
that neither the states nor the
preme court on the interstate case.
But in the state cases, where a formu-
la has been offered, the railroads are
in a position to appeal and carry their
fight to a higher court.
jackson agreed with BriStow that
the situation was neither bright nor
encoura ging. But there is nothing to
be done The commission has no fund
available and the next legislature does
not meet until January, 1917. In the
meantime rate cases that mean hun
dreds of thousands of dollars to Kan
ga 6 a re to be decided.