The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1915-08-10

won its fight for better rates on the
ferry at the falls operated by the
Great Shoshone and Twin Falls Water
Power company, when the public util-
| tiles commission last Thursday issued
an order directing putting into effect
| a new schedule which takes effect
August 10. Attorneys Carl DeLong
and M. j. Sweeley Of this city acted
as attorneys for the Commercial club.
The following is the order of the COM
mission:
On the twenty-fifth day of June,
1915, the Twin Falls Commercial club
of Twin Falls, Idaho, filed complaint
against the Great Shoshone & Twin
Falls Water Power company and Will
liam T. Wallace, receiver of the Great
Shoshone & Twin Falls Water Power
company wherein it alleged:
| 1. That the said company for num-
Der of years last past has been and
is now operating ferry across the
Snake river at point just east of
Shoshone falls and between the coun-
ties of Twin Falls and Lincoln in the
state Of Idaho, and has been and now
is charging and collecting rates and
fares for it's ferry services according
to the following schedule:
Stage, round trip .--.....-,.,,-.......... ST. 90
/ Automobile and driver. one way IA
TEAM and driver, one way ... so
Each additional passenger, one
way .25
Saddle horse and rider, one way. .25
Foot passenger, one way .............. .25
Sheep, one way ..----.-....----...-.-..--.. Zee
That said rates and fares so charged
and collected by the defendant COM
pany are excessive, unjust and un-
reasonable in amount and discrimin-
atory, as compared with similar char
ges for similar services on other fer
ries across the Snake river in the
state of Idaho.
The complainant prayed that a hear
ing on said allegations be had by the
commission, and that the rates and
fares to be charged by the defendant
company for it's said ferry service be
fixed at such sum as the commission
may determine to be just and reason
able.
On the ninth day of july 1915, a
hearing on said complaint was had at
Twin Falls, Idaho, before the full COM
mission. Owners of two other ferries
across Snake river were called to
testify as to the reasonableness of the
rates charged by the defendant CON-
pany, but the conditions surrounding
these ferries and the circumstances
under which they are being operated
were so different from those of the
defendant companys ferry that this
testimony was of little or no value tc
the commission Defendant company
= attempted to show that large part OF
the patronage of their ferry during
the past two years was occasioned by
the fact that Twin Falls county has
!, been dry territory during that perioG
and Lincoln county wet territory, an6
that this patronage will be lost wher
the entire state of Idaho becomes dry
territory on January I. 1916. This
may prove to be true, but the com
mission does not think this should
be taken into consideration in deter
mining the reasonableness of thu
present rates and fares.
Improvements are now being made
on the state highway adjacent to thi:
ferry and on the grades leading to 1t
which may have the effect of increas
ing its patronage II sufficient pat
ronage is not secured at any time II
the future to pay fair return on thu
value of the property used and use
Iul Ill Tie puDliC StItlCc, Tie IchuJuSI
e ment Of the rates and fares may b
: had at any time upon a proper showing
h before this commission.
t The commission has before it th
! report Of the auditor who made tn
8 examination of the books of the de
: fendant company to determine the op
I Grating revenue and operating expens
0 es Of the ferry property of the defen
: dant company and our decision ant
order in this case is based upon thi
report.
The tables compiled by our audito
for the years 1910 to 1914 show TIL
net operating income varying from
4 $305.O8 in 1911 to $1SO96 in 1914. Al
ter making an allowance of five pc
lcent per annum for depreciation
Il which we consider is fair and reas
Il lonable amount for that item, the repor
4 shows net revenue for the period O
e five years covered by our auditor
d report Of $5O8O.27
,. Taking defendant company's figure
8 as to the value OF the property use
J. and useful in this ferry service, towit
e So, ,100.8O, we see that the return o.
y 1.-The investment is over thirty per cen
}. This We find to he excessive.