Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-04-07
MOLINE SEEKING
LIGHT RATE QUIZ
Petition TO BE Filed Tomorrow With
Illinois State Utilities Commits
sion at Springfield.
EXPERT HAS BEEN RETAINED
/. D. Stevens, Who Obtained S0-Cent
Gas for Capital, to Conduct Fight
In Behalf OF City.
EXPERT HAS BEEN RETAINED

A petition will be filed tomorrow on
behalf of the city of Moline before
the Illinois state public utilities COM
mission at Springfield asking that the
utilities body investigate there with a
view 10 establishing fair and Just
rates on gas and electricity supplied
by the Peoples Power company.
The Moline council has engaged \.
D, Stevens, city attorney of Spring
field, rate lawyer and successful fight
er in several instances for lower rates
from utilities corporations, to assist
City Attorney James NJ. Johnston.
Mr.. Stevens recently succeeded in
winning S0-cent gas for Springfield.
The gas company there has appealed
the case TO the courts.
In the coming battle Mr.. Stevens
will act for the city OF Moline alone.
Report from Moline is that while the
understanding there is that the city
council Of Rock Island has passed res
olutiOns requesting the city council OF
Moline 10 cooperate with this city IN
securing lower rates, no notice of this
has been taken by the Moline city
council
Regardless of whether cooperation
would be Best or not, however, what
might be fair and Just in Moline might
not be fair and just in Rock Island,
or in East Moline. There are many
things that must be taken into consfd-
Grafton in establishing a rate that is
fair and just to both the consumer
and the company, according to view
point Of the Moline officials. Most
important Of all these things, they
hold, are probably the length and ar
rangement Of pipe lines, and these
must Of necessity vary in each city.
Moline will not submit any specified
rates to the utilities commission for
adoption. It will merely ask that the
commission establish the lowest rates
possible In this way the city will
not in any manner prejudice its posi-
ton and the result must be that the
people Of Moline will receive the alb
HtIutC minimum lCOt at NIllNu lLlC
power company is able to supply the
gas and electricity with a fair prof,
to itself.
No Expense TO City.
In the petition that will be filed
before the utilities commission to-
morrow, the city OF Moline will sub
nit the contention that present rates
on gas and electricity in that city are
too high. with the request that the
utilities commission investigate and
establish the lowest rate possible.
The investigation will be carried on
by rate experts in employ Of the utii-
tiles commission. These experts are
in the pay of the state and their work
will be at no expense to the city.
Under ordinary course of procedure
the utilities commission will take i'm
mediate action on the petition and ser
vice will be secured on the power
company. Ten days after service is
obtained the power company will have
10 enter its appearance before the
commission and at that time date
for a hearing will be set.
The case will undoubtedly be an ex-
haustiye one and it probably will be
six or nine months before the utilities
commission renders a decision.
Should the commission establish
lower rates, however, those rates go
into effect as soon as the decision is
handed down The company may ap-
peal the case to the courts, but it mus,
give a bond, and in event the courts