Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-03-17

share of the cost of litigating the
rates as represented by the appro-
priations made by the State for this
defense, measured on a per capita
basis. OF couGse the revenues of the
State are not collected on a per cap
ita basis, but this trifling inconsis-
tency is not considered in making up
the disingenuous showing referred
to by the Commission.
Contributions by Counties.
A paragraph in the laudatory CON
tribution to current literature in Ok
lahoma as handed out by the Corpor-
alton Commission is as follows
"The minimum contribution of &c
/ applies in Latimer and LeFlore coun-
ties, while &c applies in Adair. Cole.
Delaware, Haskell, McClain. McCur-
tain, Murray, Pittsburg, Seminole
and Seauoyah Counties. The maxi
mum of 17c applies only in Grant
County, 16c only in Washington
County, and there being only eleven
other counties among the seventy
five of the State where the per cap
ita amount is higher than 10c. The
total assessed valuation of the State
is S1.1S7,164,32S The public ser
vice property valuation Of the State
I is $225,O56,170. The latter is 22.48
per cent Of the former On this rela-
tion $37.554.40 of the total $175,OOO
appropriated is paid by the public
service corporations, leaving S137.-
445.60 to be paid by the taxpayers
of the state other than public ser
vice corporations, which on the 1910
State population of 1,657,155 devel-
ops the average per capita contribu-
tion of S.2c."
Nothing as to Reasonableness
It is characteristic of this oppor-
ltunist theorem that there is no allie
cation of the reasonableness of the
compensatory character of the rate
that is pointed out as a money saver
for the people. 1t is apparently
deemed sufficient that a showing can
be made that there has been 4 saving
in money to people who travel never
so little. That the cost of the litiga-
tion has been about 100000 to the
State and the saving to the people
who travel has been about ; i,00O,-
600 is all that a politician seems to
be able to sec.
This line OF reasoning has been re-
iected by some of the newspapers OF
Oklahoma and has been pointed to as
unfortunate by others. The weak
place in it is the circumstances that
il takes into consideration no fac
tors to show whether owners OF the
physical assets of the carriers are
getting returns on the value of their
property OF on the cost of reproduc-
ing their property new.
The case is in the courts. 1t is the
theory of the State, of course. that
it will be possible to show that the
2c fare is ether compensatory or
reasonable within the light of dc"id-
&c cases. On ;ha: theory The case
ought to be litfgated and the State
] may be expected to spend of its rev.
enues sufficient funds to pay the
cost of such litigation. That is bUf
the plight of the state and the duty
of the State officers to the people.
But the argument is made that it
paws to keep the case in court FOR
the saving that is made to those VINO
travel.
Passengers Vote; Freight Doesn't"
The attitude of the Corporation
Commission of Oklahoma in this
litigation is reminiscent of a prop
osition made some time ago by Seth
Low to the effect that passengers
vote, and freight does not" lnjec'
ton of the freight rates by the rail
roads into this case has at once stor-
red the shippers of Oklahoma into
efforts to preserve the present rate:
on freight. The shippers know thai
there is likely to be something done
as a result of an effort on the par
OF the carriers to show in one actor
that the total of revenue is neithe
reasonable nor compensatory to tn
railroads.
The shippers are apparently no
anxious to see the railroads Teduo
their passenger earnings 100000
and increase their freight rates b
t$4,OG0,00O, or something large
than the reductions on the passenge
earnings.
In his discussion of the rate que'
tion, Mr.. Low advocated reductio
of passenger fares to a cent a mil
and increase of freight rates to max
up for this deficit. In this he ect
oed a suggestion made by Presder
Underwood of the Erie Railway an
other lesser railroad luminaries.
was pointed out by Mr. Low thG
wherever railroads are publicly Owl
ed, the passenger fares are mad
low and the freight rates high.
Example of Germany.
In Germany, before the presel
war, the passenger fares were abol
I one half what they are in Oklabom
while the freight rates were abo
four times as much. The people,