Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-06
soon TO HEAR GAS !
AND PHONE APPEALS
Public Utilities Commission
Sets December 10 and 20 to
Consider Increases.
PUBLIC TO BE HEARD

Potomac Telephone Company to raise
the rates charged for gas and telephone
service In the District VIII be heard
by the public utilities commission De-
cember Is and 20. respectively.
Notice that the radical Increases
sought viii be considered At public
hearings on these dates ana that tho
commission desires the fullest express
sion Of public opinion as to their .usti-
fcation was sent today to the Board oc
Trade, Chamber of Commerce.. Fedora
ton Of CitixenS Associations, Retail
Association and all citizens
ASSOCIATIONS
The war suddenly has changed the
aspect of the valuation work OF the
commission. Nearing the end OF its
long task in valuing the properties OF
local utilities work designed 10 re-
suit in a reduction OF rates charged oF
public service corporations in Washing
ton should it DO found that existing
tariffs were not justified by tho valus
tion-the commission finds the PROPOSE
ton suddenly reversed.
Approve Rate Increases.
1t now is called upon to approve rate
Increases. to offset the heavy expenses
corporations have been called upon to
meet as a result of the war.
The situation the commission faces
with respect to the gas and telephone
companies is practically as follows:
Concerning the former, the commission
has announced its valuation findings
for q total of se,0e7. 1881, in the case
ssas. $3.50 in the case Of the George
town company. These findings nave
The reason the utilities board has mot
taken up tho question Of rates. based
on these valuations. il that In October.
1916, while the valuation work was in
progress, Congress passed Q law re-
ducing the price OF gas sold In Wash.
cubic feet, and in Georgetown from 81
to IS cents per 1000 cubic feet
The commission decided to allow the
congressional arbitrary rate to operate
a year before attempting to change Il
by the valuation.
Consideration Of Valuation.
The company's application to increase
the price of gas in Washington to
Clio now will necessitate consideration
by the eommission OF !. its ,o yaIu alton
the work was completed. and or
changed conditions affecting the com
pany since that date. due primarily to
the war. to determine what would con-
stitute a fair price for gas at the pres
emit time.
AZ for tho telephone company. the
commission adopted a. valuation for
this corporation Of $e.7sS.e32.4S. as or
December 81. 1916. and the rating was
subsequently. however. the company
asked for reconsideration Of thS
amount Of annual depreciation to be
allowed, and this element will come up
for further consideration at near.
ing to be held by the commission next
Monday. With its disposal. the tele-
phone case will be completed. and the
question Of rates will be ready Tor con-
sideratfon. ---- 49,
Voluntary reduction of rates made by
the telephone company. while the
valuation work was in progress, was
in no way a settlement of the rate
question. though the reduced tariffs
were accepted by the commission as
far as they went.
Compared with the company's present
request to eliminate unlimited services:
raise the charge for pay station calls
. 49, ats and make other IN
creases, the telephone corporation. Feo-
bruary /. 1915. voluntarily put the foi-
lowing reduced rates into eject:
Rate Was Reduced.
The Individual line s mes.g s,,, rata ..
month TO + siSs l0t f. sss Sv for 500 calls
and $1o2 for 200 calls.
leu of the two-party line message
rate business or residential. for thirty
messages for $3.50 a month, the COM
pany put into effect two two-party
line rates. One was for business. al
lowing forty messages q month. or 4so
messages a year. for $3.50 a month, and
the other for residential, allowing thfr-
ty messages a month, or $50 messages o
year. for 81 month.
For coin collecting devices attached
hA moi "a
duced the rate from $50 to s12 q year.
and it also made a reduction OF from
s144 to $120 a year in its minimum
service rate for private branch ex-
changes.
The increases now proposed by the
company already have been considered
at a conference between the members
OF the utilities commission and
Guiding President F. H. Bethel. Cen
eral Attorney Robert V. Marye and T.
p. Sylvan, assistant to President
Bethel.
wants. but less traffic. which 1t expects
the proposed increases to accomplish.
was stated at the conference by Presi-
dent Bethel.
sioner Gardiner as to what he would
pay under the suggested rates for the
average number of calls he now makes
under the unlimited service at s4s .
year ONcT us ICcluCiiNS bcASphohSsFs
Averages Are Dangerous.
He pressed the telephone company
head for an answer, II the new arrange
ment would not cost him s120 a year,
instead of $4s a year, as at present.
President Bethel said that averages
are dangerous, and Attorney Marye
called attention to the fact that the
average is less than $50 in other cities.
While there are many big houses In
Washington that will use the telephone
ten or twelve times a day. regardless
of the cost. the changes urged. Presi-
dent Bethel contended. should benefit
materially those who use IL in a lin
tied way. Under present conditions. he
said, children, servants and everybody
in general make use Of the unlimited
services, and 1t is this sort OF tele-
phoning that the company wants dis
continued. He declared that the COM
pany is not striving for an increase
in revenue and does not anticipate that
one will result. If the commission ap-
proves the new schedule submitted.
President Bethel stated that he es-
timated increasing the pay station rate
from to 10 cents would reduce tho
rate of calling over this class OF
phones about SO per cent.