The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-01-09
RlSLAND GOES
UNDER JURISDICTION
OF FEDERAL BOARD
All the Public Utility Board Hear
ing Results Will Count Only
As Publicity Has Effect
FINDING OF LOCAL BODY
WITHOUT LEGAL FORCE
Company Now Preparing To File
Rates and Schedules With
Federal Shipping Board

All the pilikia and expense OF the
public utilities commission investipa-
tlOn of the rates and accounts of the
lnter.lsland Steam Navigation Com
pany will have resulted in nothing un.
less the publicity given TO the facts OF
the company $ finances produces results.
The steamship corporation is now I'M
der the Jurisdiction Of the recently ere.
ated United States shipping board, the
personnel of which was announced late
last month. Officials Of the eomrAtny
admitted yesterday that plans are now
under way TO file with the federal board
the Inter Island rate schedules. fnan.
cial reports and accounting system.
Whether the company will Continue TO
present cts side Of the caseu before
the public utilities commission remain,
to be seen.
The move the corporation is making
automatically removes the Inter. Island
from the control of the territorial com.
mission and makes powerless whatever
decision that commission may now rem.
der in the rate case Just submitted,
after some thirty.fve heafings over a
period of several months. This Is the
case, according to l.. J. Warren, the
company 5 attorney.
Reports have been current that tho
Inter. Island intended "moyine itself
under the federal board s iurisdie
tion.o Asked il such ''moveo were
contemplated, Attorney Warren said On
Saturday:
"The company is not 'moyinp, npde,
the shelter Of the United states shin,
ping board nor trying to find legal
1 way 10 become subject 10 that hoard
| II doesn't have TO. n (
1 Automatically, the day that con.
gress created the shipping board. ths
Inter Island became subject 10 its IN.
| risdiction, The law provides that IN.
| ira territorial shipping as well as in
] terstate shipping Is under the federal
| board q control !. 49,
Public Utilities Out OF Court
/ Therefore the Inter.Isiand Is pre-.
pairing to file. with the shipping board
% rates and other facts that this board
| will require"
1 "But what becomes of the decision
that the public utilities Commission n
preparing on its investigation Of Inter
Island affairsf, Warren was asked
"it is powerlcss as far as We are
concerned Warren answered.
And thus IL stands, II Attorney War
rem 3 opinions hold. The present rates.
rules and accounting system OF the In.
i teri Island will be fled with the federal
board. Any rate changes OF accourt.
ing alterations must be directed by the
new federal board, and Il is hardly
likely that they win make orders az
this character without investiration-
1 that is, another Investigation the
Inter Island.
The Inter-Island case before the ter
ritorial commission has been submitted.
"'harles r.. Forbes, chairman, is away
for several weeks on the mainlan,f.
More figures have still to be dug up BY
the company officials.
What the commission decision will
be, of course, no one knows. Several
weeks before he left, and some time be-
fore the investigation was completed,
Chairman Forbes announced that he
was already writing up the Inter.
Island order. He promised he wouli
be ready in two weeks. He said ID
would be ga hot one" And now the
company is subject to the federal
board. .. "'s..
A nice legal question arises out OF
| the tangle. 1t has risen in regard 10