The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-01-05
j. E. Cation, Accountant, Files
Report With Commissioners.
Little Hope That City Will Ever
Get Cent.
FRANCHISE FULL OF JGkERS
Loopholes of Escape Are Point
ed Out i'm Report.
Recommends That the p. q. Cs
Fix Valuation of Property.

If Topeka waits until doomsday
she will never derive one cent OF rev.
enue from the Topeka Railway COM
pany under the present interpretation
of the franchise existing. And IKE
period will pass before the city of To-,
peka will ever be able to force the
company to reduce its fares.
That, is the essential fact pointed
out to the city commissioners by j. E.
Cation. accountant, who presented his
report to Commissioner WATSON today
Cation was employed by the city OF
Topeka to examine the books OF the
Topeka Edison company and the To-
peka Railway company TO ascertain
whether the city should get more rev
enue than it has from the Topeka
Edison company and whether the city
should get any revenue from the To-
peka Railway company. Cation turned
in his report on the Edison company
two weeks go and it was published in
full in the State Journal at that time.
Jokers, detrimental to the city's in
terests, abound in the franchise grant
ed the railway company, Cation de-
clares. The two paragraphs which
Cation points to containing the jok-
ers follow:
The Jokers.
THAT the Topeka Railway company
shall from and after accepting this
ordinance and a part consideration
for the right, privileges and franchises
hereby granted, annually pay into the
city treasury of the city of Topeka 10
per cent of it's annual net earnings
over and above 10 per cent earned by
said railway company on its invest
ment, and in consideration thereof. all
contracts, rights, privileges. licenses
and franchises hereby granted to said
railway company shall continue in
force for period of thirty years from
and after the date of the passage and
approval of this ordinance.
That the mayor and the council OF
the city of Topeka shall, at all times
| during the existence of the grant, con-
tract and privileges in this ordinance
contained, have tire right by ordinance
to fix n reasonable schedule OF maxi
mum rates to be charged by the said
railway company within said city; pro-
| vided. however, that said mayor and
| council shall at no time fix rate
| that will prohibit said company from
earning at least 10 per cent on its
capital invested in said city of Topeka,
over and above its reasonable operat-
| ing expenses and the expense for
maintenance and taxes
THE company's contract" says Ca
| ton in his report, "offers little hope
that time will ever come when, un-
der its provisions. the city will partic-
ipate in the earnings of the company,
| unless the word investment is con-
strued to include only the present VAL
ue of the company's existing operating
property"
Says Call in p. U. c.
Then Cation recommends that the
city of Topeka go before the public
utilities commission and have a value
placed on the holdings of the Topeka
Railway company. He contends that
the investment of the company may,
for aught the city knows. include the
old horse-drawn cars in existence In
| Topeka years ago. Whether all OF
| these old investments have ever been
taken off of the company's books can
not be ascertaiped as Caton's report
| just covers the business of the COM
pany since 1910.
Cation then points to the differences
in the Investment" of the street rail-
way company and the valuation fixed
! for assessment purposes. Prior to
| 1910, the investment of the property
plant and equipment aggregated
s2,6s4046.4S. while since 1910 the
company has invested in Topeka
$3.50, 367.74, making the total invest
ment $2,947, 941.02.
THE average assessed valuation of
the property of the Topeka Railway
company for the years 1911 to 1915
inclusive" says Cation, 'is S1,3s3,03s.
The average net earnings of the COM
pany. exclusive of fixed charges. dur
ing the five years ending December.
1915, is S1S9, 227.0S, which gives an
average annual return to the company
of little more than 1858 per cent
of the valuation upon which it has
paid taxes during the last five yearr.
I'VE believe that the average net
earnings of the plant are ample TO
justify a liberal rental return to the
city as matter of public policy, even
tho the franchise may contain Lam
guage that would seem to deny the
city any return Hereunder"