Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-26
TELEPHONE RATES
T0BE UNCHANGED
FOR SIX MONTHS
Utilities Commission CON-
plies With Request Made
by Company.
REIMBURSEMENT MAY COME
AFTER INQUIRY is MADE
Cost of Equipment for Federal
Service During Period of War
Constitutes Big Problem

IN" present schedule of telephone
rates in the District will continue in
efcct six months longer. the Public
Itiftles Commission announced to-
day
, The existing rates were fixed early
TINS year by the Postmaster General
whiie he had control of the Chesa-
peake and Potomac Telephone Conn
pany. The act of Congress returninr
tiG company to private control pro-
Nlded that the rates fixed by the fed
'ral government should automatically
go OUT OF existence in four months or
by December l.
Commission Intervenes.
on October q the utilities conr,;s
SION announced that in view Of the
TACT that the Chesapeake and Poto-
mac company had petitioned for a
higher rate before the government
look over the lines. it would reopen
that application before the old rates
again became effective
Al the hearing so ordered the COM
pahy presented figures to show that
~ is not earning proper return on
us investment, even with the in
creased rates fixed by the Post Office
Depdr lheht. however. the company
ana not ask for a further increase at
TINS time, but requested that the gov
eminent rates be continued until the
company can determine what would
be a reasonable increase above pres
ent rates in view of conditions in
washington brought about by the
war
Action in Compliance.
The commissions action today is in
compliance with that request The
commission decided that the present
rates shall continue until May 81.
when the pre-war schedule will he
resumed unless other action is taken
before that date
The present rates. which are or
dered Continued for six months, are:
Unlimited service. IS a month; linn
tied service (ffty calls a month";,
$3.50; party-line service (thirty-five
calls a month";. S2.25. and direct BUSH
ness line phones (fifty calls a monthly,
$3.50. =
! The old rates, in effect when the
! Post Office Department granted the
/ Increase. were: Unlimited, 81 a month;
! limited {fifty- calls), 81: party line
! (thirty calls), 81, and business lines.
$36 year, fifty calls month.
Federal Service in War.
One of the big problems the company
has to work out before going before
the commission for further increase
is to determine how much of the in
creased cost of operating the local
company is the result of equipment
which had to be bought to meet the
heavy demands of the federal govern
ment for phone service as the govern
ment departments expanded during
the war.
Officials of the conn any pointed out
at the recent hearing that conditions
from the telephone standpoint are
still unsettled in Washington az 4
result of the war rush and for that
reason the company would not ask for
a further increase in rates until it
was prepared to give the commission
some idea of what it expects will be
the normal amount of business here
in the near future.
While officials of the company are
satisfied Washington will not return
to its pre-war state, they were not
prepared to say at the recent hearing
whether they believed present condi-
tons are to be the normal time
conditions.
The company also is endeavoring to
determine what expenses placed on
the company by the war rush can be
eliminated in the near future. One
big item under this heading is the
housing and caring for out-of-town
operators who had to be brought here.
1t is expected that before May 81
the company will go before the COM
mission and say what rates it believes
should be fixed after that date.