Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-30
A SPOTLIGHT AT LAST
FOR P. R. T. AFFAIRS
More Than the Question Of Fares
May Now Be Illuminated by the
Public Service Commission

4
to be an authoritative and official
inquiry into the status of the rapid
transit situation.
The hearing by the Public Service
Commission on the right of the L. r. T.
TO abolish the free transfers without
consultation with the city authorities.
TO begin next Tuesday. will deal with
one phase of the subject.
The order by the commission in the
case of the ClivedCn Improvement Asso-
citation, which has complained against
the rentals paid TO the subsidiary com
panies by the Z. X. T.. will result in
the disclosure Of the powers Of the com
mission over the leases and the rentals
paid under those leases.
The clarification of this issue is Of
the first importance. The car riders
are being taxed to support four or five
operating companies, only one OF which
does any operating. The =. R., T.,
with $50, 900, 900 paid-in capital, leases
the Union Traction Company and it's
rights and the Union Traction Company
leases or owns two or three other op-
Grating companies and behind these op-
Grating companies are score or more
Of franchises owned by various com
panies. There is a huge pyramid of
corporations. with the T. II. T. at the
apex. 1t has burdened itself with n
J contract which obligatcs it to pay as
rental generous dividends on an enor-
nous capitalization of watcred stock
In one case the rental amounts to 70
per cent annually on the amour. paid
income of the T. r. T. to pay the
rentals and taxes on the underlying
companies.
No one pretends that this il an
equitable sum. 1t is defended solely on
the ground that the contract provides
that it must be paid. The best that
Owen Roberts. the attorney for the
underlying companies. could say in de-
fense Of the situation at the hearing in
Harrisburg on Monday was that "if
the T. r. T. was improvdent enough
to enter into those contracts, that Is
their fault and not ours"
Mr.. Roberts even denied the iurisdic-
ton of the Public Service Commission
over the underlying companies. on the
ground that their only function was to
divide the rentals paid by the p. r. T.
We contribute nothing to the public
service said he, and therefore are
not public service companies amenable
to the rules of the commission.
L., h. .l
commission has accepted the challenge
of Mr.. Roberts. 1t does not admit that
there is any franchise holding public
service corporation in the common
wealth that is not subject to its juris =
diction. and it has set ont to discover
what warrant in law there is for the
contrary contention. But when Mr..
Roberts admitted that if. after a valua
tion of the properties the commission
should allow a return on the p. K. 7.
Investment too low to pay the rentals.
| the owners of the underlying companies
would have to take their property back
and operate II, he pointed out way
| by which, whatever the present situa-
tion may be, the underlying companies
would com" directly under the juris-
diction of III" commission.
And II may be that ba noir,od or+ +ho
course which the Public Service Com
mission will take. The city represent
atives on the p r. I. board made a
similar suggestion few days ago. 1t
is the remedy of which many persons
are thinking reluctantly il is true, but
nevertheless they ar" looking TO it as
the only way out OF the complications
that nave been pr"dur"d by conscience
less "ApI"ltatloh "t iraH.hIS"S and by
pyramidlng of companies and of capital
with no Thought or the burden placed
upon the public
'"' 'a''"I'f % ''' yon,' "'t "I t"o'
"hd'r ""''H II j. l'F"''ue" nat there
may "' Nv '"""E'N !" I"'' "''"""t pre-
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lht 'Nh''a' 'FauNn''H "i lH'r 'onten
tlon Is riVal'" "h,I 10y 'u' '"'H DIooH
edh'SS Oh 'M'n lN""'r'> proposition
mat 'hr "n"'r INK ''I'Pdh'rr, "hi'"
contribute "'"'"H /" 'N' r"oiI' SefN
nee are "u'Nl"' OF the jur'Ndlctoh ~
the iuDIi' service "''!''I'Sl"h'