Evening star., 1920-05-26
INCREASED RATES
FOR PHONE SERVICE
IN D. c. GRANTED
Public Utilities Commission
Authorizes New Schedules
Beginning June !.

Increased rates. effective June l, were
vrarted the Chesapeake and Potomac
Telephone Company BY the Puphc
Ctilities Commission today.
Unlimited residence service IS rals-
ed from IS to $3.50 month.
Two-party line residence service.
with an allowance of thirty-five mes
sages. will cost $3.50 instead or s-.-o
q month. -
For individual line service with fifty
messages a month the commission al
lows the increase from $3.50 TO 81
month but rejects the company pro
posed schedule of charges for caiis IN
sxcess of fifty.
The company asked permission TO
rharge ST. cents each for the first ad-
e.ftional fifty calls on limited phones;
cents each for the second &ddltionai
nifty, A.. cents each for the third al
.ttional fifty and 50 on down, taxing
!thsIf a cent off for each fifty All calls
in excess OF 500 TO he 3 cents each
For Additional Messages.
The commission orders the COMPANY ias
u give the frst 100 additional mes
Sages for :: cents each, the next nIty
sor AZ cents and each additional nfty
AT half cent less per call All CANS
IN excess of 500 to be at 3 cents, as
requested
with forty message a month. goes
W 10 So from $3.50. Messages IN eA-
cess of the forty allowed Will con-
xSrue at 5 cents each
The commission grants an increase
from so to rs cents a month Tor ex-
tension telephones in homes haVihs
Unlimited service.
extension phones in homes having
limited service will continue 10 cost
SO cents a month
Trunk lines, with an allowance of
r-ry messages a month. are Increased
from $3.50 to 81 month
Schedule to he Similar.
The same schedule fixed by the COM
mission for extra calls on limited resi-
ence phones will apply to extra calls on
x-unk lines
The new rates will remain in effect
until January 81. 1921, when the exist
,Ig rates will be automatically restored
unless the commission orders otherwise
In the meantime.
The commission grants the request of
she company for a charge OF 25 cents
a month for listing in the telephone
siirectory the names Of persons in apart
u1ent houses or permanent hotel guests
r1ose phones 60 through private
branch exchange. There Is no charge lot
s,,ch listing at present.
The commission makes Il clear in
tile order issued today that 1t has
NOT definitely agreed with the COM
pany's claim of 100 per cent In
s-ease in the fair value of Its prop
ecty since 1916. when the commission
valued the telephone property.
fair value Of fhe telephone compaEy's
property at $6.7S3.93e.4s- - the re-
cent hearings the company cla!men
net addition to capital since that time
from this amount the sum OF $2,s47.-
Sse 32. which represents property not
now needed in giving service and
,lso money which has been added to
capital reserves out OF earnings, the
company had left $5.S75-333.oo TO be
sdded to the fair value as fixed in
1916 This would make the fair value
Of the company's property as OF jan
uary 1. 1920. $12.659.26s.9s. or an In
c,pase of 100 per cent since the COM
Property Value Increase.
Discussing this. the commission
states in its order today:
1t Is apparent that such a very
great Increase in the value OF the
bling the amount Of its pre-war invest
msnt requires the most careful con-
SiGeration by the commission before
final determination of the fair value
of the property of the company can
be made.
IF the company were now asking
for an increase in rates that would
produce what In normal times might
be regarded as fair return upon
.hs fair value of It's property It would
b. necessary for the commission. be-
fore taking action. to make more
6stailed investigation into the prop
erty of the company, but, since the
total revenues that would be pro-
rates, If allowed in full. would yield
only ~. per cent return upon the
fair value as estimated by the COM
p:.ry. and, since the company has de-
1n longer used and useful the sum
of $i.s49.929.14. the commission feels
flat it will do no injustice to the
p-blic If it adopts a tentative base
fer determining rates for the ensu
II & eight months.
"a large portion Of the $1.s4e.s29
deducted from capital accounts by
the company for property not used
nor useful on December 81. 1919. rep
resents special equipment installed
states government"
Monthly Settlements to Continue.
The commission states that 1t gave
careful consideration to the sugges-
kion that measured service be settled
FOR annually instead of monthly. as at
present, but concluded that the
monthly settlement is more equitable
md will not change it.
At present limited subscribers are
allowed fifty calls a month and must
Use them within the month. Under
an annual settlement plan the sub
scriber was allowed 500 calls a year
md could use forty in one month and
1ixty in another.
Referring to the practice Of local COM
hahies of giving the American Telephone
knd Telegraph Company Az per cent
cf its gross earnings in exchange for
equipment and other services rendered
khe- commission states that it agrees
with the Indiana commission that this
question should be submitted TO a joint
study BY the A. T. \. T. Co. and the Ma
Commissioners The commission points
pu, that in this way the question could
be settled so that it would be accepted
I.-e same throughout the country
Allowed. hut Approval Withheld,
I'm this case the order reads, this
commission Will not disallow the
Stem of expense. although withhold
&ns .is approval ana the method OF
determining II, since the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company
within the past three years has paid
e. the Chesapeake and Potomac Tele-
phone Company s1.20o.000 by way of
Assisting it to meet It's extraordinary
klone represents the license income
from this local company for a period
~ six or eight years"
The commission states that IL will
reserve formal decision on this much
discussed subjec, of payments to the
gS.def1 nitely the present fair value of
the local company's property. and also
Until il determines a method of cal
Suiating depreciation charges.
possible Further ILLUMINATION.
FURTHER discussing the company's
<riain Of present fair value. the order
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