Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-05-19
UTILITIES NOW
REAL PROBLEM
CONTINUED From Page one0

feating the law and its advocates in the
mpaign, the trainers of the public util-
act so constructed it that its provi-
ons appealed greatly to. public utilities
Offering relief from local blackjack
pg"
Id some of them not even now realized
ava proved a Godsend to the utilities
indiana more recently.
Under these provisions the utilities sur
we'd the war.
Today many o. them are living because
rate schedules based on these provi-
ons.
INDIANAPOLIS STREET
HALLWAY EXAMPLE.
The Indianapolis Street railway, oper-
ating under an emergency order" that
ct aside a franchise and a state law,
an example of this.
II But. in recent months, the extreme
xercise of these favorable provisions of
be law by the public service commits
ion in behalf of the utilities has had
= effect of turning from the law the
rpport of the public that once regarded
The law as its buffer between heartless
corporations and justice.
Today a vote in Indiana on the issue
alone would abolish both the public
service law and the commission itself.
There is an ever growing demand for
just such a vote.
Whether this demand can be stifled or
not will be shown this fall.
Demand for the adjustment of the
public service commission is created by
these things.
j. The granting of higher rates
by the public service commission to
practically every utility i'm Indiana.
?. The realization by the public
service commission of the inability
of utilities to give good service and
the virtual acquieseenee of shat body
in the utility program of giving only
such service is absolutely neces-
sary and refusing all extensions and
betterments.
8. The complete failure of the pub
lie service commission 10 separate
the water from the values in the
capitalization of the utilities and
publish to the state its findings as
TO much capitalization the utili-
Nd have on which to earn
able returns.
commission can Justify its position
: to granting higher rates and curbing
of extensions. but it can not either jus
tify or excuse its failure to eyaluate the
utilities of Indiana.
Since 1913 the state Of Indiana has had
q public service commission inundated
~ law to value every utility in the state.
Today there is not a fixed valuation
placed by the commission on any one
of these utilities, which valuation can be
said to be up to date.
The utility with watered stock IS still
struggling TO pay fixed charges on the
wstered stock.
The utility with a reasonable capitall-
zation is still suffering because Of the
water in its neighbours stock
The good have not been separated from
the bad nor the bad made good.
The public service commission has
failed completely and miSerably 10 carry
49, the provisions of the law that created
It and the people of Indiana have be
come so Disguised with that failure that
they are ready TO abolish the public
service commission.
The demand for the scalp of the com
mission is famed by such exhibitions as
that which recently came to light when
it was discovered that five Indiana util-
tiles in which Gov. Goodrich boosted an
interest were getting revenues from rates
based on. higher valuations than the val
nations on which they were paying taxes.
VALUE ESTIMATED"
FOR RATE MAKING.
The public service commission has
"estimated" their value for rate making
purposes.
The law says they shall be valued
after proper hearing, but the commits
sion has been too busy" doing other
things to fix these values and it prom
ises to continue to be too busy" to value
anything as sacred as a utility in which
Gov. Goodrich and his friends are in
terested. and there is a deep suppression
that this includes about all the utilities
in the state.
Indiana utility patrons as a whole are