Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1920-01-04
UTILITY c0N||V||sS
|. NOWO|uE Of LARGEST
/. STATE DEPARTMENT.
Engineer and Lawyer ADDED ~
STAFF by Last Legislature
sweeley Succeeds 0rahan1
as Member-o Other Changes.
10 employees IN OFFICE
Important Questions Of Juriss
diction Before Body in 1919
Gases Appealed to su-
preme Court.
IS EMPLOYEES IN OFFICE

Secretary Of the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission.

SeCTetdTy VI the Iui0O f>uDllC Otlllt1cX ~
Commission.
The public utilities commission. oc-
curying 10 rooms in the old Sherman
house is one of the state departments
that has increased in size Rppreciably
during the past year. Until the shift
ing about of state departments prepar-
atory to the tearing down OF the old
statehouse the commission occupied
rooms on the fourth floor of the capt.
tol. To provide a place for tho
commissioner of reclamation Whera
he might keep maps. tracings and
other valuable records in a fireproof
vault and also on account of the fact
that these quarters were not ccmmo-
dtous enough to accommodate the COM s
missions augmented force, the conf
mission movea to its present location.
vacancy existed in the commissiol 4
between the second Monday in Janl
airy, 1919, when the term Of office "a
John w. Graham expired, and the lat
ter part of May. when e. M. sweele'-,
formerly a practicing attorney and
! mayor of Twin Falls, took office. a.
L. Freehafer. president, and George Il.
Erb are the other members OF IN,
commission.
NEW OFFICIALS ADDED
The last legislature made ain an
preparation for an engineering departs
ment for the commission and also IN
cluded in the appropriation for the Of
flee of the attorney general an amount
to provide for an attorney for the com
| mission. w. l.. Gorton. formerly chief
engineer of the Idaho Irrigation conn
pany at Richfield, is at the head of the
engineering department, and Raymond
l.. Givens is the assistant attorney gen.
eral assigned to the commission.
| Leonard Way Is the commission's
rate expert and +. w. Hassan hnp
| charge of the accounting department..
| Including the three commissioners
the present force of the commission
numbers IL.
Under the law the attorney general
is made the legal adviser for the CONF
mission and the commission finds ~
very convenient and satisfactory n
have special attorney assigned to ~,
work.
! Since it's inception the commission
| has felt the need Of an engineer to ass
sist 1t in working out intricate TECH
| nical matters. especially in valuation
eases. but 1t was not until last year
| that the legislature made provision for
an engineering department.
17e CASES FILED
During the reporting yerr ended
June So 1919, the commission had un-
der consideration 20 formal cases and
| 100 cases of an informal nature. Not
| included in these figures are innumer-
! able matters adjusted by the commis-
sion through correspondence or per-
sonal investigation. At the close of the
fiscal year there were pending ~ for
NAL matters and 10 informal. Those
not disposed of were either in prOccs8
of hearing and investigation or await
ing the pleasure of the litigants.
On account of the fact that the major
portion of the lines OF railroad within
! the state are under federal control
! Jurisdiction of the commission over
railroad matters affecting lines cper-
ated by the government has been linn
tied to questions affecting service. tho
supreme court Of the United States
having held that the power Of initiat-
ing intrastate freight rates was with
the president during federal operation
of the roads. and that rates thus 1nt-
| lated are not subject to revision.
| For the purpose of putting rates on
non-federal controlled lines on par
| ity with the rates on lines under fed
! eral control the commission adopted
the practice Of permitting the carriers
whose lines Were not controlled by the
government to put into effect rates TO
conform to those on lines operated ~
the government
RATES LEFT UNDECIDED
Up to July 1, 1919, telephone aM0
telegraph lines OF certain companies
operating within the state were aleo
under the control of the government
When the lines were released by the
government it was provided that in.I
creased rates made effective under TED :
eral control should be continued until
Dec. 1, 1919, unless sooner read5usto6
by the commission.
COMMERCIAL DIRE 9eMAklN0
L One of the newest undertakings recS
commended by Commissioner Bryan onG
approved and authorized by the state