The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-07-21
Attorneys for Bell Company
Add to Troubles of P. q. C..
To Test Rights of Shawnee
County District Court.
SUPREME COURT GRANTS WRIT
Arguments on Application To
Be Heard in October.
Injunction Order of District
Court Is Recognized.

| Attorneys for the Southwestern Bell
Telephone company today tied another
knot in the string of troubles of the
public utilities commission in it's eff
forts to secure court recognition of its
orders. The supreme court today
granted an alternative writ of man.
damus directed against Judge o. P.
Fuller of the Cowley county district
court. directing him to proceed in con-
forInity with an order from the Shaw
nee county district court instead of the
plan of the state commission.
Justice John Marshall. who signed
| the alternative writ after two hours
| of argument, acted for the court. Ar
/ guments on the telephone company's
| application for peremptory writ will
be heard in October. In the mean
| time the supreme court recognizes the
| injunction order from the Shawnee
county district court which prevents
! interference with establishment of rate
schedules fixed in six Kansas towns
by the Bell company. Granting of a
lperemptory writ will close the doors
against the public utilities commission
in its effort to seek enforcement of its
orders in various state courts and will
compel it to return to the Shawnee
county court for final action or relief
in appeal to the supreme court.
Controversy Over Rates.
Action today is the result of a long
contention regarding rates in the towns
of Atchison. Eldorado, Arkansas City,
Hutchinson, Lyons and Winfield.
phone employees in these towns in 1920.
Applications for corresponding rate
increases were filed but failed to re-
ceive consideration.
Then the Bell company enjoined in
reference by the commission in estab-
lishment of new rates. That was
March 26, this year. On May 1 the
new rates were made effective. Then
came suits to enjoin these rates in
Hutchinson, Arkansas City and Win
field. The telephone company secured
orders in the supreme court staying
the judgments of the lower courts.
In May the utilities commission
heard evidence in the rate cases af
fecting the six towns. A month latel
it made an order charging witnesse:
for the telephone company will
moral perjury" and making sligh
| changes in four of the seventy-thre
schedules in effect in the six towns
The next day it sought a writ of man
damus in the Cowley county distric
court to compel the Bell company t.
maintain it's old rates or adopt thu
new schedule fixed by the commission
: fWould Not Produce More Revenue
This action. J. w. Gleed told Justice
Marshall today, resulted in the thirC
evasion of the injunction of the Shaw
nee county district court. He told th'
court that the state commissions or
der in June would not produce more
revenue than the old schedules ant
. that the opinion dictated by Clyde NJ
Reed as chairman of the commission
, was IAN evasion of the letter of the
Shawnee county district courts IN
Junction"
Gleed also told tie court today tha'
: the commissions order fixed rate;
which are species merely and no
, made in good faith, but a mere sub
terfuge, changed by a hair only in al
effort to evade the letter of the in
, junction and to ignore the judgment
of the district court" Further "tha
the order when read in the light o.
the opinion of the commission evince.
} existence of prejudice and a clear at
: tempt at subterfuge and evasion"
! The action by the Bell company
5 follows a general tendency displayed
/ recently by public utilities commits
= sions to appeal their rate cases to thu
2 state and federal courts. AS a resul
2 the state commission has been over
ruled or tied up in practically ever,
/ important case heard since the las
session of the state LEGISLATURE