The New York herald., 1921-11-28
P.S. C. TO COMBINE
PHONE RATE CASES
Series of Hearings to Deter
mine Changes Will Begin
in Albany Tomorrow.
SEEKS STATEWIDE BASIS
Separate Inquiry Into Each
Complaint Means Years Of
Litigation Is Boards View.

Special Despatch to TIE New York HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
Albany. Nov. ~.
Having come to the conclusion that 1t
would take years of litigation to settle
all the pending complaints against tele-
phone rates in this State. the Public
Service Commission will start series of
hearings here on Tuesday on the ques-
tion OF determining phone charges on a
statewide instead Of local area basis.
All the cities and other communities OF
the State have been invited to send rep
resentatives. At present telephone rates
vary in the different parts Of the State
according to the valuation of the conf
panys property and other conditions in
the different localities. The local area
basis for rates was decided on by the
former Public Service Commission. which
believed that the rates fixed in one COM
munity would be determinative in the
various other telephone rates cases. The
present commission believes that method
is impractical.
There are now pending before the COM
mission 1876 complaints against telephone
rates, and In the last two years only
two cases, those Of Buffalo and Syracuse,
have been decided. The new commission
has found that it would have to make
separate investigation for every case and
that according to the progress 1t is now
making 1t would take more than a CEN
tury to settle all the cases before it.
BY the Statewide basis the new commits
sion is Of the opinion that an equitable
rate for telephone subscribers ali over
the State could be found in a compara-
lively short time.
An important question which will en-
ter into the investigation Is the rela-
tionship between the New York Tele-
phone Company and the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph and the Western
Electric Company.
"The New York Telephone Company"
said Commissioner Charles .. BlaSes-
ley, "is by stock ownership or other
wise controlled by the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company to the
extent that its revenues and expenses
are, and have been increased or dimin-
ished by moneys received from or
moneys paid to said American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company under
contracts or agreements not clearly ex-
planned or understood, and because of
which telephone rates may be affected.
There also are certain relationships ex-
listing between the new 1OTh IclepHOHc
Company and a corporation manufac-
turing and supplying telephone equip
ment known as the Western Electric
Company"
He said the relationships between
these companies had become so entan-
gled that a single community finds 1t
impossible to adequately inquire into
patents, joint use of toll lines, division
OF toll charges, rentals and other mat
ters. The Syracuse and Buffalo cases,
he said, have convinced the commission
that the local area theory fails to get
at the real facts. 1t is unduly expen-
slve. obviously productive of protracted
litigation. impracticable and made
quate.
"The financial benefit to the experts
and attorneys engaged may be consid-
erable," he said. but the ultimate cost
to the telephone subscriber and the tax
payer Is an unnecessary burden"
Commissioner Blakesley said that the
New York Telephone Company operates
under a Statewide franchise and rem
ders service of one character through
out the State. It's toll and local ex-
change service are provided through the
same property and appliances. and he
believes that they cannot be separated
without diminution in the value and
convenience OF each.