The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1922-06-22
TELEPHONE
HEARING ON
OCTOBER z
City Officials Meet In Ham
mond Today With Public
Commission Member


of Gary. East Chicago and Whiting
viii remain in effect at least until
October >. That date has been set
for a rehearing before the public
service commission making the pres
ent rates permanent The cities
want the rate reduced to that in eff
feet previous to April l. 1921. The
company wants the rate continued.
Representatives of the three cities
were summoned to Hammond this
morning to confer with Glenn Van
Auken. member of the Indiana public
Service Commission. They agreed to
the October date for the rehearing.
This, In order to await the outcome
of the injunction suit brought by
the City of Hammond against the
Illinois Bell Telephone Company en-
joining it from enforcing the boost
and asking for a rebate to telephone
users of this city. The rebate would
be retroactive to April l. 1921 and
would comprise the difference be-
tween the old Burleson rate and that
in effect at present. Twice removed
on change of venue the suit is now
pending in the LaPorte superior
court. 1t is held in abatement await
ing the appointment of a judge to
succeed the late Judge John Gala
CHER.
Representatives of the three cities
still fighting for a reduction of
phone rates before state commission
found themselves this morning be-
tween the devil and the deep sea.
They compared notes and found that
their constituents while demanding
an audit be made independent of that
conducted by the commission are re-
luctant to appropriate money through
their city councils to employ COM
petent auditors and engineers. With
adjournment of the meeting il was
virtually agreed to rely upon the
audit of the commission unless a
tri-city investigation could be made
of the companys properties and
books
Mayor Johnson of Gary. appeared
in the interests of his city. He was
accompanied by his city attorney.
John Patterson Former Mayor
Hodges and Jack Warner. new sec
retary of the Gary Association of
Commerce were present also. Mr..
Hodges insisted that a date for the
rate hearing be set. Don't daily"
he urged. Mayor Johnson was ada
mant in his belief that the cities
should rely on figures supplied by
the public service commission. He
nh a1I ~ P,-fc
sey. of East Chicago. and City At
torney Frank Duggan OF Whiting.
The Telephone company was rep
resented by a corps OF lawyers. en-
gineers and experts.
Mr.. Brissey, energetic city attor-
ney of East Chicago. shook his brist-
ling locks and fiercely leaped to the
defense of the mayors of Whiting,
East Chicago. Gary and Hammond.
when Glenn Van Auken. member of
the public service commission raised
an inquiring eyebrow relative to the
outcome of the four-city fight on the
united public utilities last fall The
pow-wow broke up following a fill
buster meeting at a lake front fish
resort 1t will be recalled This, af-
ter 1t was decided to lay the whole
thing up to the mayors of the four
cities They were to call meeting
to confer and to outline a plan of
battle against the gas. light. heat,
water and telephone moguls But
they never did Mr.. Van Auken Won
dered AS has been said he raised
an inquiring eyebrow. Then:
We'll. I'll tell you. Mr.. Van Auken
what the matter was. You see the
reason why the mayors didn't meet
was this: We've got a lot of modest
mayors up here. They are modest
They don't like to push themselves
forward So each sat back awaiting
the call of the other. Consequently
none of them sought the initiative to
call a conference. Too modest Our
mayors were too modest, sir, that
was the reason"
So ended Mr. Brissey's defense
And the galleries responded. AYE
ave.