The Topeka state journal., 1922-12-30
HOME RULE fever
Next Legislature Faces Another
Decorated Batch of Bills.
Hand Painted Plans May Not
Stand Up in Operation.
WOULD Be COSTLY To TOWNS
No State Aid in Battles With
the Local Utilities.
Farmer May Lose His Benefits
From Corporations.
WOULD Be COSTLY TO TOWNS
BY A. L. SHULTZ.


ProposaIs for home rule control of
public service corporations VIII draw
a lot of attention in the state Ieglsla-
ture during the next few weeks. Gov
ernor-EIect Davis is seemingly COM
mitted to the program Passage OF
the Iaw-especially in the face of loss
of state control of rail rate making
means fond, sad and last farewell to
the public utilities commission.
The home rule theory is coming to
Topeka this winter dressed like a
Christmas doll. 1t will be offered with
all the striking fancy color and paint
and spangles OF an ltaian 9uoLiee in an
there is a possibility that the plan
may find its way thru the legislature
If the home rule law really passes
Kansas will have more plain and fancy
rates and schedules for utilities tnan
patterns in an aid society quilt.
Public service corporations are not
half worried about the home rule
plan, it seems. 1t will put the rate
making system back to the grand olo
style of a quarter century ago and the
happy community election issues In
volving pool halls, cigaret smoking
and public dances will be lost IN a
whirl wind scramble to control the
rate making power. Naturally when
the utility wins the rates will go up
and when it loses the rates will go
down. If they go up. alright; but II
they go down the good old home town
can hire a flock of high class attor-
neys and try to defend the new sched-
ule in the courts. Right there is
where the home rule theory seemingly
becomes scrambled.
Towns Pay Own Bills.
Successful operation of the home
rule plan will involve several things
other than winning of the city election
for the dear peepul. Once the plain
plug voters win the town mayoraIty
or city commission fight the job will
merely be started. Having reached
that point the dear old home town
property owners might comfortably
settle back in their chairs and pre-
pare for some increased tax levies-
Fighting utility rate cases costs
money And under home rule ap-
pIication every town pays its own bills.
Once the state commission is sue
cessfully bumped on the mead the
towns with local utilities can begin
gathering quotations as to rates which
expert engineers and accountants Will
charge for their services. They can
also prepare to employ few extra
lawyers and absorb some court COSTS
Under the present system the state
commission uses its own engineering,
accounting and legal staffs in rate
cases under its jurisdiction Conse-
auently the state takes over an eX-
pense burden which many commun-
tiles could not and would not afford.
On the other hand the utilities usually
hire their experts by the year A
dozen or two extra rate cases more or
young lives. Salaries which some OF
these experts receive would make the
average country town taxpayers dizzy
for a month. But these experts are
big asset and usually earn their
money. few years of home rule
might have a tendency TO give some
of the communities a practical un-
derstanding of the real worth OF a
good engineer and handy, well
trained accountant
Farmer May Suffer.
While lines for the home rule fight
are being drawn another feature IS
looming on the legislative horizon IL
is the case of Mister Farmer and his
dream of bringing the utility a bit
nearer his home. Under state com
mission orders the farmers nave had
a lot of benefits from the big trans
mission lines. the interurban and the
pipe line companies as well as the
telephone interests But with nome
rule for the cities and the state COM
mission in the discard, every town
would worry about local affairs with
out anyone to sit up nights for the
rural residents. Maybe the idea is one
| of the little jokers in the proposal. J..
Maybe il was so far in the background
that no one-except people who really
watch for that sort of thing-had no.
ticed it. But with a farmer legisla-
ture coming to town and with a farm
er in the governors office the idea
oYF