The Monmouth inquirer. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1865-1933, 1923-06-28
FARE REPORT TO
Be CONTESTED
Utilities Board and Cities Will
Take Exception to Haight's
Recommendations.
FILE BRIEFS WITH COURT
New Jersey Prisoners to Make Auto
Tags for vlrginia--state Receives
Contract for 100000 Pairs Of
Motor Vehicle License Plates.

Trenton. exceptions to the report
of Special Master Thomas G. Haight
fog the United States District Court in
the Injunction proceedings Of Public
Service Railway Company against the
Public Utility Commission will be pre-
pared at a conference Of counsel for
the commission and interested munich
palities. The conference will probably
take place at the board rooms in the
Kinney building, Newark.
L. Edward Herman, special counsel
for the commission. at his office in
Jersey City said he could not indicate
the nature of exceptions which will be
made, as only matters of policy have
been considered up to the present
time. The meeting with the commits
sion was simply to determine the pol
icy of the board, he added, rather than
to outline the character of the legal
fight which it is proposed to make
against the masters findings Of confis-
cation.
After the proposed conference with
his colleagues H. Sommer,
counsel for Newark, and George L.
Record for Jersey City, Paterson and
other municipalities Mr.. Herman
declared, statement will be given to
the press by the full counsel
Federal Jurisdiction
The question of Federal Jurisdiction
was the only one discussed by the
board in the statement of policy is
sued In announcing its purpose to
oppose the confirmation OF the report
before the Federal court and if neces-
sary to take an appeal to the United
States Supreme Court" the commits
sion stated:
THE board feels that the policy Of
State regulation is at stake. If judge
of a Federal Court can set aside the
acts of the board, and in effect fix a
rate, as was done in this case, the leg
islative power of rate fixing is at an
end"
This question of Federal jurisdiction
was discussed in some detail by Mr..
Haight, in his report, the special mas
ter expressing the belief that the rea-
son for the appeal to the Federal Court
was generally misunderstood. In a
chapter on General Rules of Law, he
says:
"In view of the public interest in
this case, and what l think is a gem
eral misconception on the part of the
public of the reason why a Federal
Court has taken jurisdiction thereof, I
feel that reference should be made to
some general rules of law applicable
to this kind of case.
Fair Return
"The plaintiff is entitled to earn
fair return upon the fair or reason
able value of it's property devoted to.
the public use Except as may be
qualified by the reasonable worth Of
the service feature, hereinafter dis
cussed), and any rate of fare pre-
scribed by the State OF an agency
thereof which fails to produce such a
return would effect confiscation of
its property in violation of the Four
teenth Amendment of the Federal
Constitution.
when the jurisdiction Of Federal
Court is invoked on the ground that
such a rate is confiscatory, the court
has no discretion in the matter, but
must entertain the suit, and If it finds
the rate confscatory it must enjoin
its enforcement. AS was said by the
United State Supreme Court in Will
cox VS. Consolidated Gas Company.
"'There is no discretion or comfy
about it. When a Federal court is
properly appealed to in case over
which it has by law jurisdiction, it is
it's duty to take such jurisdiction
"Free From Doubt"
THE Federal Court, however, will
not set aside or enjoin the enforce
ment of rates prescribed by state
or an. agency thereof. except in clear
cases or, as it is sometimes expressed,
those reasonably free from doubt
"As a corollary of this rule, it seems
to me that all intermediate questions
of fact, about which there is a real
doubt should be resolved against the
plaintiff. I have been governed in
arriving at my conclusions by such
rule
1.-THE value of the plaintiffs proper
ty which is to be used for determining
whether the rate complained of is
confiscatory is not the original cost
OF such property, but the value there's
of at the time Of inquiry, or, in other
words, present value.
Insofar as present value may rep
resent appreciation over original cost
due to general increase in prices of |
labor and materials, the basing of a
rate upon present value does nothing
more than compensate the utility cor
poration for the decrease which has
taken place in the purchasing power
of dollar
A number of citations are given in
support of the four rules OF law.
Auto Tags for Virginia
Inmates of the New Jersey State /
Prison will be engaged in the near flu
ture in the manufacture of 240, 900 pairs