The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1923-06-07
ORDER OF INCREASE FOR
PHONE RATES ILLEGAL
Attorney General Gives Clear State
ment OF Reasons for Recent Ac-
ton on Phone Rates.

In statement addressed to the
people of Mississippi and released
for publication this week, Attorney
Generay Clayton ID. Potter sets
forth in clear language his reasons
and grounds for filing a writ Of
certiorari i'm the recent increase in
rates granted the Cumberland Tele-
phone Company by the Mississippi
Railroad Commission.
The statement follows:
ITO the people of Mississippi:
My attention has ben called to ad-
verse criticisms of my action IN
filing a petition for writ of certiora-
ri in the matter of the Cumberland
Telephone Company's increase in
RACES. / will, therefore, briefly
state my reasons for filing this suit.
ION the ninth day of December,
1922, the Cumberland Telephone
Company obtained, by comprom-
Use agreement, an increase in their
rates amounting to about $25O,OOO
per annum, being two-thirds of the
amount of increase asked for by
them.
This order of increase was in
my opinion illegal and void, both
in form and in substance, and the
Cumberland Telephone Company
knew it, First. it was illegal be-
cause one of the considerations
for their right to charge a portion
Of their subscribers an additional
exchange rate totaling about $780,
600 per month was a payment OF
$4,000 into the State treasury.
of the inducements of allowing so
great an increase in rate was that
the company would make certain
extensions and improvements, and
it Is in no wise the duty of the
subscribers to pay such rate as
will furnish capital for extensions
and Improvements of a telephone
system. The telephone company is
supposed to furnish its own capital
and the patrons are only required
to pay a reasonable return on such
capital as the telephone company
has invested. Third, the Railroad
Commission did not, as 1t Is bound
to do, in order to make an increase
in rates legal, find as a matter or
fact that the then existing rates
were inadequate and that the new
rate was only reasonable.
"Only two members of the Rail-
road Commission voted for this in
crease in rate Mr.. Alexander, the
third member, voted against the in
crease. But | take it that the two
members who voted for the increase
were unwilling to declare in the
judgment rendered by them that
the new rate would only yield fair
and adequate return on the invest
ment of the telephone company, for
at a former time our circuit courts
having this very matter under con-
sideratiOn, held that the Judgment
of the commission must be set out
that the existing rate did not yield
an adequate return and that the
new rate was only a reasonable
rate The judgment entered did
not show these facts.
"A suit was filed along the same
line as the present suit by T. w.
Elmer at Biloxi. l joined Mr.. Elmer
in the trial of the suit, and it was
there that my attention was direct
ed to the illegality of the order in
creaSing rates. Since the trial OF
that suit / have been reading the
evidence submitted on the two hear
ings before the Railroad Commits
sion on this matter, reading the
authorities and having given the
matter most thoughtful considera-
ton, / am now thoroughly cOnvlnc-
ed that the rate allowed the Cum
berland Telephone Company is both
illegal and eXOrbitant.
'As the order of the Railroad
Commission was dated Dec. 8, 1922
and as there is limitation of six
months on filing petition for writ
of certiorari, it was necessary for
me to act promptly in this matter.
Cumberland DISCUSSES
''The telephone company acts I'M
der various DISCUSSES and names. 1t
pays one company rental on the
telephone instruments. Though its
interstate long distance messages
are carried largely over Cumberland
Telephone Company's wires, the
American Bell Telephone Company
gets the credit for nearly all the
money earned on interstate toll
service. The Western Electric Com
pany furnishes materials, supplies,
etc, to the Cumberland Telephone
Company. All these various and
sundry affiliated companies belong
to the same people. Their whole
object and purpose is to make the