The border vidette., 1932-08-06
THE ARIZONA CORPORATION
COMMISSION

was organized coincident with
Statehood on February IA, 1912
Constitutional and statutory
law have set up seven different
departments which it conducts,
namely. Secretarial; Rate or rail
road; Utility; Insurance; Incorp
Grating; Motor Vehicle, and
Investment. There is not an
other state in the Union where
all Of these duties have been
imposed upon one department.
10 most states there are two or
three, and in some instances four
Commissions doing the work
which We handle.
During the twenty year period
since Statehood the legislatures
have appropriated 81 100000 II
for the maintenance of the Com
mission. Not all of this was
spent. some reverting each year.
During the same period the Com
mission collected and turned
into the State Treasury in fees
81, ,173. .999.98. Thus it will be
seen that we have collected aud
turned into the treasury an
average of $l40,698.99 per year
in excess of tne cost Of opera
ton. an aggregate of $2.813.979 :
90 in excess of the cost of opera.
ton for the entire period. The
tax burdens Of the people have
been directly reduced by almost
Three Million Collars as a result
of our labors.
We have conducted investiga
tiops and hearings and substan
TALLY reduced electric. gas and
water rates in Phoenix. Prescott,
Kingman, Winslow, Yuma, Tenn
pc, Globe, Miami, Clifton, Nor
ency, Tucson. Bisbee Douglas
aud Nogales. We have many
times refused advances request
ed by the Utilities. Through in
formal proceedings twenty two
reductions 10 Phoenix aloue have
been esta blished since February
/, 1925.
Since March Is. 1920 we have
obtained reductions in trasports.
ton charges-freight, passenger
and express whereby our people
have saved Four and Ooe Half
Millions Dollars Annually.not
for one year, but successive
years continuing, at the present
time aggregating to date more
than Twenty Five Million Dol
lars. The indirect taxes-just as
much a burden as the direct
taxes-of our people have been
reduced by exactly that amount.
In obtaining these decisions the
representatives of this Commits
sion had to do battle against
from three to ten railroad at
torneys in each case. whose
salaries ranged from ten thous
ands to fifty thousand dollars
each per annum.
The interest alone on these
savings, capitalized at the small
rate Of six percent, would be
$27O, 900 90 per year, more than
three times the cost of maintain
ing the Commission in all its de
partments.
Arizona was the only state in
the Union to escape the twenty
Eve per cent increase in freight
charges in livestock, ore and its
products, sand and gravel. and
milk and cream, authorized by
the Federal Commission on intra
state traffic in Ex Parte "a in
1920.
All of the above figures and
facts are of record before this
Commission and the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and are
susceptible of check and proof
Three of the major industries
Of the state have been saved
from bankrupcy, or almost that,
by the actions of this Commis
sions. They are Apache Powder
Company of Cochise county,
Tovrea Packing Company of
Maricopa county. and the lu @ ber
mills of northern Arizona. We
think they will tell you that ex
cept for the help we gave them
they would, in all probability have
been forced to close down years
ago.
the quality of the work of this
Commission has been nationally Y
recognized numerous times. A
member of this Commission has
been called upon by the Inter
state Commerce Commission, and
his fellow state Commissioners,
to sit in q cooperative capacity
with the Federal Commission in