Evening star., 1934-04-11
REDUCTION IN SALARIES
THREATENS TO CRIPPLE
UTILITIES COMMISSION

UTILITIES COMMISSION
Continued From First Page.)
the letter said, the valuation of the
company's regulated and their gross
incomes have increased almost three
fold.
Plans for Next Year.
Mr.. Elgen said the commission had
expected to utilize its engineering and
accounting staff next year to investi-
gate depreciation matters of the CheS-
apeake g. Potomac Telephone Co, a
probe which he expected might re-
suit IN the reduction of telephone
charges here by s350,000 annually.
We will be almost entirely at the
mercy of the telephone company with
such staff as provided by the ap-
preparation" the letter said. Other
Investigations which the reduction
would cripple Mr.. Elgen listed as one
into the routing of street railways;
a sliding scale arrangement for gas
rates: the depreciation rate for the
Capital Transit CO, and the rate base
of the Potomac Electric Power Co.
Property in Rate Base.
The power company investigation,
he said. was to determine the extent
to which property no longer used and
useful in the public service is now
included In the rate base. For every
million and a quarter dollars worth
of such property discovered. he said,
there would be saving to the people
in electric light rates equal to the
entire annual appropriation for the
commission.
Elgen said that the commission
is not adequately stated now and
we would have asked for more money
this year if we had not been informed
that such request would not be hon.
ored.'
There are 81 employees on the COM
missions salary rolls, including two
members Of the commission aid the
peoples counsel. (The third member
of the commission is the Engineer
Commissioner, whose salary does not
come out of the commissions appro-
priation.) OF these 81. three are
statutory positions. requiring appoint
ment by the President and confirma-
ton by the Senate. Their pay is fixed
and cannot be cut except through the
operation OF law. The pay OF these
three officials amounts to $2O,250
After paying them there is left in the
salary appropriation. carried by the
bill. S29, ,750 to pay the salaries OF the
commissions % other employees.
Here are few combinations
worked out hurriedly by the commits
sion's staff. to show what might hap
pen in attempts to get along on this
sum.
Twelve Would Lose Jobs.
If the entire Engineering Bureau
we're dismissed that would effect a
saving Of only $28,782. cost IL per-
sons their jobs and leave the city
without any check on street-car con-
ditions. gas pressures. electric-meter
tests for a year. 1t would preclude the
presentation OF any engineering data
by the commission anywhere in con-
nection with local public utilities
prevent any inspection OF taxicabs ano
still would not save quite enough to
meet the salary slash.
If it were decided to wipe out the
Accounting Bureau, there would be
a saving Of only $18.360. costing six
people their jobs and permitting no
check on any of the financial trans
actions Of the public utilities COM
panies in the District whatsoever. Ii
the clerical forces were to go seven
persons would lose their jobs in order
to save 1922. and the engineers, ac-
countants and the Commissioners
themselves would do all Of their own
correspondence. message carrying, Of
fee bookkeeping. filing, and spend
what time they had left over con-
ducting public affairs.
Many Would Be Eliminated.
What will probably be done. if the
bill becomes law. is to eliminate the
greater portion OF the engineering
staff. the accounting staff and the
clerical forces. retaining enough only
to attend to the sketchiest of routine
transactions. to keep records of what
the utilities are doing in a financial
and engineering way without investi-
eating the correctness of the records
filed by the utilities.
Discussing the prospects for utility
regulation under such a skeletonized
set-up, Mr.. Elgen said:
I'VE have not a sufficient force at
present to perform all of the duties
required of us by the public utilities
act. We would have asked for more
employees this year, but we we're given
to understand that no additional en-
ployes would be permitted in the
budget. so We asked only for our
present force.
Nov. if we are going to have to
reduce this small force more than so
per cent. which is what it looks like
now, it would be utterly impossible to
attend to any save the most routine
transactions. One thing the commits
sion did ask for was an amendment
to paragraph ~ Of the utilities act,
which permits us to assess the costs
of valuation proceedings against the
utility companies.
Suit Pending.
"The street car companies took the
position that this section applied only
to the costs Of those proceedings be-
fore the commission, and not before
the courts, and we have q suit pend
ing against them for the costs in
court of the case in which they sue
ceeded In increasing the fares to 10
cents. II that case should 60 against
us it would be impossible to take any
valuation case to court.
Under the law as it stands we
may conduct a valuation case and
charge the costs against the utility
affected. but as soon as we had done
that, If the utility appealed to the
court. we would be practically help
less, not having money for the hiring