Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-03-14
The Telephone Case

Former Governor H I'm ar
Petersen rendered radio address
on what he termed, "a Roman
Holiday in the st. Paul Telephone
Case" over KSTP and WEBC
Saturday. Much has been said,
it appears for political thunder"
against the two Farmer-Labor
members on the Railroad &
Warehouse Commission Mr..
Petersen and Charles Munn-and
the address was a straight-frOm-
the-shoulder presentation of facts
which every one should know
about. Therefore the address is
published in its entirety as fol-
lows:
If ever a public matter was made
a political football, it is the telephone
rate cast in the ST. Paul metropolitan
area now pending before the Min
nesota Railroad G. Warehouse Com
mission. It is high time that the
public know the facts, for the press
is deliberately misleading its readers.
On May 2, 1889, the Commission
issued an order, which has become
known as the compromise telephone
order. 1t became effective June l.,
1899, and lowered the prevailing rates
in the metropolitan areas of st. Paul
and Minneapolis to the extent of a
million dollars, per year. In addi-
ton to that, the order provided for
n rof,,pd Of oy,nroyiro folu two mil
lion dollars to ST. Paul subscribers,
based on the 1886 order, which never
became effective, and was still in the
courts This two million dollar re-
fund has been paid, and the savings
on rates are in effect.
The 1889 order was also taken to
court. The Minneapolis reductions
were allowed to stand. st. Paul re-
funds were allowed, but st. Paul
rates are in dispute. Now, the tele-
phone company is before the Com
mission on a petition for increased
rates over the 1889 order in ST. Paul
The Tri-State Telephone & Tele-
graph Company agreed to drop the
pending appeal to the U. S. Supreme
Court on the 1886 order. A stipula-
ton to that effect was executed by
the attorney general of the state
This stipulation was signed by the
city attorney of st. Paul. This stip-
ulation was also signed by the city
attorney of South ST. Paul.
Practically all the telephone sub
scribers concerned were satisfied with
the rate order of 1889, but, as any
one familiar with such procedure
knows, there are usually some engi-
neers, attorneys and politicians who
want telephone investigations, public
hearings, rate orders and court litiga-
ton to go on indefinitely.
Injunction proceedings were
brought in st. Paul in May, 1899,
against the compromise order, by two
outside attorneys, Arthur LeSeuer of
Minneapolis, and David J. Erickson
of Mankato Two ST. Paul telephone
subscribers were their clients. An
other affair handled by the same two
attorneys in May, 1889, was an custer
proceeding against the three commits
sioners and filed in the governors
office. That petition was signed by
two Minneapolis subscribers. But,
let it be noted that the official action
of the city of Minneapolis was to go
before the court and plead that the
1899 order be upheld. Attorney Le-
Seuer probably had an ak to grind.
Outside of those few individuals, the
Commission had received no COM
plants from the $4,000 subscribers
in the Twin City area.
It is time to tell little of the back
ground in all this political maneuver-
ing.
While governor in 1886, appointed
Vince A. Day district judge in Henne-
pin county, and William A. Ander-
son, former Minneapolis mayor,
municipal judge. LIE Seuer was an
applicant for both positions. My sue
cessor appointed LeSeuer municipal
Judge, but he was defeated at the
next election, while both of my ap-
pointees, Day and Anderson, were
elected, the latter with the highest
vote ever recorded for any candidate
in the history of Minneapolis. l ac-
cept the blame for not appointing
LIE Seuer, but 1 cannot be blamed for
the voters not wanting him.
The desire on the part of LIE Seuer
and Erickson for fat fees was revealed
when they asked the district court
for $50, 264 in the st. Paul telephone
case. Obviously, this is one of the
reasons for their great interest in the
telephone controversy. The net re-
cult ,r1ac that the huge hill WAS re-.