The people's voice., 1957-02-22

dlYldual increase of $3.50 in three an(
One-half years. The 32-47 per cent rat'
increases were approved in face of in
vestigatiOn by private rate experts
which conclusively proved that at mos
MPCo. should not have been granted
more than an So per cent increase.
The 21-56 per cent increase granted
Montana-Dakota Utilities by the com
mission-again without Investigation
against INDUS gas consumers in the
Billings area is costing those utility
patrons $250,000 annually. Since there
was no investigation by the commits
sion to determine whether or not the
higher rates requested by MDU were
needed, there are definite grounds for
questioning whether that rate increase
was justified.
The 25 per cent plus rate increase
granted Mountain States Tel. & Tel,
with little or no investigation, annual
ly is costing telephone patrons ST.
2S5, 600 in increased charges. There
is no way of determining, under pres
ent Public Service Commission pro-
cedure, whether a single cent of the
increase granted MST&T was justified.
WHY H6 221 WAS DRAFTED
1t was because the Public Service
commission had become so flagrantly
derelict in its statutory duty to pro-
tect consumers against unreasonable
rate increases by private utilities that
he above quoted portion of Democratic
platform was drafted.
1t was the commissions dereliction
which brought on introduction of HB
921 by Rep. Claude Gray (D-Sweet-
yrass). Gray's home community of
Big Timber, like upwards of thirty
,ther cities and towns served by Mon
ana Power gas division, has been hard
lit by the 1858 rate increases. To stop
uch Onslaughts on the peoples purse
n future, Gray proposed under HB
21, that
The commission :" be guided by
he revenue requirements of the pub
c utility :" and "the commission |
lust, from it's own investigation and |
II the evidence before it, take into
in making it's order the
awful annual operating expenses of
ne public utility, the capital invest
tent, and the costs of the capital en-
arked in the public utility or similar
ublic utilities. Any rate order made
y the commission which returns rev.
lue to the public utility in excess of
le revenue requirements of such pub
c utility, determined in accordance
ith the provisions of this section,
lall be deemed unlawful and unrea-
Dnable." (
The Gray bill represented an honest
fort to put into law the pledge given ]
: the Democratic party to the people
9fore the 1856 General Election !
xCUSES DO NOT EXCUSE
Some Democratic members of the !
ouse, in attempting to explain their T
eaking faith with their constituents,
We been quibbling over the wording !
HB 221, and are contending the bill
- A1Cb PAOpOlAJ vi cIW IL ALI OuNh |
atements are excuses and nothing
ore. HB 221 was in committee a con- {
lerable length Of time. If it had bad
OTIS in it, amendments could easily
We been offered and inserted So far G.
we know, none were as of last s.
lursday when the bill came before v
g House and was killed on 44-44 tie r
te. Rather than excuses, if there is D
lme to be placed for an overwhelm- W
sly Democratic House (59-35 mar cj
y failing to carry through a prime 81
int in its party platform, the re- Il
for failure must in large "A
gree rest upon the leadership. d
Herewith are the two roll calls taken al
HB 221. The roll call Thursday was OF
motion to adopt do pass" mi
'ity report by Rep. Gray and five H