OCR Text |
Show mimn EIMnlL Public Ut:::iies Co ion Teke CjcU I Step in Filing Answ. r t j Injunction TrocccJ' j STILL HOPE TO ' ENFCrXC RATr.3 Attorney ' General f ;j Board Ma J a Ir:' r 1 Study of Corr - v' C -.--tentionsnd U.S. i c; i After- nearly thirty nnl., f watting for refun Is on r 1 r-resslve r-resslve telephone charges a-. u ,1 t.y the publla utilities cmmlee March it, mi, telephone r,-!rm.!i In thia stats win not r,r.v Bn such refund under the -r., f Bn enswer tn sn anien.iel ,.,,.,, ,,.,( filed by Harvey Jl. I mfr, n i v general lor Utah m the f- . I riot u. . nwr rr-llpf unuirht t y i , . tain Htt Telephone r j . .-Braph .-Braph company n lnj i- -i t ce-Mlltssn brought In 1 1. u. courts) in, in tlm rruiiM. v - . j , th public liT!lttln c. f r. of htuid. The mmm ,, A . ver, to enfnrm p . , , t the order to m. - - i -ome rtMpet:'. a of a-, i i, l.:ndr e mip'j ui'"n .!.. t . i Attorney frfn.'ial ( h,rft mm mr-i tor the public nn n.i n--. . i nd thn ciin'l f.-r pn t- t company, the laft-r i- to file an smewl.,! r. n !.,, ; ,v . the same time Air. (' i,?r ' . i the answer r-''Ted to k i a motion for il.ntn;-. 1 1. pers were p...,.,, ,., in .! nun I. J.-h V. : Johnson ft it . .i-n ,?.! t i- s but denl.l me i-..,..,m f.r . . ( snd ths case wtil be , ,,l , ,. ting at the regular ru:e u.t- .- day. MANY AFFECTED. Secrecy eormnnH. i te !..-. Vetopment n ih,. i w h anld In H''!r'.'I n"'i I' , i sny ot h. r I :t.e e . r ( .. l , . , toe tetppin.ne c'.f'.-i!, v.i , - tlon, tb.ie are j .-r-. . i.i l lket':tvn"... (lv-i i In tine i . , , Orden. Ii.h i.'v. a. end throui.ruint tbe ... n . h fected directly by the oulcoir.w, It .s aalil. Itlffirultles encountered by f1-Mountain f1-Mountain Mmri '1 .-,,tiolv n . Telegraph with sn l,..-r i o. s in I smaller towns of r-., , t Im c....ii j several months, wti.-tt i.-' Hu-i wi the residents there t rown.j t... r telephones Into the s'r,. t a., I t. t-Inc t-Inc down ctt ble conic.-' .or . ri'i , . i . T fur their orimn to toe f ...,.v of the present r.,e J i u ( tie. clerk of the I'nlte.i h-ht here, refused to iim i a . .... to the files In the cane, its r I hie sltttufte sa bs.ed on a to,,ru..-i "given the man who f.ied tin... ropers." ro-pers." that he would kep !toni r.. -n buhlle notice until sttee ti., m. ... had been finally d i.i',"'l of. CLERK BACKS DOWN. Only when he Irarned thru Jmkh Johnson waa (reins; mur-it t ri a view to Securing h'a om-r f the, clerk to oien the file- rti I , .-. .,, from hla position and pcnii.t i.i to the case Terrna of the anKr to thm amended compiaint moi fy ,m a hat the prt rous onler f the u m-ties m-ties commiasinn as reKnr.ia iw r.tte in the HollidHv vlimrht. It n-r,Lnc n-r,Lnc (hi comriiisnifm i hehff d it otherwise the pvioUs orfir shum-l hold, but annexes a further ordf-r that the rate schedule hv the com mis a inn tahould be effective frorn April 1. 1;3. thus eltrnlnadiiic thn retroactive feature of the oiiKntal order. Attorney General Cluff, drllninr to he ouoted .hi the matter nt suggesting that any comnx .t should lusue from the public u; titles ti-tles commlMion, explained that U:e effect of the new order, ieuitirs t.f which la prom teed In the answer, would be to eilminaie (h refund features of the nii,r irmed in IS 2 1. Thia be said wan rine f"r two reasons, because of further examination ex-amination and invf ttp.i hv the commission Into the iiir-nt" of ih telephone conpany's mr,t.t un, rt.nl because a United tSraf-t m .r .m court declalon since the or l ti or-Contlnued or-Contlnued on page i . PHONE USERS ; (Continued from Page I.) der l..o ueelaietl such rstroactlvs orders Illegal. . ORIGINAL ORDER ABANDONCO. Tha attorney general's attention was called to tha faet that tha promised new order would ba retroactive retro-active to April 1. and that In any case tha original order only held In suspension during rehaarlnga ind appeala for federal court protection, protec-tion, could not ba interpreted as retroactive so fsr as time elapsing since Its issue nee Is concerned. He explained that ths commission abandoned Its original order and would not hold tha telephone company com-pany to tha reduced rata elapsed sines Its issuance, because of In- I formation brought to light In tha further investigations made in tha Interim. Historically tha case Is one that haa occasioned wlds Interest whenever when-ever It has been brought forward by developments In Us proxreee i through the coute. It originated j when tha telephone company in HI made application to tha ullUtlee j commlaalon to continue In force tha telephone rates fixed by Postmaster Postmas-ter General Burleeon under govern, ment control. Tha government I turned the telephone Unas back toi prlvsta ownership on December J.I Protestants fought tha Issue and Insisted thst the telephone company com-pany ba compelled to reduce rales considerably tn all ot ths surround- i Ing communities. After months of. hearings and deliberations tha commissions, com-missions, oa. March 2t. 1K1. ordered J tha telephone company to reduce i Its rates from Burleeon sehsdule as of December 1, Il, and to recalculate recal-culate Its accounts bark to December Decem-ber 1, and refund the differ-ence differ-ence to the Individual subscribers overcharged. ORDER HOLDS 0000. To this order the telephone company com-pany made application for a rehearing rehear-ing by the commission, the order of March It ta ba held In suapsnslon pending further flndlnge, . which was granted April 14. till. After a rehearing tha commlaelon adhered to tta previous order. Then the telephone company petitioned tha United mates dls-, trlct court for a writ of Injunction ts prohibit theutllllles commission.) Its members Individually and col-, lectively. Attorney Oeneral Cluff and Governor alabey from putting Into affect tha terms of the order. Tha temporary writ waa granted and made returnable at a data to ba fle4 later. Bo far no dats has been fixed for tha arguments on the Injunction. At tha last rule and motion day. tha last Saturday of July. Judge Johnson called this eaaa for sotting. sot-ting. Whsn nslther side sppeared ready. Judge Johnson ordered the setting to go over until the rule, and motion day this month, which falls tomorrow, when It wss to be either set for hearing or dlemlssed. NEW COMPLAINT PIRMITTEOJ In tha meantime counsel of the telephone company and state of-flclsla of-flclsla parleyed tha metier. As a reeult they agreed to tha stipulation stipula-tion permitting an amended complaint com-plaint to ha filed by the telephone company, to which the slate'a Un-swer Un-swer waa ready before tha new complaint had been filed. They were filed together Wednesday, and Clark Christie promised, he said, to keep tha matter aulst antll aftef the case had been settled. ' Kstimates on the refunds accruing ac-cruing to Individuals between the datee of December 1. ll. end March I. Mil. place tha aggregate at more than lioo.ooa. Charges over tha re tea fixed by the commission com-mission order between the dates of March I. l:i. and April 1. Mil, will Increase this amount dus. If tha original order waa enforced, en-forced, by a ooneldereble amount. Judge Johnson's denial of the motion to dismiss means that ths case aa It stands, with the utilities commission committed to a revised and modified program, will go toj a hearing on the original petition! for injunction. - |