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Show UNITED STATES FUEL IS WINNER IN POWER CASE ni&ENT COURT ORDER FAVORS THE COAL COMPANY. Decision of tbe Public Utilities Cora-mission Cora-mission of UUli Denying Hearing On Contracts Is Resisted By Largest IJatron of Numerous Ones In tho .Carbon County Fields. - ell Tlio United Stntos Smelting, Honn-ing. Honn-ing. nnd Mining -company nnd tho Unpcd States Fuel compnnv on Wed-nos,4n Wed-nos,4n Isst nt Snlt Lnke Ci obtain-cd obtain-cd from the supremo court of Utah n wnt of ctrtiornn d reeled to the pub-liopitihties pub-liopitihties commission 1n what aro kngvn ns tho "sitcHnl contract pow-or pow-or msm," so fnr ns Ihev offeot the tvw romtMiups Tho writ wss mndo rcuimnble on December lflth, next, winch mesiis that tindsr tho nilo of tu2 -ourt the mslter will lie nr-84' nr-84' st 1 lint I ime However, it is, bepovel Hint the I'tnlt Copiw Min-nnd Min-nnd ..in ( i two others, will Ink stmi InwKt u nirninst tho comrihwon In ' Iny 'ent the simreiue court miy se , tSm r dale for the hfsnng of nil the cosjcs st the KHine time The order of thciiinl t oh commission denying n re-bonring re-bonring in the swor contrnnt ons wot Msned nhout November 10th, nnd thejr inpnnips interosteil hn,ve thirty dn?s under the law in wlf eh to nnply foM r ts of n view Hoversl have been exik'ted to take sueh notion, nnd it is beljrved 'hut some intend, if neetw-snrj, neetw-snrj, to fight the ease through to tho jiunrwile court of tho United hlntes. Ills quite probable, also, that the Utill Power nnd Light emiwnv, vvhjJ, wlulo teehnieallv i deftndnut lit flic proceed ngs beforo the com inilir n, found Itself opiHwd tu vnch (& i e other defendants, would tnke ISF" to the United Stntos supretne V. -'d the Unh ltody ilectdo tigsinst the commission. Tho n rootling rootl-ing now in quotum wns initiated hv the utilities commission when it order ord-er cd tho holders of about fiftj -seven spceinl contracts with the I'tnh Power nnd Lght to hoiwst before the com-mission com-mission to jut(t the terms of those eonlraots. Tho commission's order wns to the effect that the rates mentioned men-tioned in (In- contracts npnesred to be preferential nnd discnmitiutnry Long and Delayed. Tho hearing was n long one nnd was delujcd by n pervious apwal to the supremo court lij two Ogden cement wmpanios, which contended that tho eoiumission hnd no nght to Iustittito sueh proceeding. Tho supremo eourt, however, refused tolssito nny writ of iiroldbitioii, mid tho hwtnng wns held lieforo tho uUlitios eommnmiou. Tlutt liody deolded that tho nttus in inu4i-cully inu4i-cully nil tho con tracts wero preferential, preferen-tial, nnd ordcrvd thnt thu contract holdors bo plated, as to tho rates in their contracts cm tho basis provided bv tho commtu ' reguur sohedulus for sen ieo s inilur to thnt reeeiv ed li the rospectlvo oustomers holding sw-einl sw-einl contracts. Thu dmiHion, if up- I held, would ruiso the revenues of the j I tali Power nnd Light eoinwny ap- I proximately $1,000,000 n jesr. The I nited Status Smelting coniMiiy holds a contract with the iower coiiisn at n rata considerably lower than the Isdiodulo rate, and the contrutt is re voknble hy either mrt on six months' natieo. Tho United Stntes Fuel com- jpnny holds n tun ear eontnut wdh the power cuuimu, wlneli still has - vend j oars to run 'Ilia rate, how-ever, how-ever, doos not differ so widely liom the schedule rate. In thu petition for a wnt of certiorari, counsel for the two companiog nlloged thnt tlio commission com-mission did not givo full force mid of-lut of-lut to the proviso in the law creating tlio commission, which wns to the ef- iitt that the existing contracts found b tho coiumUsion nt tho timu it wns tormed should not he allured if they lontnned ndequnio consideration mid wero lawful when made. The petition also alleged thnt the contracts were entered into ns a result of n special u moderation of value to the powti tompan), justifying the low rate ut iwhieh power wns to bo delivered tin dcr tho contract. In tho case of the .smelting companj this wns, according to evlduncQ prosented to tho commis-hum commis-hum ut the honriiig, tho giving up of nu option to purchnso nn old Mill I reek power pfnnt nnd site. Tho fuol company grouted tho powoi company ( extension of its poworliiios ovei tho fuel copipany's prajwrtj. This is held io lo ft valuable property right Beyond Its Power. Tho third ground on which tho writ of ccrtorari wns indeed is ono in which M it is thought several of tho other con- tract holders will bo interested It is that tho commission, in ordering tho comMuiHs to go n standard schedule, is noting hevoud its isiwer in that it is taking w) proiiert) without due process of law, mm is nttumptiug lo impmr the oliligtvtion of existing con-t con-t rants Some ol the i out rait holders ss) thev are not quite clesr in ine ih)WIihssichi's deeisioii ss to w hither the iNimmiastiHi is nlirogsting tbe exist ex-ist ng cuntraeJS oi is nrdenng the c us-toiiiers us-toiiiers to W) more for their power than is required under the teims of tlio contract It is contended that to mmtinue the existing eontinels in effect, ef-fect, but lo rase the rates therein might result in ruinous losses to the eontraet holders, mid would be espoe iall), in that cues, the taking of prop enty without due process ot law The terms of lawiul existing contracts are also protected h) clauses hi both federal fed-eral mid state constitutions. All thu ooul eoiiiHiiues tqierating in Carlton count), with the exception of the Utah Fuel, are Im.ving eleetne juice from the Utah Power and Light eompini) Several ure threatening to put in thti own plants it rates are raised to mi) oxtent. |