State v. Southern Bell Telephone and Telegram Company

HARWOOD, Justice.

We are here confronted with litigation that has dragged its way through the processes of the Alabama Public Service Commission, the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, and the Supreme Court of Alabama for over eight years.

The interests of the rate payers, of the Southern Bell Telephone Company, and of the State of Alabama demand that' this liti gation be concluded. As observed by the trial court in its decree: “Thus for over six years since the Company filed its application for increased rates, this matter is still unsettled and in litigation. The public does not know what…