Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-01-12

| commission be clothed with adequate
! power to determine the ' lue of the
railway properties of the stale and to
] employ such experts as may be re-
| quired to aid in this work.
Public Service Corporations.
A question of the utmost Importance
10 large classes Of our people, com
handing immediate consideration and
! judicious action by the legislature, re-
lates to the control and regulation by
the state of local public service corpor-
atoms. The services rendered by this
! class of corporations greatly contrib
ute TO the life and comfort Of the in
/ habitants Of the larger cities Of the
\ state. and in many instances TO those
I residing in contiguous territory. A
congested population makes necessary
I artificial lighting, an adequate water
+ supply and the means Of rapid trans
( portation. and if these cannot be fur
/ Eished by the municipality the serv-
ices Of public utility corporations be
/ come indispensable. 1t has been com
mon practice In this as well as in 9th
/ 81 states for the city to grant the
4 privilege OF furnishing these facilities
/ 10 corporations. and franchises have
Y been granted exclusive in express
! terms or in practical application, and
/ mOnOpolistic in their character. which
contain no adequate safeguards for the
/ protection Of the public The result
/ has been that these corporations with
/ the absence Of governmental restraint
/ have grown in wealth and power and
/ have become the masters instead Of
the servants Of the people.
/ Complaints against service and rates
! have received little attention or es
/ capped correction, either because the
municipality did not have the power
/ to properly protect the public, or hay-
/ ing the power, has failed to exercise it
! by reason Of official Indifference or
subserviency TO improper influences.
| With uncertain powers, with frequent
~ changing administration, with no
| fixed responsibility upon officers chosen
| for the task, the cities Of the state are
not in position to successful deal with T!
this important problem and undertake
the regulation Of public service corr
poraIions.
The evil growing out of the local
service problem are attributable to
three well defined causes-namely, !
long term and exclusive franchises,
excessive rates and OvercapitalizatiOn
or the practice of watering stock.
Remedial Legislation.
The remedy for conditions now so
oppressive IN the municipalities Of the
state lies in a complete revision of the
statutes relating to the organization Of
public utility corporations and thel
granting Of municipal franchises, and
providing for the supervision by pub
lie authority Of the issue Of stocks |
and bonds and the control Of the rates
that shall be charged and the service !
that shall be rendered. Such legisla |
ton should strike at the root of the
matter. Franchises imprOvidently /
granted are generally recognized in !
this and other states as the source of
the evil which is aggravated by over
capitalization and oppressive manage
ment. The remedy lies in placing an
absolute limit by the legislature upon
the time for which a franchise may be !!
granted, and prescribing a period upon
which all franchises heretofore granted /
shall terminate. Already twenty states
and two territories have adopted leg |
islatiOn fixing such limit, ranging in a |
great majority of cases from twenty |
to thirty-fve years, and containing a |
provision permitting the city to pur
chase the plant at the expiration of the
term or at a time prior thereto. The
constitution Of this state has wisely re-
served to the Legislature the power to
alter, amend OF repeal all general or
special laws granting corporate powers
and privileges. The exercise of this
power by the legislature for the con
troll of public service corporations has
been upheld for more than a genera
ton by the supreme court of this state
and of the United States, and there
can be no just cause for complaint !
against the adoption of proper amend I
ments to charters and franchises which
have since been granted and accepted.
Such grants have been made subject
to the exercise of this power for the
protection of the public.
Since there are franchises in this
state which have been granted to pub
lie service corporations in perpetuity,
or claimed to be such, and also many
which have been granted for very
long period Of years. recommend Ehe
enactment Of a law declaring that all
franchises heretofore granted to any
individual, partnership or corporation,
to engage in a public service business
in any city in this state, shall termi-
nate on Jan. I, 1880. unless they shall
sooner expire by their own terms, and
also declaring that no franchise of
such a nature hereafter granted shall
be for a longer term than twenty
years.
State Commission.
The only adequate remedy for ex-