Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-25
Control Of Fiscal Operations.

.
The commissions have power to grant
franchises for public utilities, and no rail-
road or street railroad or common
carrier or other public utility can Is
sue bonds or other obligations or be-
gin construction or exercise any right
or operate under any old franchise or
lease or contract or agreement with
the commission. No corporation can issue
stocks, bonds or other evidences of indebt-
edness for any purpose without obtaining
an order for such authority from the COM
mission; no corporation can purchase or
hold stock in another corporation unless 80
authorized by the commission, and the COM
mission has authority to decide how much
capital Is necessary and what obligations
may be assumed by any corporation. For
the purpose Of determining such questions
the commission must hear and examine
witnesses and give the persons interested
an opportunity to explain their claims and
plans.
Thus you will see that the doctrine of
state control Is to be hereafter applied
more closely in the state Of New York
than In any other part OF the world: and
no corporation can do business in that
state unless it manages its affairs in such
way as to secure the approval Of FIVE
men who have no interests at stake.
s Regarding rates. the new law says ''that
common carriers are required to file with
the commission and to keep open to the
public schedules showing rates, fares and
schedules are to be made up shall be
prescribed by the commission and are to
conform as closely as possible to those re-
quired by the interstate commerce act OF
schedule until after public notice. No COM
mon carrier after November l. 1907, may
engage in the transportation Of passengers
freight or property until its schedules are
filed with and approved by the commits
sion and published"
No discrimination, rebates or partiality
toward patrons will be permitted and no
free transportation or service of any kind
persons as are prescribed in the recent
rate bill of the Congress of the United
States.
Two-Cent-a-Mile Rate.
At the same time the New York legis-
1ature has passed, almost by a unanimous
vote. law fixing cents a mile as the
maximum rate of passenger fare on all
railroads within the limits Of the state
more than $50 miles in length, but this
does not mean SO much as it does in the
more sparsely settled states of the country.
The average regular rates of fare charged
by the railroads of New York state are
under cents mile already.
/ have talked with several prominent cor
poration people in this city concerning the
new law, and while some of them are very
bitter In denouncing it as an invasion of
their rights, and as a tyrannical and OPP
pressive piece of legislation, the majority
accept it as the inevitable and say that
they can easily adjust themselve, to its re-
quirements. They say that if the commits
sons are composed of honest and fair
minded and intelligent men there will be
no difficulty, and, as a rule, they would
rather deal with such commission than
suffer the continual annoyances that they
have experienced from corrupt members of
the legislature. They say that every Cor
poration in the state has been exposed to
blackmail; that hold-up hills have been in
troduced at every session of the legisla-
ture, and that 1t has been necessary for
corporations to keep expensive agents at
Albany to look after such matters All this
was brought out in the insurance investi-
cation in which Gov. Hughes made his rep
utatfon, and to protect the insurance COM
panies, the railways, the street car lines,
the gas companies and other public utilities
from such blackmail is one of the principal
reasons the governor offered for supporting
the bill.
1t will also serve as protection to honest
investors who hold stock in these corpora
tons. 1t will prevent overcapitalizstion.
1t makes 1t impossible for wildcat compa-
MES to swindle the public and it will furnish
means of compelling railways and street
car companies to furnish adequate accom-
modations for passengers and facilities for
freight. At the same time, 1t confers upon
the commission authority that would be
very dangerous in the hands of bad men,
which Is SO obvious that it requires no ex-
PLANTATION. but If the power of the COM
misSioners Is abused or unjustly exercised
the company or the person aggrieved will
know where to fasten the responsibility.