Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-11
TRUSTS PLAN BATTLE
Gov. Hughes Public Utilities
Board Scheme Opposed.
CORPORATIONS ARE ACTIVE
Have Agents in Albany Seeking In
side Facts.
SITUATION IS PULLING THEM
Executive Expects Fight, but Will
Rely on Public Sentiment to
Carry the Day.
CORPORATIONS ARE ACTIVE
SITUATION IS PULLING THEM

ANBANY, N. Y, January lit has be-
come evident that any political opposition
to the state and New York city public
utilities legislation proposed by Governor
Hughes will fade into insignificanee beside
the corporation fight that is to be made
against those measures. So far as the wip-
ing out of the state railroad commission
and the state gas and electricity commits
sion involves the loss Of party patronage
the politicians directly interested appear
to have accepted the matter philosophically,
and not much talk Is heard Of fighting to
save their jobs.
But it is now apparent that the corpora
tons are already in touch with certain in
terests here to prevent the passage of any
very strong measures against them, and, of
course, If their fight should result in keep
Ing the old boards In existence that would
. be a godsend to the few politicians who
are slated to lose their places.
Thus far all the talk heard about the
capitol in connection with the proposed
public utilities board has been relative to
what the politicians might or might not do
to prevent the capitation of George w.
Aldridge and the other members of the
two commissions This has diverted at
tention from the plans of the corporations
to fight the proposed legislation to substi-
tute more powerful boards in the place of
the more or less useless commissions that
now pretend to control public utilities cor
porations.
The big steam railroad companies that
make a labyrinth out of the map Of the
state; the local traction interests of New
York city; the gas and electricity COM
panies and the telephone companies are
all fearful of the powers that 1t is pro-
posed to give to the state public utilities
board and to the New York city public
utilities board over the public service cor
porations.
Advance Agents Busy.
Advance agents OF the corporations are
here trying to learn Just what Is to be put
into the bills to be introduced on behalf of
the administration, and in every part Of
the state the financial interests are pre-
pairing to get together to make q tremen-
dous fight against Gov. Hughes plan to
regulate them.
Gov. Hughes in his message did not go
INTO all the details as to what should be
put into the proposed legislation. He drew
broad outlines, the filling in Of which he
leaves to the legislature Senator Page
is preparing the legislation. He hopes to
be able to bring 1t here next week, but the
job is so tremendous that 1t may not be
finished by that time. He has had a man
busy for two weeks going over the details
of the old laws, Of public utilities laws Of
other states and Of seeing how some pro-
posed new ideas will have to be fitted into
existing statutes.
The New York city traction interests are
worrying over just what powers of control
and regulation will be vested in the sepa-
rate state board to have charge of public
service corporations there. The legisla-
ture can delegate strong powers to that
board, and, as it is proposed to give the
governor the appointment of the board,
there does not seem to be any doubt in
the minds of the corporations that If the
legislation Is enacted 1t will be enforced.
One thing is settled. The old method of
giving the state railroad commission power
merely to recommend Improvements is to
be done away with and powers to be
given to force the companies to furnish
decent service to the people. The proposed
new board will not have to go to the at
torney general, and that official In turn
go to the legislature, every time a rail-
road refuses to adopt a recommendation
1t is proposed by those drawing the legsla-
ton to give the new board authority to
impose summary penalties to carry out it's
recommendations