Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-10-08
uLLEY'S BLUNDER
ADpreprlaIsl UiIlIiIes csnuls' sIes Report Whleh Wss Nsl
 Ready Fer ne rsbllc.

New Haven, Oct S.-At a repub- lican mass meeting in Meriden on Tuesday night George L. Lilley. tho republican candidate for governor, reviewed in detail and at great length what he stated was a bill drawn up by the special legislative commission for a public utilities commission. MT Lilley made this preliminary assertion:
 "The bill is drawn and ready for presentation. have been privileged to see it and can give you assurance that 1t justifies all the faith that we have been able to put in the able body of men who were given the work of drafting the measure. The bill fills more than 80 typewriter pages and shows a most exhaustive painstaking study of the question set out by the commission
 The foregoing words are not those of a reporter but taken from the ad- vance sheet of MT Lilley's speech of which presumptively he had read the proof. The extract is practically as authentic as If 1t bore his signature.
 That. MT Lilley should secure for use upon the stump an exclusive advance copy of the public utilities bill upon which public attention has been focused for some months was calculated to excite comment and was hardly complimentary to the wisdom of the special commission, The subjoined Associated. Press dis patch of yesterday explains the real facts:
 "A few days ago supposed gen. eral digest of the bill was printed in the state press and Attorney General Holcomb, chairman of the public utilities commission, at once gave out a denial that a bill or a draft of a bill had been drawn up. Yesterday Charles Phelps of Rockville, mem Der of the committee. stated that nc report of the public utilities com mission had been drawn up and ncth- ing authentic had been prepared. MI Phelps said: The commission is meeting every few days to discuss details of the matters before it, but as yet has made no draft whatsoever of the bill. The preparation of the bill win not be reached for some time yet. It's contents will not be made known until 1t Is completed. agree fully with Mir Holcomb in his denial of the recent story which was supposed to give an idea of what the bill has been. Our secretary, Mi Wells, has accumulated a greai amount of information and has gath cred 1t into distinct groups which hs has, under our sd din.Seti ieHs i1feorpur sated into sections. These sections which contained the substance of ac .cumulated information on particular topics, are being submitted to nIer all over the state for their criticism and to bring out further ideas. w have secured a great amount of in formation and possibly those who have made public any opinion on thi: have been among those who have looked over this general matter. Int commission in its meetings every day or two are going into the details O. the various matters, but nothing def mite has been decided upon and nc draft of any kind has been drawn III by the commission. Possibly some O the members have drawn up rougf drafts of bill embodying some O their own ideas, but the commission has not.
 The annexed dispatch of the As sociated Press tells what MT Lille. himself said yesterday on the con tradiction of his statement by MI Phelps:
 Congressman Lilley in an inter view yesterday said: The documen had reference to in my speech las night was a draft of a bill whlcl had been drawn up for presentation to the whole commission and Is sup posed to embody the general idea of the members as well as their rec concentrations. The draft is no completed and is not in shape fol presentation to the general assem bly, Nor can 1t be called the com missions report. It is simply draf that I saw"
 It thus appears that Mir Lille,
 
 for political and personal ends de clared to his Meriden audience tha what in fact is a mere group 0 memoranda-not, one feature o which may even be presented to tn, general assembly-is a "bill drawl up and ready for presentation" , bill which he stLilley) has beei privileged to see'; bill "whicl justifies all the faith which We hay, been able to put" in the commission and bill (which fills more thai so typewriter pages and shows { most exhaustive, painstaking ant able study of the question set out b. the commission
 Opponents of MT Lilley yesterda, were comparing these loose -jointe, utterances in his Meriden speecl with certain similar characteristic of the candidate revealed during hi submarine excursion at the fedora capital.