The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-04-08
STATE CONTROL OF
PUBLIC WORKS
IS SUCCESS
MUNICIPAL CONTROL FAILURE
A Small Attendance Hears Glenn
Marston's Lecture on Public Ger.
Woe Commissions" at Y. NC.

enOuBn SuCcesb U JuStlIy ltS cOntluu-
| ance Is through state commissions"
| is the opinion Of Glenn Marston who
, lectured on Public Service Commits.
sions In the United States" at the Y.
M. c. A. last night. The demand for
public control Is not caused by gen.
eral laxity on the part OF corporations
but Is due to abuse OF privilege on the
part OF comparatively small number
of companies.
This demand for some kind of ad.
equate control first found expression
In the wave Of municipal ownership
which spread over the country few
years ago. 1t was a step In the right
direction because 1t showed that the
people were waking up to the abuses
which had been cOuntenanced under
the often almost unlimited powers
granted to corporations through their
franchises. It was expected that mu-
nicipal ownership would cure all the
Ills to which corporation is heir. The
result was exactly opposite Public
ownership In the United States has
proven to be practically a universal
failure. do not know OF single cleo
trio lighting or gas plant that gives
good service at reasonable rates with
out being heavy burden on the tax.
payers. These losses are often con-
cealed by clever bookkeeping but the
real facts must eventually come out
and We find that In the last fourteen
months, about thirty municipal light
ing plants have been sold, leased or
abandoned-one every two weeks"
!. Mr. MnrGf0n fhnn
amples OF the failure of municipal
ownership. In New York City the mu-
nicipal lighting plants for the bridges
have been abandoned. In Hamilton.
: Ohio, the gas and electric plants have
been leased. In Dubuque, Ia, and
Kansas City. Mo-, the waterworks
have proven to be expensive luxuries.
The speaker In discussing local
boards OF control, such as boards OF
public works. city water and light
I commissioners, ETC.. said that this
FORM OF control had proven almost as
: disastrous a. public ownership. The
: local boards were usually OF a politi.
cal character and were often used to
: browbeat the corporations into line
The result was that, instead Of ending
= unfavorable conditions. local boards
g usually served only to aggrayate them
Finally" continued Mr.. Marston
l. state control was tried and has re-
suited in better conditions both 70,
the companies and their patrons
There are commissions now In New
York, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin
with others proposed in Ohio, New
Jersey and other states" The idea
public service law would provide fol
= Regulation OF rates and capital expen
, ditures, publicity Of reports, a uni
= FORM system OF accounting, limitinI
&c competition power to compel improve
y ments In service. and regulation o
!! combinations and consolidation. b.
u said. Commissions should not hay
20 absolute power without appeal but tina
AZ appeal should be restricted 80 that
&c company could not run to the court
oi on any pretext and have the rulin
IL or the commission set aside. A re,
n tricted court review Is to be one I
On the features of the new Ohio law.
IL This law, as well as the Wisconsi
u, law, abolishes the granting OF fral
es chises and substitutes indetermina,
III permits. These permits are only r
vocable for cause after a public hea
ne ing. In other words the perm
el' amounts to perpetual permission to 4
W. business as long as company behave
user. BY having an unlimited tin
IN which to operate II is not necessa,
ior the utility to make high charge
70 tuiiy reimburse itself for the inyes
v ment within certain period of wear
Is round that the indeterminate ne
init reduces charges and compels Il
oh company to give good service und1
xn penalty OF revocation.
to practically all the commissions a,
les favorable to combinations OF all OF
ig. city's utilities under one manapema,
be and they are opposed to competit,o,
he The powers Of the commissioners a,
such that they give all the BENEFITS
MS competition without It's disadvantage
In IN one case the Wisconsin commissio
In mas authorized an increase in rate
dy which had been reduced through cor
ad petition. The commission stated quit
op frankly that the new rate was hight
A than It would have been II the cor
ng pany did not have to meet investmer
vn charges on the now useless euuipmer
he OF the erstwhile competitor. The sam
as opinion is held by the New York con
ed mission In the case of the Lockpoy
or Light, Heat & Power Co.
te- state control results In the reno,
al OF public service Questions from 4
cal politics." concluded Mr.. Marsto,
and believe that the next few year
VIII see the three present comml
sions increased to forty. While con
nc mission control is as yet by no mean
perfect each succeeding public servic
ma law is improving conditions and brinl
to- Ing about better relations between III
in companies and their patrons. Bel
nd nington is to be congratulated on n
ne exceptionally good condition Of hI
by public utilities. have never seen
he city OF this size so well served"
In