The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-14
PUBLIC SER
VICE BILL
Was Debated With VigOr In
House Yesterday
ATTEMPTS TO KILL FAILS
After Long Tussle the House Ordered
the Bill to Third Reading--rhe
Other Doings Of the
Afternoon.
ATTEMPTS TO KILL FAILS
state House. Jan. /

State House, Jan. H.
I'm spite of adjournment motions
galore and motion 70 dismiss and af.
ter long debate that took up the hest
of the afternoon and two yea and nay
votes The House advanced MIR. BARRIERS
public service commission bill to third
reading before il would 20 to supper
Mr.. Howe Of st. Johnsbury put up an
awful fight for his amendment which
struck out all after the cnacting clause
but il was killed 40 to 73. Then he
turned his energies toward killing the
Barber bill. IL possible, by deferring ac-
tion on il until later hour. Mr.. De-
Bosr, Mr. Williams az Newport Mr.
kinsley Of Rutland. Mr.. Hitchcock of
Pittsford and others stood strongly be-
hind Mr.. Barber aud insisted upon an
opportunity to vote on the question Of
the third reading OF the BILL and to vote
before adjournment. During the last
half hour before the time Of adjourn
ment 6:15, the members were fdgeting
in their seats and suffering pangs of
hunger and when il came TO the sugges-
ton that they come back for an even
ing session there was nothing doing,
for the majority thought enough had
been done for one day
The greater part of the afternoon, up
10 the sparring contest on adjournment
and the attempt 70 get motion to
take precedence over the others, was
taken up by the two speeches of Mr..
Barber and Mrs. Howe.
Mr.. Barber started of by calling at
tention to the fact that most states had
q public service corporation and that
there was need of one in Vermont.
There were 80 railway companies and
29l SECTIONS on the public statutes reg
Mating them and there were 20 tele-
phone companies, many banks. tele-
graph companies and express companies.
He stated that there had been no at.
tempt to repeal these many statutes
and tina showed hat they were needed.
He said tht. his bill had been drawn up
carefully to cover all necessary points
and was designed to give the public and
the public service corporations square
deal
He then went on TO take up his bin
section by sertion, explaining the mean
ing and criticising the amendment of
Mr.. Howe as insufficient. lie stated
that he believed it was drawn up to
kin his bill but that he hoped it had
not been. He said that when his other
bill was in the House, it had been in.
timated that ii had been drawn in the
interest of the Bell telephone company
and he called. especially attention to
section and asked anyone 20 point ont
anything in the bin that could be taken
as working to the interest OF any com
rany whatsoever
He called attention to the fact that |
this bill did not contain the section pro- /
yiding that companies going into towns
where concerns Of the same kind were
operating must first get consent of the /
commission because there was so much I
opposition to that feature. He stated i
that in his opinion Mr.. Moves bill was
unconstitutional in the feature which
placed electric powers under supervision
of the commission. He said Mr. Howc's
bill was incomplete and has not made
any provision for the right to examine
records. etc, to make the provisions Of
the bill operative He said that it was
necessary to have a large amount of
red tapel in law to cover all contin-
gencies.
He called attention TO the fact that
his own bill made provisions against
oyercapitalization by companies and
protected the public from paying on
over watered stock and gave examples
70 show the manner in which promoters
had defrauded the people Of their rights
Til summing np hts case he reiterated
his opinion that the amendment was
drawn up TO kill his bin and pointed
out tho injustice of MIR. Howe's idea OF
making the companies stand the bur
den Of proof to show that rates were
rot unreasonable. He said it would be
just MS reasonable to work on the
theory that man was guilty when he
went on trial for crime instead of