Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-03-31

spection shall be prepared and arranged,
and may change the form from time to
time as shall be found expedient." And
the last section is simply an amendment
Of the present law adapting 1t to this
law.
In want to say to you that the pro-
cedure as laid down here is the same pro-
cedure as carried out by the Interstate
Commerce Commission OF New York.
This Legislature had before it the public
utilities act whereby all telephone COM
panies, telegraph, public service corpor-
atoms. water companies, etc, all public
service corporations of the State should
be under public service commission, reg
ulating all the fares and tolls of all the
public service corporations. which ought
to have become a law; it some day will
become law; 1t may be years before
the people Of the State get it. The people
will be satisfied for the present with this
law that am proposing. I am not an
attorney for a railroad, but it seems to
me that it would have beeen the best
thing for the railroads of Maine to come
to this Legislature and say that this bill
is all right. But what do the people think
about it? They feel that the Republican
party that is in power in the State Is tied
up with the railroad companies. You
may defeat this bill, but an angel from
Heaven will have to explain to the people
Of the State why yor defeated it. am
not in favor OF individual ownerships
Of public service corporations: am
against It; the people should not own
the railroads, telephone lines and street
railroads, but I also say that these
railroads should now own the people
They are the servants Of the people;
we give to them all the power they
have, and don't let the corporations
get stronger than the State and
strange the people Of the State. 7
was pleased the other day, and was
made sad also when this matter came
before the House, and I stood here
pleading for the rights Of my people
as Republican that it took the Demo-
cratic votes Of this House to give the
people Of the State the right to this
bill in it's present State. I think the
Democrats of this Legislature will
stand by this bill. I simply ask my
party in this House and Senate TO
stand by the people or they will fall
by the people. (Applause1
/ L
Speaker, In defence of my motion
wish to say that the bill has been thor
oughly and carefully considered by the
committee and the committee has Of
fered to this Legislature its judgment
of all that Is needed, all that is want
ed to protect the interests of the peo-
pie. l call the attention of the House
to the first line Of Section 1 of the bill
under discussion, which says that the
railroad commissioners Shall estab-
lish." We are told that this bill is
| patterned after the intent and purpose
of the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion bill, and the first question before
the National House on the discussion Of
that bill was What is a legal rate?"
And the best definition which the best
minds Of the country could furnish
was that it is a rate which shall be
just and reasonable. "The railroad
| commissioners shall establish" If the
railroad commissioners shall establish
| 1t simply means one thing, and that is
that the State of Maine must go out
| into the open market of brains and find
men who are trained and skilled in
rate making and pay them a salary
ranging from $500 to $4,000 apiece.
| Otherwise, that means that the rail-
road commissioners say to the rail-
roads Submit to us what in your
| judgment is a necessary rate for the
profitable and economical handling of
your business and we will approve that,
thereby establishing it, and hold our
selves open as a board of revision"
The railroad commissioners are not
qualified for such work. There are
not many men in the State of Maine
who are qualified for that work; and
if the bill is taken in it's strict inter-
probation that is what it will amount
to. In Section 2 of this bill, it says:
For the purpose of establishing and
revising said schedules and tables as
provided by this act, from and after
the passage of this act, upon the writ
| ten petition of 10 or more regular ship
! pers< of freight or regular traders re-
ceiving freights as consignees over any
| such railroad, doing business i'll any
| county in the State, setting forth that
| any such common carrier in such coun-
| ty has charged unjust and unreason-
able rates for freights SO shipped or
| received as aforesaid, or that the regu-
| lations or practices of such common
| carrier affecting such rates on freights
are unjust, unreasonable, unjustly dis
| criminatory or unduly preferential, or
in any wise in violation of the provi-
sions of this act, said board of COM
missioners shall within a reasonable
time thereafter call and hold a public
meeting. session, sitting and hearing of
its said board in said county where
said petitioners reside in this State"
The present statute says "after suf-
| flcient complaint by interested and re-
| sponsible parties" and there is the pro-
lection to the people, not the written
petition of 10 shippers of freight. 1t
Is further provided in the bill that
"said hearing shall be held in the shire
town in said county at such said place
| in said shire town as said board shall
| determine" Now. it was brought out
| in evidence at the hearing that there
| was feeling in some parts of the
State that they were unjustly discrimi-
mated against in the matter of tolls and
rates. This bill says that the hearing
| shall be held in the shire town in the
county in which the complaint origi-