Norwich bulletin., 1909-06-02
Bv the Joint Select Committee of the Connect
 icut General Assembly
THE FINANCING OF CORPORATIONS
Discussed Before an Audience Including Many Prominent Business Men-New Haven Road Represented by At
 torney Robbins Several Clashes, with Bright Ans
 wers and Sharp ThrustsPresident Mellen's Criticism

 nF corporations was the particular nbase of the public utilities commits @ion idea taken up by the joint com s,1ittee of the general assembly m the Souse chamber this afternoon. Inter rst was keen and the audience included snanv prominent business men. to- eether with enough members 10 nearly fill all the seats.
 New Haven Road Represented by AL
 torney.
 The New Haven road was represent ed by Attorney k. D. Robbins, who mad with him Vice President Kochesperger and A Heaton Robertson, a director. When the proponents had the floor Pohbins enlivened the hearing by hls keen. incisive questions, asked m somewhat aggressive attitude. once when the audience applauded the reply of one speaker to MT. Robbins ques, lion the latter turned quickly ana salo that if the occasion was to be one or p,nrrahs he would sit down. He was 1here to endeavor to get calm, care ful consideration of the matter at issue without any spectacular accompanl- snents, Alter that the audience did not applaud many times, although there were several clashes of witnesses, some bright answers and some sharp tnrusts which at least provoked much quiet daughter.
 Member of Commission Speaks.
 Mir. Woodward, a member of the commission which drew up bill. spoke first after the hearing opened. In the way of illustration Of nnanclal conUl- fions i'm the world of exploiting pro- ,nnoters of corporations, MT. Woodward rited experiences of his own with Eouthern Railway securities. He then proceeded to tell of the way certain railroads in the middle west had been exploited until the public had the se- r1rities and receiyership was needed. iy$Ie described the wr9cki1g of railroads, aheir rehabilitation, all at the expense of the conhdins public laying stress salpon the methods used by promoters f4o fill their own pockets and to furnish funds for the debaucheries of other ,Castellanes. he added. He said that It had appeared to him that the motto or &hese prom 0ters was "plunder, plumber. pIunder." and the people have been plundered.
 MT. Woodward said that he used the Illustrations to show what has been tIore what is being done and what Will be done. because of lack of supervision of the issuance of securities. He said saIiat TO harm can come by state super vision and he pointed to the Connecu- .nut insurance companies as instances where they thrive under the scrutiny which is never relaxed, scrutiny which makes possible the euifillment of fhe prayer Lead us not into tempta- <ion."
 MT. Woodward believed that earn 3ngs of capital should be turned into dhe improvement oe property
 Mr. RobbinS Questioning.
 Mir. Robpins began his questioning by calling attention to the fact that such a provision was not In the Dill. lie also asked Mir. Woodward if the bill allowed the issuance of stock 1T the companys stock is not selling at mar value. MT. Woodward did not re- <plv specifically to MT. Robbins and 1There was a cross fire of questioning .Mr. Robbins apparently sought in ques- G4ioning all the speakers to -nfnt out .aAhat they actually did not know what 11ras in the bill before the committee Eand if they knew then they were not speaking to what the bill contained but rather were setting up theories of what ehould be In the bilL
 Commission Secretary Speaks.
 Ralph o. Wells, secretary of the commission, followed, dealing chiefly .r-fth the purchase of the Hartford street railway by rhe New Haven road, Band the figufes he gave concerning the purchase were disputed by Mir. Rob- bins.
 Mir. Wefla advanced the argument that the service given by company depends upon the operating expenses, and he applied this alike to the rail- roads. the telephone service and the ~llighting companies in Connecticut If the money spent in operating expenses ls low the service will ipe poor. He claimed that the New Haven road had to pay high for the Hartford street railway and ipstead of paying the div Sdends the old company did it in- creased what in effecf was cRpitaliZa- tion and then made the plant pay div ldends on the excess He said that perhaps this is the reason that the New Haven company can run ears only en fifteen minute time on Capitol avenue instead of minute time as the old company did, or that it used bob-tailed cars on it's Lafayette street line or ran dirty, badly ventilated ears in Meriden, Bridgeport and oth- CT places.
 Mir Robbins, who sharply questioned MF. Wells, referred to him repeatedly az the expert on facts of the commits sion," and also as the "son of an ac- tuary."
 Clashes Between Lawyers.
 There were several clashes between the two lawyers, both on the matter or LQe COnkpdIly duQ OL bii6 Connecticut Railway andrLightins Co. Representative Chandler of the com sgittee frequently asked questions and Representative Fisk questioned Mayor Hooker at some length after the latter had asserted that statement in the last report or the railroad commission CTS in connection with the Providence & Danielson Railway Go. was not correct one. MT. Robbins also took hand to find out how Mayor Hooker would make out a statement, and the latter said: 'I would make an honest statement"
 Representative Fisk wanted to know If he meant that the officer who had made out that statement had commit ted perjury. Mr. Hooker said that he did not think it was a truthful state ment as he looked at it, but he found that MT. Robbins disagreed on that point.
 Would Not Open Old Sores.
 Mayor Hooker had followed Mir Wells and had first of all quoted from a textbook to show that the proposi- ton of Rovernm ental supervision of corporations wes mol a new one, as had been claimed He said that such superviaion was needed. He was not going to refer to the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Co. and other enterrrises in which theBe had been questionable fnahcinG for this would be opening "old sores" and he said