Norwich bulletin., 1909-06-16
Proponents and Antagonists Of Commission Bill
Have Their Final Struggle
TELLING AND PERTINENT ARGUMENTS
Hearing Opened by Ralph o. Wells in Favor-Over Cap
itaIization Keeps the Public from Knowing Whether
1t is Getting Its Moneys Worth from Corporations
New Haven Road Counsel Robbins for Opponents.

and stated that the most full and COM
plete reports are made by the road to
the Interstate commerce commission.
These cost thousands of dollars every
year and no state commission could
bring out any information Of value
which isnot contained already in these
reports. He thought the political bill
public menace and the great vice in
it is that it aims to substitute for the
nagement of trained men the work
of a chance political board. He asked
what would happen in New York II
that state gets another governor like
b. B. Odell He also criticised it for
giving unlimited power to hire Tex
perts," and asked the question, What
distributed through the state for these
experts" and what would it be II 1t
ran to 100000? In the first instance,
suppose the men could not be tempted,
but how long will 1t be before some
commissioner helps someone TO become
governor which will reappoint him on
the committee and some other man
who will work with harmony with
him on the committee? Then with
5000 900 to distribute through the
towns of the state to experts what
would be the result?'
He thought that the present move
was only a procedure of one to regu-
late in the same way the industrial
corporations, as nine -tenthS of the
agreements of the opponents Of the
bill apply as well to them as they do
TO public service corporations. He
thought the bill would work untold
mischief. He replied to Mr.. Wells
remarks concerning the capitalization
of the New Haven road and said that
anyone who would cast such a slur
was not fit to hold responsibility. He
stated that the amount of money put
into the road had been far in excess
of its capitalization.
He showed the workings of the law
in Massachusetts, where over one-half
of the corporations do not pay divi-
dends. The speaker pledged the aid of
the New Haven road to cooperate in
sane regulation, but that the present
measure is not even for it to be taken
as a piece of legislation, and accused
Mr.. Wells of having drawn the entire
bill with the help of pair of scissors
and a paste-pot from laws which have
been enacted by other states.
Proposed Measure Would Be Unprae-
tcal.
Mr.. Hyde smoke along the lines of
the responsibility of the legislature to
enact regulating measures itself and
not delegate the power to commits
SION anu leaving no way TO correct
abuses except through a discharge of
the commission. He thought it the
duty Of the legislators to take time
to settle such matters as may come
before them for complaint rather than
by delegating their powers. He stat
ed that all the examples of evil from
over-capitalization come from outside
the state. If you want to kill the
lobby you do not need to pass a pub
IL ~ ctf \.
day morning and do not adjourn un-
It'll Friday, with a few evening ses-
sions, and you'll kill the lobby, il that
is what you want to do" This pro-
posed legislature is not for Mr.. Weeks
to make appointments under alone, or
men like Governor Hughes, but gov
ernors as they come and go, and per-
haps you may have men whom you
would not have to arbitrate a dog
fight. He closed by stating that in
his opinion the proposed measure
would be impractical