Norwich bulletin., 1909-04-27
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
AGAIN THE ORDER OF THE DAY
Tomorrow - Gossip Over the Fate of
the Measure Now That Its Only Ac-
tive Champion Has Been Eliminated
Especial to The BuHetin,) )

tive Champion Has Been Eliminated
Especial to The BuHetin.)
Hartford April Whatever may
be said in the further discussion Of the
public utilities commission matter neXt
Wednesday, when it again becomes the
order of the day, as TO the propriety
of passing such q bill because this was
the wish of Governor Lilley is hardly
likely to have any marked effect on
the final result as to this matter. It
is doubtful if anybody will make this
point, but such a suggestion has been
made. The feeling of the late COVER
nor regarding the measure is of course
well known, but it has been as well
known all along and there had been The
certainty that he would fight for the
measure as long as it had a chance in
the world. He was, however, the onlv
active champion the measure had and
as such would have been badly handi-
! capped.
1t is quite possible, to be sure, that
| if he had lived and remained actively
| at the head of the state government n,
| might have persuaded the reluctant
members of the temporary commission
| to get into the lists and make an ef
fort to save something of the measure
| which they had prepared and which
he first put before the people of Con-
| necticut on the stump, even il they
|
been very interesting to have had this
| tried out. for the impression is grow
Ing that the present commission has
| really very little use for its bill and
! this impression is much fostered by the
| fact that no move to save any part Of
| it has been made. but the secretary Of
| the commission. Mr.. Wells, has been
! sent in to support the leading feature
| Of the measure, which was well known
| to be very unpopular with the house,
as best he might
They might not have been willing to
do this and if there had been any re-
| luctance shown privately the knowi-
! e0ge of what Governor Lilley was like
| ly to do in such a. contingency would
| probably have induced these gentlemen
| to do something to show their good
| Saith. As to tha-, however, there is no
thought of accusing them with bad
faith. They were simply appointed 10
| investigate and report a bill. But
they've left the bill all but fatherless.
Had a move been made On Wednes-
/ day to delay action to await the out
| come of the governors illness 1t would
! have heen successful and the bill would
/ have gone to the foot OF the calendar
and remained there for a time. Not
/ but what everybody would have been
| as well satit fed of the final fate Of the
measure when il did so as they will
/ ever be, but the house could not refuse
! the governor this courtesy If it had
/ been asked for him. It was NOT, ~7r
| some reason which I do not know, so
! far as it affects the member who Was
/ reputed to be about to make this ef-
! fort. It is well known, however that
others who favored the bill, or some
/ sort Of a bill did not think It worth
while to do anything of this sort in
( view of the well known temper OF the
! house In other words they thought
] in af q yE-a1 f0 of 70 ffc
] congo now as later, for it was per-
! fectly plain that any fight for it this
I season backed by Governor Lill2y was
/ out of the question: if he recovered he
I would be unable to enter the execu-
| tive offices until long after the prob
( able end Of the session.
With Governor Lilley so unfortu-
nately eliminated from the matter. it
needs no lengthy discussion of the sit
uation to make plain the outcome Mt
1 Chandler of Rocky Hill made a good
| speech in defense of the measure
! though q large part of what he said
was not so entirely germane TO the
real subject under discussion as to
count much against the answer that
would have been made if the debate
had been continued. At that, he said
about all that can be said in favor OF
the present bill, which isn't a great
deal.
The point right there is tFat Chair
man Burnes Of the judiciary commit
tee had so skilfully put the committee
position as to disarm any criticism to
the effect that the committee should
| have whipped this bill into shape or
prepared and reported a substitute.
There are differing opinions as to that
to be sure. 1t is quite within reason
TO argue that the committee was there
for just the purpose of whipping the
bill into shape OF reportin" one which
was satisfactory or which II was
thought had some chance of passage.
II there had Been majority of the
judiciary committee in favor of a pub
lie utilities commission Of any kind,
there is little doubt that this would
have been done. There was not. and
in that is the kernel Of that nut
The committee is against a bill Of
any kind. It sounds well on the floor
to say that another kind Of a bill
might have had a different report, but
slNch isn't the case. There are three
or four members who could be induced
TO vote for a public utilities commits
sion of 2 little different kind than that
put forward by the temporary COM
mission, a commission to regulate and
control, say, but there are six or seven
members who would not vote for any
thing in the way of a commission and
who believe that the agitation for these
commissions in various states is shown
turned down in many OF them recently
is but a temporary agitation and un-
likely to have any length Of life or Sc
rious effect on economics in this coun-
try at large.
After what Burnes said regarding
whether or not Governor Lilley was
elected on the public utilities commits
sion issue there would be very little
use i'm bringing that point into the
further discussion of the matter. 1t is
probable that a majority of members
o. the house believed when they came
to Hartford in January that he had
been elected somewhat because the !
people wanted a public utilities COM
mission and that there would be a
showing of that desire before the leg
islature by way of backing up what |
the governor had carried to them on |
the stump. The latter hasn't proven
to be the case-largely because of the !
form of the bill, no doubt-and more |
than a majority of them today are in |
doubt whether. as Burnes put it, the |
governor was elected on the repubH- |
can state platform, which didn't de- |
clare for commission or in his stump |
speeches, which did; and whether |
Judge Robertson was defeated because |
of the democratic platform, which de- |
clared strongly for a commission, or |
his speeches. In which he maintained |
a discreet silence on the subject.
Then, too, these points are more or