Evening star., 1909-02-03
ASKS LARGER POWER
District Should Regulate or
Own Public Utilities.
Mr.. MACFARLAND'S VIEWS
Submitted to Fellow Commissioners
for Their Consideration.
TRY MORE REGULATION FIRST
If 1t Fails Then Let the District Ac-
quire and Operate All Public
Service Plants.
Mr.. MACFARLAND'S VIEWS
TRY MORE REGULATION FIRST

IL seems 10 me tnat Congress should
be given the opportunity to give the Dis
tr.ct the benefit of adequate public regri-
lation Of all public utility corporations
! II that falls to produce satisfactory re-
suits then the only recourse would be to
acquire the plants and operate the pub
| lie utilities part of the municipal sys-
! tenn
| Reporting on the Jenkins bill recently
introduced i'm the House providing for
the purchase by the District Of all pub
lie utility companies within its boun-
daries, Commissioner Macfarland thus
epitomizes his attitude and his recon-
mendation to the other Commissioners.
Commissioner Macfarland has had the
bill under consideration for a week or
| more. and today he made a motion to his
colleagues on the District board of Com
missioners that they report back TO the
House that. although the District of Co
iumbia Is the best place for such munich
pal ownership, II should not be extended
beyond the water supply system until the
municipal regulation of public utility
corporations. for which the Commission
ers have asked the powers of a public
service commission. has been thoroughly
tested and shown not to be satisfac-
tory as municipal ownership would be-
Commissioner Macfarand's recommen-
dations to the board of Commissioners
are as follows:
Former Committee Conclusions.
Il nave been carefully considering II. r.
! bill No. 262GS, authorizing the acquisition
/ of all pants of the electric lighting and
| gas lighting companies in the District OF
! Columbia by purchase condemnation.
with view to their operation by the
District government. l subscribed to the
| conclusions of the committee of twenty
/ | a
by the National Civic Federation in 1905,
| and which after examining through sub
committees the operation of public util-
tiles by municipalities in the United
States and Great Britain, and receiving
| the opinions Of experts in this country
ard abroad. reported in 1907 as follows:
| e" 'First-Public utilities, whether in pub
lic or in private hands. are best conducted
under q system of legaliZed and regula ted
monopoly
'Second-Public utilities in which the
sanitary motive largely enters should be
operated by the public.
| -" 'Thrd-The success of municipal op-
GRAFTON of public utilities depends upon
the existence i'm the city of a high capac-
| ity for municipal government.
" FOurth--Franchise grants to private
corporations should be terminable after q.
/ fixed period and meanwhile subject to
purchase at fair value
| I" Fifth = municipalities should have
power to enter the field of municipal OWL
ership upon popular vote under reasonable
regulat ton.
" 'Sixth-Private companies operating
public utilities should be subject to public
| resula ton and examination under a sys-
tenn of uniform records and accounts and
OF full publicity.
| " Seventh-The committee takes no po-
sition on the question of the general ex-
pedency of either private or public own
ership. The question must be solved by
each municipality in the light of local con-
ditions. What may be possible In one
! locality may not be in another. In some
| cities the companies may so serve the
public as TO create dissatisfaction. and
nothing might be gained by experimenting
with municipal ownership Again. the
| government OF one city may be good ana
capable cf taking charge of these pubic
| utilities. while in another 1t may be the
reverse. In either case the people must
remember that ii requires large class
| of able men as city officials to look after
these matters. They must also remember
that municipal ownership will create a
large class Of employees who may have
more or less political influence
Still Has His Endorsement.
Il adhere To these conclusions.
Il believe there is place in the
! United States where the municipal opera
| tion of public utilities would have less
| difficulties than in the District Of Column
bia, and this is chiefly because 1t is free
!
! operation of the water supply system il
| lustrites what could be done
''But believe that municipal ownership
/ OF public utilities ought not TO be extended
until il has been demonstrated that pub
lie regulations Of public utility CORPORA
! tious has failed to produce good re-
| suits az might he expected from the pub
| lie operation of public utilities. l do not
! believe that the time has come to recon-
mend the municipal ownership of public
| tIa,- ham ha xxy<t tar
| the District of Columbia, because We have
/ not had trial of suitable regulation OF
| the public utility corporations by public
authority. 1t is for this reason that the
! Commissioners have recommended for the
! past two years In Congress that they
| should be clothed with the powers OF n
| public service commission. with authority
and means to employ experts they
! might ID" needed. as to effectively regu-
| late the Ct eratiGn Gf the public service
| corporations Of the District of Columbia,
/, including street railway and telephone
| &C mpanieS, well as the gas and electric
| THE Commissioners said i'm their last
annual report. submitted to Congress De-
| cenber J. 1:h,S:
THE Commissioners recommend that
| they be clothed with the powers Of a
public service commission SO as To ef-
| fectively sur ervise the public service cor
| porations OF the District of Columbia.
Such regulation of public utility corpora
1
as justified by the valuable franchises
| given to these corporations and by the
! public character of their work and its
! vital relation to the wei are of the COM
| munty. Elsewhere public service COM
| missions have been created to perform
| this important duty. Here ii is not neces AIRY
| to est blish a new organ of government
or to incur the exp 2nse % annual salaries
| for such purpose. The Commissioners
can take the additional duties without in
| terfering with those which they now per-
| form since the number Of corporations
to be thus up@rvised is small ana the
| number of questions to be settled would
not be large. although important. All
| that Is required is to give the Commits
sioners additional powers to those which
! they now have and authority and money
with which to employ experts temporarily
when their services are required, which
would not be often or for long periods OF
time.
The Electric Commission.