The Topeka state journal., 1909-02-19
PARTY PLEDGE.
William Allen White on the
Utilities Bill.
Reports Spread to Deceive the
Legislature.
LAW IN OTHER STATES
Has Stood the Test of Judicial
Scrutiny.
Way to Get Results Is ''TO Pass
Law With Teeth in It."

Wllllam Allen White today gave out
the following interview on the utilities
bill. now the all important subject in
legislative circles:
THE state house is full of men from
the country districts of Kansas, with
Topeka club grub under their vests
chattering lobby information about this
utilities BILL
This lobby information is all right
except it isn't true. 1t is spread in the
state house for the purpose of deceiv-
ing the legislature.
1.-THE truth about the utilities bill is
that it is a square toed party pledge.
| and that it contains the very essence
| of Republicanism of the kind that has
made Taft and Hughes and Roosevelt
| leaders of the party.
Certain UnequivOcaI Pledges.
"The Republican state platform last
August contained at the outset two dis
| tinct unequivocaI pledges: First to as
| certain the physical value of public ser
| vice cOrporationS-Which means rail-
roads, interurbans electric lights, wa
| terworks, gas works, telephones ex-
| press companies car companies, tele-
| The second promise was to regulate the
| issuance of stocks and bonds in these
| corporations.
/ "These promises We're made by the
/ Republicans of Kansas because similar
pledges were either in the Republican
/ platform or in Taft's letter of accept
! ance. Also they were made because in
! the primary the forces that would turn
! Kansas over to corporate politics were
defeated and the Taft Republicans
| won.
Now a bill has been drawn after
carefully examining statutes of fifteen
states that now are controlling their
more or less public service corporations
and are ascertaining the physical value
of the public service corporations or are
limiting the assures of stocks and
bonds.
States That Have Laws.
1.-THE best laws in America are not in
western states but in Massachusetts
, and New York There is also a good
! law in Michigan and there is a good
law in Wisconsin, which provides for
physical valuation and the control OF
certain public service corporations. The
Michigan law and the Wisconsin. law
have never been successfully attacked
in the courts.
Certain parts of the New York and
| Massachusetts laws controlling certain
| public service corporations have just
been upheld in the supreme court OF
| the United States and the decision III
that court favoring the Virginia cor
porations commissioner body some
thing like that designed for Kansas
marks an epoch in the lawmaking OF
America
1t Is Not a Dream.
This is set down here to show that
this legislation asked for by the Re-
publican party, in Kansas, and by Iaft
and Roosevelt for Interstate corpora
Itions, is good Republicanism, common
sense and tested law. 1t is no dream
of the visionary
Moreover, the utilities bills is the
lonIv wav which the pledges of the Re
Ipublfcan party in this state may be
kept to the letter. The lobby and Its
friends have drafted vote catching fool
ish measures that will redeem pledges
lin form only. But this law modelled
lupon laws that in other states have got
lresults and have stood the test of the
Icourts, has teeth in it. 1t will stoI
over-capitalization in Kansas. 1t VII
make public service corporations
whether railroads or telephones ol
lstreet cars or waterworks keep dowr
Ito bedrock
TT will keep capitalizations some
place near the value of the property
so that when a rate is made by the
|, legislature or by the utilities commits
sion, whether for freight for the farm
ers or for gas for the dwellers in cite:
or towns or water or electricity or eX
press charges or Pullman car rates
| when rate is made by the commits
! sion, it will be based on expert know
ledge.
, eThen when the railroads or othe
Inublic service corporations go int
court they will not say that the rate i
lconfiscatory, because it does not per
nit them to pay interest on thei
bonds.
For no bonds will be issued unde
. this new law, for merely wildcat an
speculative purposes, and bonds vii
represent value on new concerns Il
kansas, and on old concerns no futur
> bond issues will be allowed excep
: those which represent value receive
E lin physical property.
"The Wisconsin railroad law ha
/ never been questioned by the court
/ because it is based upon justice w
: cannot get justice for the public ser
vice corporations in Kansas until w
know what they are worth, what thei