Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-12-11

stand they have been to you. The sim
pie answer to all such arguments Is
this, that if these power opportunities
are useless. or so little profitable as
these gentlemen declare, then why are
such tremendous efforts being made all
over the United States to get possess
sion of them. / can hardly bring my
self to believe that gentlemen of large
intelligence would be spending so much
time and money to get hold of things
that are not valuable, and the effort to
get them is beyond all dispute. We
ought to be perfectly fair to the cor
porations. but that doesn't mean that
they ought to take everything there is.
Now, in addition to tenure a reason
able certainty as to the burdens they
will have to bear during the life OF
such a lease or franchise, a company
in my judgment ought to have certain
ty as to what will happen to its invest
ment at the end of fifty years. Sup
pose, for example, that at the end of
that time the company is unable to
continue with its work, or its service
has not been satisfactory and the state
proposes to let the next franchise to
another company, or to take over the
franchise itself, then we believe that
the company ought to be paid a rea-
sonable amount for its investment, in
Guiding auxiliary steam plants and
transmission lines, because those are
part of the general investment, and il
the power plant itself is destroyed or
taken away, that becomes valueless.
Need of Efficient Service.
"Now then, what ought the Govern
ment, State or national, to have on the
other side 1t ought to have efficient
service. l ought to have equal SER
vice 10 all alike, without discrimina-
tion; fair prices to consumers. 1t
ought to have the right to readiust the
terms at which the franchise was held,
at the end of a reasonable time, and
it ought to have definite and accurate
information about the complete bust
ness of a power concern or a concern
using State power. l found, for exam
pie this situation at one time: A very
strong plea was made by some gentle
men in southern California that the
charge enforced by the Forest Service
for the right to erect power plants in
the national forest was too high. |
said to them, All right, gentlemen
YOU say it is too high; / think it is
reasonable; let us put the matter up
to the Commissioner of Corporations
You take your books to him, and if the
charge is too high we will put 1t down
That is the last time / ever heard OF
them.
II hold very strongly that the public
has the right in matters of this kind
where it gives rights without which Il
private business cannot exist, to know
exactly what is being done, and it has
especially the right, in my judgment
to be informed as to it's capitalization
That is to say, to prevent the watered
stock and the assessment upon the
public of charges to pay interest on
that water
r., Need Of Publicity.
II am very fully persuaded that one o
the most important things to be done il
this power matter is to insist on pub
licity. A great many claims of differen
kinds are made as to the advantage
which will come to the State, to tn
Government, and to the people served b
power, by keeping the charges low, b,
giving the power away. All these thing
J are wholly chimerical. absolutely in