The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-05-10
New office Of Commerce Counsel
Opens for Business on July
as the First step To-
ward This.
PROTECTING THE PEOPLE
Prediction That Within a Few Years
the Board Of Railroad Commits
sIoners VIII Have Add
ed Duties.
[Gate City Special Service. !

l6dIe City special Service
DES MONIES, May 10.-A long step
toward securing state control Of public
utilities will be taken In Iowa when
Judge J. H. Henderson of Indfanola
assumes the duties of the newly crea-
ted office. Commerce Counsel" July
LIST.
The new officer, whose salary is
$4,000 per year, will have as his spec
ial duties the defending of the peo-
pies rights and under the new law
institute prosecutions against any
public utility corporation for the pur-
pose of compelling that corporation to
furnish the commodity which it dis
penses at a reasonable cost. He is
given access to all reports filed by cor
porations with the state.
Much depends on his activities, for
1t is conceded that If he makes sue
cess of his office it is but question
of few years until the present Board
OF Railroad Commissioners will be
enlarged into Public Utilities Com
mission to superintend all utilities
wi Pol otiOuS Win Iu0 commerce
Counsel as its legal officer.
AS has been recently indicated by
statements of President Nudge of the
Rock Island Railroad Company, Geo.
M. Reynolds, president Of the Cont
mental and Commercial National Bank
Of Chicago, and President Vail Of the
Western Union, control of utility. cor
porations is bound to come and should
be welcomed by corporations desiring
but honest returns on their invest
ment. When the new Commerce
Counsel begins his work 1t is expect
ed there will be considerable adjust
ment Of utility rates throughout the
state. An effort will be made to ad-
just rates SO as to give the people the
commodity at the lowest possible fig
ure, while permitting the corporation
to make reasonable return on its CAPT
tai invested.
State regulation should not prevent
progress, but should encourage invest
ment in utility plants, which must ne
cessarily be operated on business
been said, "the control should be suf-
fciently unrestricting to encourage
the introduction and demonstration OF
the value of any new or novel enter
prise and should allow sufficient re-
ward for the initiative, enterprise, risk
and imagination of the adventures
behind such enterprises. 1t should
discriminate between the useful ad-
venturers or promoters, pioneers in
fact, and these pirates or sharks, who,
on the strength of other successes, ex-
travagantly capitalize undeveloped
ideas, and exchange the worthless Sc
curities for the savings of deluded and
credulous investors. Corporate con-
troll and restriction should always ex-
LIST to a sufficient degree to prevent
such speculative promoting and such
stock-jobbing schemes"
Judge Henderson, who tackles the
first Job in Iowa of controlling public
utilities Is well known and well tried
lawyer. He has served on the district
bench, and is conceded to be an able
practitioner. When he assumes his du-
ties July he will have as capable
assistant Mr.. Dwight n. Lewis, who
for fifteen years or more has been
secretary of the Iowa Board Of Rail-
way commissioners and is also a law
yer