The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-15
Especial to The Farmer. )

| (Spocla1 to The Fafmer.) | Hartford, March 15.-"The interes
 that I represent will sell to the city
 if the proper proceedings are taker
 under the general law"
 Thus said Judge A. B. Beers ol | this city, in addressing the committee on cities and boroughs, yesterday aft. ernoon, in opposition to a bill en- abling the city to perform any pub- | lie service, and to acquire gas, water and electric light plants.
 The bill provides for a referendum to the voters. It also provides that no purchase of gas, water, or cleo. tric light plant can be made, until the voters had approved of the neces- sary bond issue at regular election Those appearing for the bill were Senators Garry Paddock, Archibald McNeil, IT., and Lynn W. Wilson.
 Those against it were A. M. Marsh, counsel for the Bridgeport Hydraulic company, which is controlled by the same interest that controls the Bridgeport gas monopoly, and by Judge A. B. Beers, representing the United Illuminating Company, which Haven and Bridgeport.
 F: A. Bartlett of Bridgeport senate chairman of the committee presided, and listened attentively to what was said.
 The ancient arrogance which has mr rked the attitude of the represen- tatives of the public service corpora tions at Bridgeport hearings was con- spicuous by its absence.
 The language addressed to the committee was that of pleading not to be placed under the provisions of the drastic bill proposed by the com mittee.
 If the water company should be purchased it wanted to be purchased under the provision of the special law passed in 1907, which MT. Wilson had declared practically inoperable.
 should be purchased, it desired to be taken under the provisions of the gen. eral law.
 Mir. Wilson said that the powers asked in the enabling. bill before the committee were usual. that the lan- guage of the first section had been adopted verbatim from the language of the proposed charter adopted by the people of Norwich and recom- mended to the general assembly.
 He said that the principle of public ownership was we'll established and that no city of the first, second, third or fourth class in the United States now permits it's water works to be privately owned.
 He said that Norwalk owns water cnu SlSCtTlC II6nt pidIlLS duo 4Sof wich gas, water and electric light plants and that Hartford. New Lon don, Danbury, Meriden, New Britain and many other places in Connecticut own water works.
 It was discrimination upon the part of the legislature to give these pow CTS to other cities and to deny them to Bridgeport. The action of the leg islature in these cases was not based upon common rule, but was purely arbitrary, after the. manner of a capricious parent with a child.
 ''But," continued MT. Wilson, 'I will do the legislature the justice to say that it has been invited to treat Bridgeport unfairly by citizens who have ever come from our city, to mis- represent its people, to deny their capacity to exercise the functions of self government and to maintain the legislature in a position where it is constantly inserting prying fingers in- to the purely domestic affairs of Bridgeport. These men are number ed among the wealthy and influential men of Bridgeport, but they repre- sent only themselves and their own