Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-03
COMMISSIONER -TAoRNE Discov.
ERs EFFORT TO KILL OFF COM.
MERcE COUNSEL.
PLOT TO ELIMINATE
TWO FROM COMMISSION
Therns Says He and Palmer Would BE
Thrown Into Discard BY Adoption Of
Proposed Law Known 40 the crist
Bill - Measure Carefully Planned
, With Concealed Objects.

Des Moines, March 3.-The public
utilities bill, recently introduced In the
senate by the committee on public
utilities, is only a means to Kill the
commerce counsel and eliminate Col.
David Palmer and Clifford Thorne from
the railroad commission, or public
utilities commission, in two years, ac-
cording to Mr.. Thorne.
It is all right to regulate the pupec
service corporations OF the state hnt IN
doing that there Is no need to break
up an organization that now Is looking
after the interests of the people in re-
lation to business five times that OF the
public utilities of the state Mr.. Thorne
declared in public statement issued
Saturday.
The statement follows;
"The committee report Of the pubic
utilities commission bill has just been
distributed in printed form Under the
guise of passing a utilities bill, 1t is
proposed to slaughter the commerce
counsel department.
sIncidentally, it should be furtneI
noted, the bill is SO framed as to get
rid of Colonel Palmer and myself. This
is Of no Importance. There are scores
of people in the state as competent 20
perform this work as we are. However,
it is interesting to note this proposal
to make complete change In the per-
sonnet and presumably In the policy OF
the whole department, II these plans,
as indicated by the bill. are carried
thru, Mr.. Ketchum will be the lone
survivor Of the present organization.
after 1915 He is to be permitted TO
continue in office until 1917. This IN
teresting revolution in cur railroad
commission Is very ingeniously framed
up in the bill introduced by Mr.. Crist
of the senate. However, II is quite
probable that the eloquent senator from
Osceola was not the master hand who
had the delicate fnesse to have inserted
these clever changes.
Counssl's Power curtailed.
"The bill, in another provision. cre-
ates a new official. an attorney for the
commission, which is practically copy
of provisions in other states on this
subject, and it calls this attorney by
the name of commerce counsel. While
it leaves the office nominally in exist
ence, it takes all the heart out Of the
propositions; all the force, the meat of
the matter Is destroyed. It Withdraws
from the commerce counsel the power
Of acting on his own initiative. 1t
makes his salary uncertain. wholly
dependent upon the majority of the
railroad commission. and also the ma
jority of the executive counsel. What
man of capacity and standing will leave
his regular practice for such an uncer-
az, Of
makes his term of office uncertain,
resting wholly upon the pleasure OF
these two other bodies. the utility COM
mission and the executive council. 1t
makes him totally subservient to the
direction of the state commission; it
requires him to perform all duties and
services as attorney and counsel to the
commission which the commission may
reasonably require of him. instead of
being an attorney for the public, be-
fore the commission, as the railroad
attorneys are for the railroads before
the commission; the whole plan of his
work is revolutionized. Instead of be-
ing the attorney for the public he is at
torney for the commission.
Change Carefully Sehemed.
"The complete change in the person
is also cleverIy planned, and not APP
parent on the surface. Two new
members Of the commission are to be
appointed this year by the governor
Two years from now there will be
four vacancies on the commission, and
thereafter, the board will be composed
of only three men instead OF five. Ii
all human possibility, whom would the
governor be apt to appoint two years
from now? Two big, strong men whom
he has called from their private lives,
private business, the practice of law
possibly. such men as Senator Crist: or
would be appointed two men in whose
original selection he had no concern?
The maintenance and development
Of this great new institution, which is
just getting on it's feet, the providing
Of the public with an attorney before
the state commission and before the