St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-06-04
PRESS COMMENT
Telephone Investigation and PLAY
of Politics.

One OF the favOrite metnoQs Oh
seeking to "hamstring" a public
servant who is trying to serve the
people as opposed to violatOrs Of
the law, or predatory interests, is
to charge that he lis playing pol
itics." That game was tried on
Governor Hughes during the famous
insurance investigation, but with
out avail. It was applied to District
Attorney Jerome as it is now being
used in an endeavor to weaken Dis
trict Attorney Whitman of New
York, but it will be no more sue
cessful in the latter instance than
it was in the former.
Under the head of Suspicious
Looking Politics" the ST. Johnsbury
CaIedonian in an article, reproduc-
ed in another column, arraigns Gov
ernor Fletcher for appointing Rep
resentative z. A. Cook of Lyndon
vile and w. A. Graham, the secre-
tary of civil and military affairs, a
special commission to investigate
the situation in relation to the al
| legation that in Essex, Orleans and
Caledonia counties as we'll as else
where "the rates of telephone SER
vice are too high and the service too
poor"
The chief grounds of criticism
seem to be that a partner of Rep
resentative Cook was one of the
men who circulated petition and
that the matter should have been
referred to the Public Service Com
mission which partakes more of the
nature of judicial body. The inter
ests of the people and the public
welfare demand that a little light
be ''let in" on the situation.
We know that the CaledOnian is
honest and conscientious and we
are fully persuaded that if it had
known the inside facts in the case,
it would not have raised the cry
of suspicious looking politics, for
developments will fully account for
the unusual procedure in this in
stance.
AS regards the appointment of
Mr.. Cook and Mr.. Graham, we hold
no brief for Governor Fletcher, and
he has shown his ability to take
care Of himself in any contest with
corporations. We can see, however,
why any man seeking to promote
the interests of the people in con-
nection with any public service cor
poration might naturally turn to
men who had already proved their
efficiency and faithfulness in deal
ing with the intricate problem of
securing an increase of the taxation
of railroads. Mr.. Cook and Mr.
Graham did effective service in that
direction, and we believe the people
themselves, if called upon to act in
this instance, would have turned
their eyes in that direction.
1t developed some months ago
that conditions in the section of
Vermont named were in a very un-
satisfactory state, and that steps
were then being taken to secure a
remedy. Repeated appeals for re-
lief were in vain, and finally when
legal representative of the State
made a move to enforce the law,
he was invited by the telephone
company to go to Boston for a con-
ference.
Now the trouble as to service was
right here in Vermont, and there was
no more reason for a legal represen-
tative of the state looking to the en-
forcement of the law relative to a
Vermont telephone company to go
to Boston for a conference with the
New England Telephone authorities
or the same interest acting through
a subsidiary company than there
would be for the encouragement or
States attorney to go to New
York or to New Haven to consult
with the head authority of the New
York Central or the New Haven
system over enforcing any state reg
ulation with reference to the Rut-
land railroad. The fact that such
an invitation was extended to a leg
al representative of the state by the
telephone people bears it's own COM
ment
Petitions like that recently print
ed in these columns had been sent
in the meantime to Gov. Fletcher,
and after satisfying himself as to
the general situation existing he
determined to act directly, and so
notified the other representatives of
the state who might act in such a
case. All of the reasons which NOV
ed him to this step will unquestion-
ably appear later on.
This telephone situation is
more important as symptom
of what is going on in numerous
channels than it is as an individual
development as will be demonstrate |
ed in due time.
The Free Press has long taken !
the position that a telephone sys-
TEN is a natural monopoly; that no
body wants to bother with two or
more telephones in the house or Of |
fee and that one system covering
the whole field is the best and most !
satisfactory, other things being
equal.
But granted the existence of this |
natural monopoly, the most thor
ough government regulation follows |
as matter of course. We do not !
need to be told in this age how soon |
a natural monopoly left wholly to |
itself becomes a natural dictator, |
and how prone the managers of a |
are to let service deterio- |
rate, eventually keeping an eye
single to dividends. This is natural, |
it is human.
1t is also natural, as we'll as
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