The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-07-29
FRANK E. HOWE, Editor and Pu
BENNINGTON, VT, JULY 20, 1871
TROUBLE BREWING

The removal of Public Service Com
missioners, Watson and Rabbit, BY
Governor Fletcher is sure to precipi
tate something of storm in Yer
mont political economy. AS usual.
there are two sides to the case. The
governors side is that through an in
vestigation conducted by compe
tent committee, he found that the
people of the state of Vermont were
being held up and compelled to pa!
unreasonable charges to the tele
phone monopoly.
The governor presented the facts
and evidence to the public service
commission and practically demand
| ed an order restraining the extortion
This was fully within his rights
! The governor is the executive officer
of the state 1t is his duty to see
| that the laws of the state are execut
| ed If he finds that the people are
being mulcted it is his duty to stoI
| it.
If he finds that officials who have
been appointed to Office neglect or re
fuse to do their part in standing be
tween private interests and the PEG
pie it is his duty to remove such of
icials when it is in his power.
That is the governors side of the
case The side of the commissioners
is equally brief They were given
what purported TO be facts. figures
and conclusive evidence by the gov
ernor and the special committee
which he had appointed This evi
dence was promptly disputed by the
telephone company The commission
was asked to issue an order on a bas
is OF these disputed facts and wanted
to make an investigation of its own
| as long as it would have to take the
responsibility.
The public service commission is
part of the machinery of government
1t cannot take the say-so of anybody,
not even the governor. II would be
in a pretty fix If it acted an alleged
evidence or alleged facts and found
that il had been misled What conf
dence would the public have in com
mission that issued an order and
then investigated the facts after
ward? The corporations have rights
the same as the public and the bust
ness of the state requires fair treat
ment of public service corporations.
That is the commissioners side of
the story. good argument can be
made on either side and the public
can take its choice Without know
inc much about the matter The Ban
ner Is inclined to take the governors
view in the controversy. The tele-
phone monopoly is no worse than
any other and better than some, but
like nearly all institutions of the
kind it is often high handed and con
temptuous of the peoples rights
When the public gets anything from
a corporation Of this kind it is gener-
ally only at the end of a long hard
struggle. If the governors view had
been taken in this case IL would mere
~ have turned the case around and
made the monopoly The plaintiff and
the people the defendant Why
wouldn't it be healthy to compel
big corporation to fight for what il
claims occasionally instead of always
putting the corporation in the in
tIenchments and the people outside?
II The Banner were called upon to
oriticise the governor in this matter
it would say that when he Numbered
in this case was when he appointed
Mr.. Watson chairman Of the public
service commission Mr. Watson is
ono Of the finest. cleanest and most
likrble men in Vermont. but he was
never fitted to be a public service
commissioner.
Fer that place is needed an aggres-
sive. pugnacious man who would a
little rather be in a fight than not
and Mr.. Watson does not answer
these requirements. II is no bed Of
roses TO sit on the commission
whose duty g. Is to stand between
the big corporations fighting for divi-
dends with all the organization skill
and ssneralship that money can Sc
cure. and the careless. slcthful. hap
py-go-lucky public whose only