The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-01-03


corporation which are fastening up
on the immense, undeveloped water
power of Vermont.
At the preceding session, in 1913,
the Wilmington Power and Paper
Company was chartered, with several
local men and A. p Ramage of Mon
roe, Mass, Livingston Cushing of Bos
ton. and Moses Newton of Holyoke,
Mass. as incorporators. At a COM
mittee hearing on the Southern YER
mont Company charter last month II
was stated, on the authority OF one OF
the incorporates of the Wilmington
Power and Paper Company, that the
interests behind the Wilmington Com
pany are identical with those behind
the Southern Vermont Company. The
Wilmington Company now controls all
the power on the entire Deerfield rlv-
err in Vermont, draining the eastern
slope of the mountains in Bennington
and Windham Counties.
1t is not necessary to go into fur
Their detail with regard to other com
panies controlling territory in other
parts of the state to emphasize the
point that Vermont is face to face
with the imminent possibility OF md
ing her water power under the unified
ownership of outside interests, operat
ing under charters which guarantee
practically nothing to the state and
mage il possible to take nearly every
thing away.
# is obvious that these charters are
of tremendous value to their holders.
Yet they get them substantially for no
thing. What they should pay raises
many questions. For instance, the
New York plan is for the public to
construct, own and operate storage
reservoirs and levy an assessment upon
the companies benefiting from them.
The Ontario plan provides for the
public construction, ownership ana
operation of transmission lines
should not the state of Vermont de-
velop it's power, just as many muni-
cipalities own and operate their own
plants Z? The National Conservation
Association, of which Clifford Pinchot
is President, suggests, rental TO De
placed on power privileges, which
men of experience in hydro-electric
01AHlODUleHl
able to have adjusted by agreement
every ten years" The National Con
servation Association also says tnat
"as its part of the bargain the pub
lie may rightfully demand, in add
tion to prompt. complete and orderly
DEVELOPMENT a reasonable time llml'
for leases franchises and privileges 1t
also makes many other suggestions
for a fair bargain which the people OF
Vermont have not yet analy zed ana
considered.
One of these suggestions, which
would seem to be of great importance
in the light of the interlocking oil inter
est demonstrated above is "a veto
power on all assignments OF privlleg-
es. Such assignments and the comol-
nation of separate enterprises by ~
ing together several different power
Developments to serve single terri
/ tory are often advantageous to the pup
lie. They will sometimes present new
| problems and require new conditions
for the protection of the public inter,
( est" The tying together OF several
different power developments 10 serve
a single territory might be of adyan,
tage to the Vermont public, If THE
TERRITORY TO BE SERVED
/ SHOILD BE THE TERRITORY OF
/ THE STATE OF VERMONT Suihce
il to say here that it is a uniform pre-
vision in all of the charters OF the
companies mentioned that they may
merge with others.
The territory which is to be bene
6ted by the development OF Vernon
/ water power is indicated in an article
in the North Adams Transcript ioi
December 26, 1912. in connection
with the power development now
nearing completion on the Deerheic
River" it said, lit became known to
day that a plan for the purchase o.
current direct by the city Whlci
would become a distributor OF curreh
for light and power purposes at al
near as possible cost price, VIII come
before the city shortly for investea
tion. Arrangements have alread!
been made by the power companies
TO transmit electricity to this valley
and il is claimed that in this wa!
electricity could be bought for publl'
nurposes and for the uses OF the IN
habitants at cost greatly reduce'
from what is being charged at pres
ent"
In another article in the Trans
cript of December %, 1912, 1t wa
said that following the publication i
the Transcript that the Hoosac COZ
ton Company intends to make use o
= the power facilities of the New Ems
land Power and Construction Con
pany. information comes from IN
Shelburne Falls office that other col
Germs in this section are slated 10
contracts with the concern IN
same article continues: 1T is the II
tention Of the power company |
branch out into Southern Vermont a
ter this city is reached, taking in Bel
; nington, Rutland, Montpelier and Bu
lington eventually
The New England Power ana Coi
struction Company, another Chase an
: Hartman corporation, is theoyer'sta'
Siamese Twin of the Wilmington 70
: or and Paper Company. The Wilmlnl
ton company impounds the waters
the Deerfeld at their sources (tn
= dam costing several million dollar
a .,o,-l,, oounnlafad at SOmerSetl an