Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-07-27
POSITION OF BOTH OLD PARTIES

The Bull Herald invites the Capital News to discuss
alleged specific rulings of the public utilities commission
OF this state for the purpose Of defending the acts of that
commission For instance it charges that the public ut
ties commission has held that rate of Is cents offered by
an electric light and power company in that section was
cut throat competition and ordered the company to
raise the rate to ST. and the Bull paper asks the anta
News to defend that order.
The Capital News will not undertake to do any such
thing, has it undertaken do any such thing
The Capital News prepared to defend certain PRINCIPLES
and that all that it has undertaken do relative to the
public utilities commission of this state and its enemies
VINO are seeking charge to destroy the usefulness of
the commission now that have contrary to their
desires.
AS general principle we will defend the right of the
commission to prevent cut throat competition We will
go further than that will assert that it is the duty
the commission to do But whether the particular in
stance cited is really one of eu throat competition not
we cannot state for the simple that we are not in
formed as to the facts in the matter and regret to note
that nothing the Herald says its discussion of the matter
contains the slightest ntmaton of desire to give the
FACTS or to discuss them but rather desire to appeal
prejudice only.
The reason why public utilities commission should
prevent ''cut throat" competition should be clear
Whether 1t has abused that power in any particular in
stance is another question entirely depending upon
the facts in that particular case.
What the Bull paper started to do was to answer
the charge made by the Capital News that the public u
ties panks in the Republican and Democratic platforms
having been based upon entirely false assumption for
the purpose OF misleading the people, written by the
same person No effort made reply to the charge
but on the contrary after wadng into false
lions and making more false insinuations that paper
closes with challenge to defend particular ruling thus
getting entirely away from the subject under discussion
Ii the Bull paper becomes exercised, however, over
the former charges what will it do the one we are
now about to make that is that there the paid at
toneys OF interests vitality and specially interested in hay
ing the two conventions take identcay the action they
did take present that convention and that the action
taken at their instigation.
Will the Herald attempt to disprove this entire com
munity and harmony of interest and action between the
two leading political parties in this state in an action in
tended to benefit special interest at the expense the
whole people?
That is the point in controversy and it is the only
point If the Capital News shall fail in that point then
there merit to the controversy it has raised If the
Herald shall fail in defense of that point no amount of in
situation sidesteppng to other issues will conceal the
failure.
The position taken by both the old parties as shown by
their platforms just adopted is contrary the best
thought Of both parties in the nations it contrary to ex
pe11ence and contrary to the practice of public utilities
commissions in most of the states, and believe all
of them 1t is reactonary in that it seeks to force re-
turn to conditions in this state not tolerated in other states
even where conservatism is rampant Moreover seeks
to accomplish its purpose through deception ignorance
upon the part Of the people the real facts at
because of prejudice founded through this lack of
knowledge.