The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-09

1
| ton Company. chairman OF the council
| Franklin q. Brown or Redmond Co
John III. Gray, head OF the department O,
economics and political science in the Uni.
versity OF Minnesota; Edward VI Bas
sett, ex-member of the New York Cit
| Public Service Commission: Halford
| Erickson, member OF the Wisconsin Ran.
road Commission William n. Kerr, a Chi.
cago lawyer: Blewett Lee. general solicitor
OF the Illinois Central Railroad Milo r
Maltbie, member OF the New York CITY
| PUBLIC Service Commission, and Arthur
Williams. chairman OF the Association OF
Edison Electric Companies and himself
| an engineer.
| Provisions of the BILL
The bill provides for a salarisd commits.
sion or hve appointed by the Governor for
nve years. the chairman 10 be elected by
the members. None OF the members ls 10
De Interested In or associated with any
public utility under the commissions furjs.
| diction. The commission has power 10
| regulate and supervise any public utility
TO Inspect books and examine witnesses
ana receive complaints. IL may fr rates
IL may determine the division of expenso
TO be assigned to utilities rendering join,
| service.
1t is empowered to supervise the ,s.,-
ance OF stock and loans, but the stat.
shall not guarantee stocks. II provides
against Issuance OF bonds for more money
than Is actually required. Provision FOR
amortization of discount and all expenses
sohnecteo win such issue may be required
| ny the commission.
FUNDS from stocks and bonds must not
| oe applied 10 purposes not specified BY
| the commission. and upon demand utilities
must account to the commission for pro
| ceeds of such disposal
40 the model bill as a whole Mr.. Malt
Join with him in three particular ohtec.
| uiohs' All the others named concur heart
n.y. although the bill Is necessarily fulI
| OF compromises avn
Mr.. Maltbie. Mr. Bassett and Prof
gray point out that the bill does not
give public service commission iuris
diction over holding companies Thev
are alarmed also at possibilities ~
| onercapltalizing consolidated comnania.
me Dill as now drawn. they remark
opens the gate very wide for stoc.
watering In providing that the capt.
'aHHatloh may equal the value OF the
property. Value may be high hecan.s
OF large dividends due to excessive rates
| oapitallzlng according to value rather
than according to Investment NAV be a
means OF perpetuatlng excessive rates"
ihey would IN no case allow the capital
10 a'ol vi merger TO exceed the sum OF
the capital OF the merging comnanIes
| AS Tor the model bilps treatment Of
| FRANCHISE grants. the three dIssent.r.
say Sharply: I'VE particularly object 10
| the provisions which und.r
take virtually to deprive cities OF all con-
uoI over franchise grants affecting their
own streets. Any private corporation now
operating "A public utility may, under m.
| proposed law. get n new franchise with
out the consent OF the municipality. abut-
| ing property owners or the State itself
~ II mas 10 do Is TO file document, and
1 10 xr.t..
states such provision is unconstItu-
uonai II nagrantly violates the
principle OF home rule"
| Regulation and Capitsl
me whole contention In framing the
| Dill reduced itself to this issue: The uors
| radical members OF the council are in
elined to press regulation OF utilities 10
the limit even II II makes II imnossibts
| 20 secure private capital to own and rur
| them to some OF these men public own
ership and operation are really prefer
able.
| The other trainers. some Of them men
familiar with the task OF interesting pri.
.ate capital IN this field, are convinced
| tnst TOO much regulation will permanently
repel capital therefore. they would regu.
| iate as nightly as possible some hardly
| pelleVe IN regulation at all The National
| the bill '''' 'e'
! Mr. Low and Mr.. Wilcox, commcnt,nr
on the model measure. foresee "A struggle
between civil service and organized Iahnr
| II municipal ownership shall make serious
progress In this country II organlz,d
| labor should win such conflict thew
| think the sequel will he the placing OF
| every public employment upon military
basis. They say:
I'm San Francisco a street railway
system has been taken over by the public
| ana Is now publicly owned and operatei
ny consequence II comes under the oDera.
ton or the state civil service law. The
application OF this law to the men ON
pIoyeu ny the private company when taken
over resulted in the loss of their places
by many members of the local union OF
street car employees, Tho effect upon
| the union was so serious that the
American Federation OF Labor has sent
a commission to Europe this year to study
particularly this aspect OF the question,
| without attempting to anticipate the
report OF this commission. II seems to lie
upon the surface that the civil service
| system and regulation of rates OF nav bv
law are Inconsistent with the methods and
objects OF collective bargaining by or
ganlzed labor In this apparently irrecon-
| cilable conflict which system I'm this
| country would be likely to 20 by the
board? II the civil service system
were to he broken down the country would
be In danger OF returning to the de-
moralizing doctrine TO the victors belong
the spells, with the spells multiplied 80
as to include every position necessitated
| By the operation OF the public utility.
whatever II may be.
| III II be imagined that collective bar
gaining, including the right TO strike. may
be permanently enjoyed in connection with
| the public service any one who thinks
this should recall what happened In demo-
cratic France when the railroad employees
| OF France went upon a general strike
The men were ordered to tho colors and
| the strike was broken.
| '"rhe attempt to carry out the methods
~ collective bargaining and the right Of
| striking In connection with the service OF
the public Is the pathway toward placing
every public employment upon "A military
basis The political consequences
are certain to he not less vital
| II was said by some one at the time OF
| the Hayes-Tilden controversy In connec-
ton with the Presidency that II the politi
| cal patronage had been twice as large
as II then happened 10 be II would have
been impossible TO have escaped civil war,