Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-07-03

FRIDAY. JULY 3. 1914.
so..s1youcD,s..s n.s ;.s n, Of tr am.
franchises fer the askinE to apprecia-
ton by both public and railroad that
these franch1ses represent substantial
grants by the public of valuable prfvi-
le1es for which consideration must be
rendered to the public, either directly
or Indirectly I'm cheaper fares and in
Improved services from almost un-
checked control by private interests of
these important sem. public functions
to stringent, wholesome regulation by
the people, first through the national
interstate commerce commission and
now through an Independent local pub
powers.
s'rhe latest evidence that Congress.
though discouragingly sluggish and
hard to move as Washinxton's local
legislature, may be relied upon to meet
wisely in the end the crises and emer-
Genc1es of the nations city IL the re-
cent enactment i'm response to the popu-
lar demand OF the we'll considered law
above referred to, creating a public
utilities commission for the District to
regulate in the public interest the local
public service corporations. The evils
which might drive an American COM
munity the nation to government
ownership Of railways are NO longer
conspicuousiy in evidence in the ma
TONS city"
The special conditions in Washing
tons case instead of compelling re-
sort to municipal ownership declare
against it 1t has been demonstrated
not only because 1t should await the
test of government regulation by COM
mission. out because the time has not
yet arrived in Washington when munic-
:pal ownership here will mean control
by the people of the community of
public utilities.
Causing Regulation Policy to Fail.
Pressure for municipal ownership
by the Commissioners is untimely and
premature until government regulation
has been tested. and such pressure 10
hurtful in that il unfairly tends to make
the experiment of regulation by commits
sion a failure.
The experiment of government regu-
lation of the corporations by public
utility commission is in progress in
Washington with every prospect Of sue
cess. The present movement in favor
of municipal ownership vigorously
pressed from the beginning. if not
initiated, by the Commissioners, who
are also the members of the public
utilities commission, is untimely, and is
distinctly hurtful TO the public in
terest in that it without reason con-
tesses impotency and failure for the
g9 conn and proposes its abolition;
tends to destroy confidence in the effi-
cacy OF the commission an equitable
tribunal to regulate corporations wise
~ and fairly in the public interest. 1t
Is proposed in effect that the commits
sion confscate the interest of one of
the litigants before it and substitute
itself in that litigant's place. Under the
Crosser bill the Commissioners as Com
missioners petition themselves as pub
lie utilities commission to condemn the
railroads In their capacity as commits
sion tsubject only to revision by the
Court Of Appeals) they say how much
as Commissioners they shall pay from
District taxes for the railroads Then
they issue bonds. payable solely by the
District taxpayers. to buy the railroads.
And finally the commission is abolished
and the Commissioners are left in COM
plete. unlimited control of the rail-
roads. not responsible in any respect to
the new owners of the property. the
District taxpayers. at whose sole eX-
pense the railroads have been bought.
In effect the Commissioners confess i'm
potency and failure to regulate as COM
mission Gan equitable limited and re-
sponsibie tribunaD the public service
corporations, and demand that the rail-
roads be bought outright at the Dis
tflct taxpayers expense and turned
over TO them for their irresponsible
and despotic management and control.
They urge abandonment of the expert
ment of government regulation of the
pubic service corporations by commits
SION, the task intrusted to them by
Congress.
After a long, hard struggle the COM
| munity has gained a great victory in
the creation of an Independent public
utilities commission with large powers of
! regulation. AS an equitable tribunal
dispensing even-handed justice, as be-
the travelling public. it can protect every
right of the community. It can compel
, comfortable and safe equipment, quick
and frequent car service and reasonable
rates of fare. This power. as an inevita-
Bile incident, enables 1t to prevent ex-
| travagant salaries. excessive dividends
and hurtful stock-watering manipula-
| tons. In It's capacity as a special court
F.; OF equity, the commission is responsible
for the manner In which it exercises its
powers. both to the travelling public and
| to the public service corporations
| If the men constituting this equita Bile
tribunal. with its large powers and re-
| sponsibilities. instead of devoting their
| energy and enthusiasm with supreme
| confidence to the performance of the
beneficial functions for which the COM
mission was created. shall confess i'm
potency to protect the public in their
! capacity as commission, and shall de-
mand that this tribunal be abolished and
that the railroads be bought outright by
the District taxpayers and be turned over
| to them for management and control
without any responsibility on their part
| to the District taxpayers who own the
roads, the effect upon the prestige and
+, effectiveness of the public utilities COM
mission as an impartial tribunal is
| obvious. The members of the commits
sion will have destroyed public conf
dence in their fairness as a tribunal
since they proclaim disrrust prejudice
and hostility toward the present owners
of the railways and announce the hope
lessness of regulating and disciplning
them into fair treatment of the public
and the absolute necessity of taking their
property away from them II the public
interest is to be served. And the effec-
tive powers of the commission are Grip
pied by the commissions own gratuitouS
confessions of inpotency.
No Control by People Here.
The movement for municipal owner
ship in Washington is premature and I'M
timely. also because the people here do not
control the municipality and would not
control the railways under municipal
ownership.
The kind of municipal ownership pro-
posed by the Crosser bill should be de-
nounced by every sincere and intelligent
advocate of municipal ownership in gen
eraL For 1t violates the vital principles
on which the advocacy of genuine public
ownership rests. The whole argument
for municipal ownership is based upon
the theory that the people of the COM
munity operate and control the railways
in their own interest. The Crosser bill,
by giving absolute control of the street