Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-05-22
FATE OF THE PUBLIC
UTILITIES ACT
CONTINUED from First Pase).

Idaho Power company entered its field
the Great Shoshone brought action be-
fore the public utilities commission
alleging the entrance of the Idaho
Power company would only cause
duplication of electrical system and
wasteful competition and setting forth
that the idaho Power company had not
complied with the terms of the public
utilities act in that It had not first
secured a certificate of public con-
venience and necessity before entering
the Twin Falls field The commission
conducted a hearing and after going
into the facts found the allegations to
be true and ordered the Idaho Power
& Light company out of the Twin Falls
field. Similar conditions existed with
reference to the Pocateilo field, which
is in control Of the Southern Idaho
Power company and which the Beaver
River Power company attempted to
enter The commission applied an
Identical ruling to the latter named
company and enunciated the policy Of
being opposed to wasteful competition
through the duplication OF power sys-
TENS which 1t was shown that the cor
poration in control was able to furnish
and was SO doing, electrical energy to
consumers for all purposes. These
two companies were denied a rehearing
of the case and they then went before
the supreme court on an application
for review and attacked the constitu-
tionality Of the public utilities act
Commission Cannot Iesisiate.
In presenting the attack on the act
and the commission involving its con-
lstitutionality, Attorney Hawiey set
forth, first, the creation Of commits
sion with power TO create a monopoly
is against the best welfare Of the state;
second, the legislature has attempted
to delegate to the commission its law
making power; third, tho commission
| is a court and unconstitutional be-
cause 1t conflicts with the government
divisions into legislative judicial and
executive branches.
! 1t was set forth in the argument the
commission was wrong in its decision
because the company had first secured
franchise at Twin Falls before the
commission was created; that the COM
pany had done work preparatory to
entering Twin Falls before the COM
mission was created and that provis-
ion in the law excerpts power COM
panies from regulation by the commits
sion so far as competition is concerned
but not as to regulation Of rates.
| 1t was also argued that the commits
sion's acts tend towards retarding the
development of the state. With regard
to this feature of the case Attorney
Hawley said In part:
Retards Development.
while it may not be in the best of
taste to criticize a policy of legislature
l'before it's CO. ordinate branch Of the
government, the Judiciary, still 1t is
hard to resist some speculation as to
why the legislature of this state ever
consented to put the brakes upon the
development of the natural resources
of Idaho by giving to three men the
the right to say how fast, in what
manner and when the state shall grow.
Nothing has created such a stir in Ida
no as the revelation of the immense
power conferred upon these three men,
all Of whom have been appointed by
one man. The resources of the state
have as yet been scarcely well counted
much less developed. The pioneers of
the creation OF Idaho as a territory
still pass among us and the pioneers
of the creation of the state are still
active, virile forces in the political.
business and social life of the state.
The roll of pioneers of development of
irrigation enterprises. power develop
ment and electrical railways is not yet
completed. The men who dream of q
powerful, thiclSly populated and veal
thy Idaho may be wrong, but there are
enough Of them ready, able and willing
to work for the realization of their