The Washington times., 1914-03-10
THE NORRIS MEASURES.

senator MOTIFS OF Nebraska, who
has repeatedly proved himself an
understanding friend of the District
of Columbia, has introduced set of
measures which will later be offered
as amendments to the District ap-
preparation bill.
Senator Norris evidently agrees
with The Times that there is not any
use of having public utilities COM
mission for the town unless the COM
mission is to do business. What's
the possible sense for instance in
Congress fixing the valuation of
shares in the Georgetown Gas Com
pany when it has created the COM
mission to do that?
The shares of Georgetown Gas
may be worth s155, as the various
gas interests insist they are; but as
the stock pays rather less than 2
per cent dividends on that valuation,
Senator Norris evidently doubts the
reasonableness of that valuation. So
do we.
The idea of a merger of the two
gas companies is perfectly proper.
They ought to be merged. There is
no good reason to be advanced in
opposition to merging, and there is
every reason in its favor. But to say
all this is not by any means to say
that merger might not be effected
on terms that would make it un-
desirable.
A merger of these two gas COM
panies has for years been the ideal
of the gentlemen who have persist
emily desired to initiate the capitali-
zation of the gas business. Time and
again plans have been brought for
ward, looking to reorganizing the
capitalization of the Washington Gas
Company, or to consolidating the two
companies, or to accomplishing both
these things at once; and always it
has appeared on careful examination
that there was a more or less clev-
erly concealed purpose to get au-
thoriZation for another block of cap
italization.
There certainly should be no au-
thorization of additional capitaliza-
ton by any procedure, legislative or
otherwise, that could possibly inter-
fere with the work of the Public
Utilities Commission. That commits
sion was established to do this sort
of business. There can be no pos
sible reason for having it, if Con-
gress is going to exercise the powers
pretended to be reposed in the COM
and, what is worse, to ex-
ercise them without any possible
chance to investigate and know I
whether it is doing the right thing. |
Take for instance the business of !
fixing a value on shares of the /!
Georgetown Gas Company. 1t would |
take several weeks for a corps of |
working for the commission,
to learn what that stock is worth.
But Congress is asked in moment,
by acQuiescing in an amendment |
prepared by the attorneys for the
gas interests, to, make it worth $155
per share. 1t would be preposterous
for Congress to do that. Senator |
Norris points the right way out.
One of his bills directs that the !
merger of the two gas companies is
whenever the Washing
ton company shall take over all the |
company's stock at
Price to be fixed by the Public Utili-
ties Commission. 1t is strongly sus-
pected that at any price set by the |
the Georgetown COM I
pany's stock could not be secured. |
There would then be the same old |
deadlock, and the way out of it
would be condemnation. But can
the shares of a corporation, being |
private property, be condemned for
the use and benefit of another pri-
vate interest? Very excellent legal
is furnished to The Times,
in support of the proposition that
the whole condemnation proceeding,
as provided for in the Gallinger /
measure, is unconstitutional: If SO,
else must be substituted;
and the something else seems to be
a condemnation proceeding looking |
to taking over the gas properties in
the public interest. There is no doubt
that they can be taken by condemna-
lion for public use, though probably