The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-07-27
JOHN A. HOPE
HITS ATKINSON'S
UTILITY RECORD
Says His First Move In Office
Favored The Frisco
Railroad
PLAGIARIZED LAW
FROM N. 7. STATE
Last Move In Office on Frisco
Plan Makes Him Unsafe
as Governor

Jonn A. Hope, formerly of the Cape,
now counsel for the Cape Girardeau
& Northern Railroad, yesterday was in
the city in the interests of the c. G.
& N, when he turned over to The
Tribune a letter which he wrote to a
st. Louis newspaper in which he out
lined John NJ. Atkinson's activities on
the utility board and as candidate for
Governor.
NJ. Hope declares that in the out
set, Atkinson is not the author of the
law creating the Public Service Com
mission, and he explains some of his
manipulations Of the board in handling
the Frisco Railroad.
He said that the Public Service Com
mission virtually told unsecured cred
itors that they could get half their
claims if they first succeeded in beat
ing the Frisco in the courts. They were
allowed to go unprotected rather than
have the railroad reorganizers guaran-
tee dollar for dollar on their claims
before the reorganization should be
approved.
Mr.. Hopes letter is as follows:
"Cape Girardeau County is my home
county, and l would like to see
Southeast Missouri Democrat nominat-
ed for Governor. Mr.. Atkinson is MAX
ing the race as candidate of that sec
ton. | regret to have to say that
with such splendid leaders as Gard
ner, Roach and Painter in the race,
l do not think Atkinson can be NOM
mated. Besides, if nominated, his
Public Service Commission record
would likely defeat him and endanger
the whole Democratic ticket in Novem-
Der.
"Mr. Atkinson claims great credit
for being the author of the Public
Service Commission law. As a matter
of fact, the law is copy, substantially
verbatim, of the New York statute,
piece of copy work any school boy
could do. In point of originality and
* an example of constructive law
making ability, it is insignificant in
comparison with Col. Gardner's land
bank measure.
t'But it is Mr.. Atkinson's record as
chairman of the commission that
makes it, to say the least, inexpedient
to nominate him. The law creating the
commission went into effect April Is,
1913. According to the published off
cial reports of the commission, Mr.
Atkinson's first act as chairman of
that body was on May %, 1913, when
he concurred in an order granting the
Frisco Railroad permission to issue
$761 900 of bonds. The application
for the order, as the order itself re-
cites, showed that the Frisco had debts
to the amount of 1921 100000 against
property of the total book value of
only S255, $4,000.
"Here we see Mr.. Atkinson, only
four days before the Frisco went into
the hands of receivers, as the chair
man of a commission created for the
purpose of keeping within the value of
their properties, as one of his first Off
cial acts, licensing a bankrupt railroad
to issue additional bonds, in the face of
the roads own showing that its debts
then exceeded the value of its property
by nearly $40,OO0,0O0, and in the face
of the well-known fact that the cap
italization of the Frisco was to large
extent water, due to the manner in
which its securities had been manipu-
lated and exploited by New York f.
nancial buccaneers.
"Mr. Atkinson's resignation as chair
man of the commission, like the begin
ming of his career in that Office, was
accompanied by activities in connec-
ton with the Frisco. The reorganiza-
tlon managers came on from the East
and presented their scheme to reor-
ganizs the Frisco and take it out OF
the custody of the receivers. And in
a decision in which Mr.. Atkinson par
ticipeted, the commission found that
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