The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-03-21
TWIN STATE WANTS
TO JUNK ST. RY.
Admission Made in Course
of Legislative Hearing
Last Night.
HARVEY APPEARS
FOR LOCAL CONCERN
Tells Committee He, as Attorney for
Twin State Co., Was Responsible for
Bill Giving Roads Right to Stop Serv-
ice-Gibson in Opposition.

MONTPELIER, March 20.-For two
hours and three quarters last evening
the house in a committee of the whole
with Mr.. Austin of Highgate presiding,
listened to arguments for and against
the bin enabling the public service
commissioner to authorize companies
operating street railways to discontinue
service thereon or dispose of the prop
erty thereof; and companion meas
ure enabling towns so voting to con-
tribute to the cost of operation and
fixed charges of street railroad opera
ted therein.
Among the speakers who favored
these measures were George \. Weston
of Bellows Falls, John \. Harvey of
Brattleboro, F. +. Gleason of Montpel-
Ter and Elmer Johnson of st. AlEans.
Those opposing the bills were Judge
Peck, city attorney of Burlington, Will
lam Wishart. city attorney of Barre,
Earle s. Kinsley, attorney for the city
of Rutland. i. w. Gibson of Brattle-
boro, Mayor II. C. Shurtleff of Mont
peler and G. l.. Hunt, attorney for the
city of Montpelier.
1t was brought out that nearly all
of the street railway companies of the
state are operating at a loss, and their
representatives claimed that it would
be necessary for them to get some sort
| of redress or they would be obliged to
suspend operation entirely.
| On the other hand, each city repre-
sentative thought that this legislation
should not be made to apply in his par
ticular city. because the situation there
was peculiar to itself.
Mr. Westcnt outlined conditions in
| Bellows Falls and said that the road
/ there never had paid. He told of how
much the street railways mean TO the
common people. The street railway is
the poor man 5 livery stable, he said.
But operation in Vermont under pres
ent conditions could not be made to pay,
even with raise in rates, because the
people could not pay more than five
| cents TO ride on the street railways.
Mr.. Harvey, speaking for the Twin
State Gas & Electric Company, which
runs the street railway in Brattleboro
said that this railway was an entirely
losing proposition, and the Twin State
Company, which also operates IN St
Johnsbury, Bennington, and in New
Hampshire and Maine, had started Al
two different times to scrap the whole
system, tear up the rails and get what
it could for the scrap iron. Mr.. Har
vey maintained that that was all the
company ever expected to get ont of it
and that it was he who had brought
forward S72, in order that this might
be done.
Judge Peck, representing the city
council of Burlington, questioned tn,
maintained that Brattleboro and Bel
: lows Falls should get special Legislation
to take care of their particular eases
and not bring the other parts of tn,
state into it.
Mr.. Gleason, spea king for the Barr,
and Montpelier Traction and Power Co.
: said that public utilities ought not t,
be treated as private business, hecaus'
the public utilities were forced to dt
many things which private bushes
: could not be forced to do. He said tha
in 1917 the legislature passed q Law
compelling street railway to exten,
its tracks upon petition of the peopl
regardless or not it would be n payin,
) proposition. Now the railways are ask
: ing for square deal on the other sid
of the question. that they be allowed t
place this ease before the public sery
q ice commission and to suspend opera
I tion on such lines as could not be mad
/, to pay, if they satisfied the commission
= on this matter