The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-03-21
Representatives Of Several
Companies Seek Legis-
lative Enactment
ALLOWING DROPPING
OFF OF SERVICE
Barre, Montpelier Burling-
ton, Brattleboro and
Rutland Oppose

For two hours and three.quarters last
evening, the House, in committee of
the whole, with Mr. Austin of Highgate
presiding, listened to arguments for and
against S, ", enabling the public service
commissioner to authorize companies OPP
Grating street railways to discontinue
service thereon or dispose of the proper
ty thereof; and S. 70, enabling towns so
voting to contribute to the cost of oper-
alton and fixed charges of street rail
road operated therein.
Among the speakers who favored these
measures we're: George A. Weston of
Bellows Falls, John n. Harvey of Brat
tleboro, f. +. Gleason of Montpelier, and
Elmer johnson of st. Adams. Those OPP
posing the bills were Judge Peck, city
attorney of Burlington; William Wish
art, city attorney of Barre; Earle S.
Kinsley, attorney for the city of Rut-
land; Il. w. Gibson of Brattleboro, May
or H. c. Shurtleff of Montpelier and G.
L. Hunt, attorney for the city of Mont
pelier.
1t was brought out that nearly all of
the street railway companies of the state
arc operating at II IOHSt anu tHtl IEplE-
sentatiyes claimed that it would be nee
essary for them to, get some sort Of re-
dress or they would be obliged to sus-
pend operation entirely.
On the other hand, each city represen-
tatiye thought that this legislation
should not be made to apply in his par
ticular city, because the situation there
was peculiar to itself alone.
Mr.. Weston outlined conditions in Bel
lows Falls and said that the road there
had never paid. He told Of how much
the street railways mean to the common
people. The street railway is the poor
mans livery stable, he said. But oper-
alton in Vermont under present condi.
tions could not be made to pay, even
with raise in rates, because the people
would not pay more than five cents to
ride on the street railways.
Nr, Harvey, speaking for the Twin
State Gas and Power company, which
runs the street railway of Brattleboro
said that this railway was an entirely
losing proposition, and the company
which also operates in Bennington and
in New Hampshire and Maine. had start
ed at two different times to scrap the
whole system, tear up the rails and do
away with it and get what they could
for the scrap iron. Mr.. Harvey main
tanned that that was all which the com
pany ever expected TO get out of it, and
that it was he who had brought forward
S. Y. in order that this might be done
Judge Peck, representing the city coun-
Gil Of Burlington, questioned the consti-
tutionality of the measure, and main
tanned that Brattleboro and Bellows
Falls should get special legislation to
take care of their particular cases, and
not bring the other parts of the state
into ii. Mr.. Harvey later replied to this
argument by saying that the Twin State
Gas company Is not insolyent, on ac-
count of its other interests outside of
BrattIeboro, and therefore, it cannot
60 into bankruptcy, and it cannot get
special legislation because, under the
constitution of Vermont, specific legisla-
ton in regard to charters Of such com
panies cannot be enacted-the legisla-
tion must be of a general nature.
Judge Peck asked, if these bills were
to pass, Burlington be excluded from
them, because the Burlington Traction
company is operating under special char
ter, which, he thought, could not be tam
pered with anyhow by general laws. He
thought that the passing of these meas
ures would be establishing a bad prec-
edent. because other public utilities
would soon be calling for similar legis-
lation.
In behalf Of the city of Rutland and
the Rutland Business Mems association,
Earle S. Kinsley opposed the measure,
taking the stand that Rutland should
not be dragged into the matter Just be-
cause the street railways in Brattleboro
and Bellows Falls were not paying.
Mr.. Gleason, speaking for the Barre
and Montpelier Traction and Power Co.
said that public utilities ought not to
be treated as private business, because
the public utilities were forced to do
many things which private business
could not be forced to do. He said that
in 1917 the legislature passed a law COM
polling street railway to extend its
tracks upon petition of the people, re,
CARELESS of whether or not it would be
paying proposition. Now the railways
were asking for a square deal on the
other side Of the question. that they
be allowed to place this case before the
public service commission and to sus-
pend operation on such lines as could not
be made to pay, if they satisfied the
commission on this matter.
State Pay Bill Passed Senate.
With only four senators voting in the