Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-01-08

companies have 40 discretion =. -
certain matters; they are bo,,nI ~,
the decisions of the Interstate Cow
merce Commission. This fact has not
peep placed before the public in anv
OF the statements have seen advo.
eating the shipment of power beyond
the State. oi'u
The Railroads
Let us see what has happened
when the Interstate Commerce. Com
has taken Jurisdiction over
our public utilities through their en-
tering into an interstate business. The
railroads used to have Commodity
rates preferential to Maine shippers'
When some of our biggest mills were
puilt IN Maine, the railroads would
oIins tneir building material sup
pnes IN free that they might create
customer for themselves. The
manufacturer or cotton goods and of
SHOES or lumber were by the rail-
roads put on as near an equality
with other manufacturing nearer the
market as it was possible for them
TO do. The /. c.. c., from it's ma
tlonal point of view, with its stand
ardization of rule, with its tendency
to put everything on a per ton per
mile basis, has abolished every com
modify rate in Maine. You shippers
know and appreciate that. You ship
pers should know and appreciate
that 1t is not the management of the
railroad that abolished these COM
modify rates-they fought for them.
1t was the I. c. c. putting our little
northern New England under the
same standard, in the same class,
with the Mississippi Valley. This has
a tendency towards enriohing the
mississippi Valley which is the CEN
Ter or population. raw product and
wealth.
The Telephone
The history of our telephones is In
the memory of all. Working the
telephone system out from the ma
tonal angle has practically ruined
our local farmer lines, so -called, has
enriched the national companies to
the extent that the surplus and un-
divided profits run into Millions
and the State Of Maine and its leg
islature has no control over these in
terstate public utilities doing BUSH
ness in Maine and no power to help
the situation because the sole juris-
diction is in this Interstate Com
merce Commission thru the Federal
government.
Maine to Mississippi
When the Maine hydro electric
public utility companies become in
terstate power companies, they will
go under the Interstate Commerce
Commission. To the Interstate
Commerce Commission, to the ma
ton as while looking at it broad
ly. it would be an economic saving,
perhaps, to carry Names electricity
down thru the Berkshires to Penn
sylvania, thru the Appalachian
Mountain region to Georgia and the
Virginias, Caronnas, North Georgia.
over into Tennessee, with the Ten
nessee River development and
Muscles Shoals, and deliver this cleo
tricity into the Mississippi Valley.
What might be for the good of the
Mississippi Valley is a devastation of
Maine. When the centers are over
built, the frontiers are depopulated.
Lewiston Auburn
With this situation in view, the
power people say to you've will
develop Gulf Island, and Lewiston
and Auburn will grow to twice their
size,-but before Lewiston and Au-
burn have grown enough to absorb
the Gulf Island power it will have
to be shipped out. When that power
is shipped out under the Interstate
Commerce Commission, and is being
used father south and west and men
there have built factories depending
on that power, the ice. will never
allow it to be recaptured for Maine
use and those factories close down.
it would not be fair to do so. 1t
ia %, ho
might have ''re-capture" clause.
There is but one place you can put
a. re-capture clause into a law and
have it effective, and that is by
Congress.
The votes of the Mississippi VAL
lev would over ride the votes OF
New England in Congress. Maine
can have no re-capture clause for
such a clause would be of just the
same effect that the present law is,
l am afraid.
All Names statute law anita on-
istic to Federal la& on the subject
of the Ice. is in suspension while
the Federal rule exists. For exam
ple. We have perfect insolvency
law on the Maine statute books
it has not been operative for many
years because Congress passed the
U. S.. Bankruptcy Act. The two
are in conflict. The Maine law Is
at once in suspension.
Would Be Impossible
1t is impossible to recapture cleo
tricity once it has become a part OIL
the commodity of the interstate COM
merce public utility. When the
trans shipment of power is under
the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, it means that any power once
shipped is gone forever as far as
Maine use is concerned! You cam
not leave this question to the ex-
ecutives Of the power companies, for
they can no more say what will be
done with their product when they
are Federal public utility than the
executives of a railroad can. They
cannot make preferential rates, be-
cause the rates will be based so that
all like users of like power are