The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-03-05
HOUSE: BATTLES
over BILL TO
CURB UTILITIES
insult Concern Is Branded
as Octopus, Hailed as
Friend of Farmer.

Indiana house of representatives
today, for two and a half hours,
heard the most high flown flights OF
oratory since the start Of the ses-
sion. One moment the insult in
terests were attacked as an ever
grabbing and reaching octopus,
and the next praised as beneficent
big business, which brings comforts
to the farmers"
But when the house adjourned at
noon. no action had been taken on
the recommendation of eleven
members of Judiciary A committee
that the Moorhead holding COM
pany bill be postponed indefinitely
and more debate was promised for
the afternoon.
The bin, in three short para
graphs, declares that a company
holding more than so per cent OF
the common stock of a utility is a
utility and gives the public service
commission regulatory powers over
the holding company, as it now has
over operating utilities.
The minority report for passage OF
the bill was signed by Representa-
tives Relph McKesson and Thad
Adams. The majority report list
was headed by Representative j.
Glenn Harris of Gary, chairman OF
Judiciary A.
McKesson Gets Last Word
After a short alteration as to
who should have the closing argu-
ment in the debate, Speaker James
Knapp gave this privilege to Nc
Kesson and declared Harris could
precede him.
All speakers in favor of postpone
ment of the bill took care to declare
that they had no connection with
utility companies. Representative
H. H. Evans of Newcastle declared
that if such statement was made in
his hearing concerning himself, II
would take the speaker out into the
lobby and show him that I was not
connected with the utilities, pro-
vided that I am the better man, OF
course"
81 could bring in a map showing
the ever-growing and far-reaching
connections of the insult organiza-
ton" declared McKesson, who
opened the debate, but such map
is too large.
Branded as Octopus
'"This map would show the ten
tacles of this octopus spreading
across Indiana, reaching into Ohio,
into Illinois and extending to the
Ohio river.
"Sixty per cent of the electrical
energy in the state is in control OF
the insult organization.
McKesson told how the insult
control is growing stronger each
day. He then pleaded that the
Moorhead bill be passed, so that
.the managers of this organization,
who sit in Chicago and direct how
the companies in Indiana shoulo
be operated, could be compelled to
bring in their books and show what
the holding company is charging
the Indiana companies for its serV-
ices.
"This will be done only when the
public service commission can bring
in the holding companies OF these
utilities" he declared.
Representative A. Everett Bloom
of Ft. Wayne, said that: big bust
ness is here to stay. 1t is getting
too big to be controlled by state
laws, but if regulation is necessary
such regulation should be federal
The Moorhead bill will not reach tc
the root of the evil, if it is an evil
81 am not defending insult, but
big business. 1t was big business
that brought electricity to the
farmer, that gave the farmer those
modern comforts which he wouio
not have obtained otherwise. Big
business has proved beneficent."
Representatives G. Y. Foster OF
Carmel; Ernest M. Hawkins Of FoW-
Ter: LLOYD D. Claycombe of Indian
apolis; and George L. Sanders OF
Bluffton took issue with those de-
string to postpone the bill, while
Frank Noll Jr., William Bosom jr.
of Indianapolis, Fabius Gwin o.
Shoals, Oscar Ahlgren of Whiting
and Roy Street of Lafayette, spoke
for postponement.