New Britain herald., 1930-12-24
SQUABBLE
 GROWS HEATED
Commissioners Case May Be
 Reopened by Enemies

Washington. Dec. A (UP)--Dis
 missal of three federal power com.
 mission employees By Chairman George Otis Smith has created a cri.
 tical situation that vas expected to-
 day to develop swift reprisals ano
 10 have a bearing upon the whole
 future policy of government water | power regulation.
 Senate champlcns of two of the
 dismissed employees who have insist ed upon rigid government waterpow.
 CT control-Charles II. Russell, soli. citor. and William V. King, chief ac. countant-now are bent upon re- moval of Smith and possibly other members of the new commission Smith was confirmed by the senate only last Saturday.
 Bonner Also Out
 The third employe to be dismiss ed was F. E. Bonner, executive sec retary. Bonner had been at odds repeatedly with Russell and King who have charged him with favor itism toward power companies Bonner likewise has been the target of the same senators who are cham pioning King and Russell.
 Smith explained he, dismissed all three to stop "squabbling' within the commission and in order that the newly organized commission t1ipht crct 2 fresh Sta ri
 Smiths order of dismssal-the first act since his continuation caused d minor sensation at the capital, and the epercusslons prom isses to develop into a. major battle in the senate when congress recon yenes Jan. 5.
 Friends of King and Russell arc . laying their plans to remove Smith, . if possible. Senator Brookhart. repn., Iowa, announced he would seek re- consideration of Smiths confrma- . tion, which was voted 3S to 22. 4 switch Of nine votes would reject . him.
 Walsh Starts Criticism
 Senator walsh. dem, Mont, criti- cizcd Smith in d letter 10 the chair man for dismissal of Russell and King, and since he voted for con- | 1rmaton, it is possible he may lead the fight by moving for reconsidera- ton. When the Montana senator, who achieved national fame in the Teapot Dome oil investigation, gets into a fight, he makes it a real one. This issue is perhaps broader than the oil lease natter, as 1t involves a ! permanent policy rather than isolat- cd cases. If democrats generally | join against Smith, d real battle would ensue. The whole affair broke suddenly and surprisingly. Bonner, who informed the rather hostile in terstate commerce committee sever al days ago that he intended to leave the commission told the Unit ed Press yesterday morning that he had resigned. Later investigation developed that King and Russell had been dismissed by order of the chairman.
 Smith then announced all three l lldS DttI lllOus1l Insisted he had resigned.
 King and Russell, meanwhile. are planning a fight for reinstatement, contending the chairman had no power, under the act creating the commission, to dismiss them. Smith with the expiration Of the old con- mission.
 But the real fight hinges on the deeper issues involved.
 When King became chief account ant he instituted an accounting sys- tenn which denied applicants for water power licenses the right to in- cude various items in their invest ment figure. This is fundamental. since rates are based upon invest ment
 Bonner Criticizes Method Bonner criticized this method, sa ying the chief accountant was too meticulous.'
 There was an open break when King reduced, by nearly half a s11. ,000 investment claim made | by the Clarion River Power Con- pany. of Pennsylvania. which King revealed had included such things as cost of a celebration at opening ot the place, of cigars. and $l44 for ncckties. This case attracted nation wide attention, bringing to Kings defense such outstanding figures as |Governor-elect Clifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania. The case now Is pending in the court.
 Other fundamental issues are in- volved in another case which enters into the intra- commission friction, the so-scalled New River, ". case. Charges have been made in the scn- ate that Bonner made the recom- |mendations 10 Attorney General Mitchell which were carried out in |Mitchell's decision holding that New River was a non-navigable stream and therefore the Appalachian Pow CT company was entitled to minor part" license for a proposed So,O00 horsepower plant. Such a license valves all govern ment regulation, and leaves only the right to recapture after 50 years. Since that decision, which also is to be taken to the courts for final ac- ton. several other companies have applied for minor part" licenses. "NuIlincs" Whole Act Russell announced this decision as