Evening star., 1932-09-18
Urged in Public Interest.

A0Q IOudy, llle fONcl
head said, both enforced publicity and
voluntary publicity are being urged in
the common interest of corporate buSl-
ness and the public.
Day by day the evidence is piling up
that the public is resenting the stand
aloot attitude of public utility com
panies that refuse access to the facts
of their business with the public. In
vestors who have been bitten are. in
self-defense, asking for laws with more
teeth
In the foreword to the report, which
was one of the sections previously
made public. the commission said that
its study of the subject of holding COM
panies. together with administrative
experience, had demonstrated convinc-
inelv that public control OF holding
companies in the power utility Held Is
absolutely essential in the public in
terest."
Wide Scope Advised.
.s1n its Judgment" it continued, such
control to be adequate would lncluoe
in its scope the service organizations
of these holding companies, with su-
pervision of all contracts between hold
ing companies and their operating COM
panies, and would include regulation
of accounts with requirements provld-
ing specifically for the filing OF f1nan.
ciel and other reports on prescribed
forms with full publicity. Adequate
public regulation would also 1nclude
superyisicn of the issue OF securities 10
the investing public"
The commission in its study received
retur7les from 43 licensees subject to
control in more or less complicated sys-
TENS leading up to 10 top companies.
,a1d nrOlPCt licenses,
2 of which were for operating plants
rot cutie completed; IA major project
licenses "in process or not yet grant,
ed though applied for; 27 minor part
licenses covering plants of less than
100-horsepower capacity and 65 trans
mission lines.
OF the 10 top companies, Stone &
Webster had only Transmission lines.
The license holdings of the others were
divided as follows: American Gas q
Electric group, l major project; Electric
Bond & Share, % major project, ?
minor part and SO transmission lines;
Middle West, 4 major project and l
transmission line; Niagara-Hudson.
major project; North American, l major
project; Pacific Gas & Electric, II
major project, II minor part and
10 transmission lines; Standard Gas d
Electric. 2 major project, minor part
and 3 transmission lines; United Gas
IMPROVEMENT, l major project, trans
mission lines, and Commonwealth &
Southern, major project.
Other Major Projects.
Three major projects not covered in
the report. represent the rest OF the
principal utility plants under commits
sion license subject to holding COM
panies The Central Public Service
Corporation, which was delayed in
turning in its data, has l at Portland,
Greg. The Associated Gas & Electric
System has 2-1 on Clarion River,
Pennsylvania, the center of court
fight, to test the right of the commits
sion to fix its value, and l at Lexington,
S. c. The affairs of the Associated
nov are under investigation by the
Federal Trade Commission in its utility
probe.
tween the 10 groups, the commission
says. is evidenced by the fact that IA
directors serve some two OF them; four
are members of the boards of three,
and one, of four.
Further demonstrating the scope OF
these top companies, the report points
out that they control 595 subsidiaries,
though not all are public utilities.
Along this line, too, the report brings
out as Significant that large holding
COMPANIES and groups account for II
per cent of the gross revenue from the
sale of electrical energy in the United
States"
Federal LicenSee Plants.
The utility plants reported, that are
Federal licensees. represent present
capacity of 1867 900 kilowatts, and pos
slbe capacity of 2,813,900 kiloWattS.
The installed capacity represents about
II per cent Of the total capacity of the
systems, which was about per cent of
the total generated in 1930-the last full
year for which returns were made-by
both water power and fuels in the en-
tire country.
The Power Commission survey, which
was directed by DR.. M. w. SplaWn, ties
in with the investigation into the whole
subject of holding companies ordered by
the last Congress. and pending compile
ton of which, it is withholding any fur
ther recommendations. 1t was directed
mainly to the determination of the ex-
tent to which ownership of stock in its
licensee companies places management
and control in other companies. 1t Is
the remote control of these licensees
in the complex intercorporate chains
mission for wider Federal authority,
particularly in view of the growth Of
Interstate transmission of power.
The Clarion River project suit also may
be productive Of developments that will
point the way to need for additional
legislation to permit the commission to
control its licensees, inasmuch as a