Montana labor news., 1944-04-20
POWER COMMISSION ATTORNEYS
EXPOSE WEAKNESS OF POWER CO.SCASE

squeezing out the SAT, 10000 of water
in accordance with the accounting regu-
lations of the Federal Power Commission
The objection included the lawyers
usual claim that the memorandum was
incompetent, irreyelant and inmate
rial" In addition Mr.. John E. Corette,
one of the counsel for Montana Power
Company, made the statement as to the
authenticity of the memorandum which
had been offered by Mr.. Goldberg that
if he were called as the author of the
memorandum by Mr.. Goldberg, he would
have to say that he knew nothing about
the memorandum. Later in the day,
however, the company's own witness, Mr..
Buckley, testified that it was Mr.. Corette
who had given him the memorandum and
that he had perhaps had a brief dis
cussion about it ..ith Mr.. Corette.
one Of the most dramatic moments of
the cross-examination Of Mr.. Buckley
occurred after a series of hypothetical
questions in reference to which the wit
ness had said that a person did not
ultimately realize" any profit on prop
erty sold to a corporation in exchange
for a stock interest in the corporation
until he had subsequently sold that stock
interest. He was then asked by Attor-
ney Goldberg how he would distinguish
John D. Ryan's sales of water power sites
e. 49, NHo,to-, Dc,r,ov Cop,,o77vr "a 10
which he had testified that MI. Ryan
had realized his profit when he trans
ferred those properties to the Montana
Power Company in exchange for stock.
Mr.. Bickley's answer was slow in coming.
The question had to be re-read. Then
there we're the usual objections by at
torneys. Then the witness said he was
having a little trouble trying to figure
out just what Mr.. Goldberg had in mind.
Later he stated he would have difficulty
in answering until he could consider all
possible approaches to the question.
At another point in the cross-examina-
ton Mr.. Buckley was questioned on the
meaning he had ascrlbed to the term
"write-up' when he had testified that
certain transactions # the Montana
Power Company had not resulted in
write-ups. Mr.. Goldberg confronted MI.
Buckley with Mr.. Bickley's own testimony
in the course of the Federal Trade Com
mission investigation of the utility indus
try in which Mr.. Buckley had used the
term "write-up' to describe amounts on
the books of certain utility corporations
arising out of transactions which seemed
similar to those of the Montana Power
Company. Mr.. Buckley offered the eX-
PLANTATION that he had used the term
"write-up' in a different sense when
testifying for the Federal Trade Com
mission than he used it now and said
that although he had thought that the
"write-ups' which he then referred to
should be reported to CONGRESS he
had not thought that such write
ups" were improper on the utilities books.
He stated they were reported to Con-
gress merely as a matter of interest and
information. He insisted that the Fed
eral Trade Commission meant something
different by "write-ups" than the Fed
eral Power Commission means today.
when testifying for the Federal Trade
Commission Mr.. Buckley was a govern
ment Witness9
Asked whether he agreed with certain
statements of accounting principles made
in Prof Paton's Accounting Handbook
Mr.. Buckley apparently felt obliged to
agree only in part or else to say that
he didn't understand Prof. Paton's state
ment. Prof. Patton is n of the other
accounting witnesses whose testi-
mony is being offered by the company
in the present case and Mr.. Goldberg
seems to have unanswered the company
witnesses into an admission of some dis
agreement.
All Of this testimony in a single day
and ALL of it left wholly untold in the
company dominated newspapers?
Many Montana citizens are wondering
just what action u Railroad and Pub
lie Service Commission will take. The
Federal Power Commission staff is hand
ing it to them on a silver platter and if
they do not act, what will the public
DO at election time?
The Federal Power Commission has
.he authority to squeeze out any watered
stock they may find in the power com
set-up, but they do not have the
power to reduce the rates for electrical
Energy to ultimate consumers in Mon
ana. That's entirely up to the Montana
Railroad and Public Service Commission.