Show SENATE i PASSES i UTILITY BILL v WASHINGTON ASHINGTON June 12 UP WI-An- WI An Another other end bitter fight now confronts the bill to abolish unnecessary utility holding companies The Thc measure which passed the senate 56 to 32 late yesterday after aCter President President President dent Roosevelt had Intervened to prevent a sweeping alteration dropped today into the hands of ot a sharply divided house commerce committee The Iho ho committee has been struggling struggling gling with a companion measure for four months When the legislation legislation legis legis- lation laUon will reach the house floor for debate appeared highly uncertain We Vo will wUl continue to work as far faras faras as a. we can and we ought to be beable beable beable able to work pretty fast from now on on was all Chairman Rayburn D D. Texas would sa say Strong Words Vord Used Such words as fraud chicanery ery blood suckers and and th thieves eves sprinkled the debate which raged in the tho senate right up to the moment moment moment mo mo- ment of at yesterdays yesterday's voting After the decision friends and foes of the bill continued to make clashing clashing clashing clash clash- ing pronouncements A statement that the senate vote ole was an action to lengthen the nations nation's nations nation's nations nation's na na- tion's breadlines was made by Philip Phillp H. H Gadsden chairman of the committee of public utility tives By blocking the normal expansion expansion expansion sion of at a great industry by impairIng impairing impairing impair impair- ing the savings of millions of people peo peo- pie by crippling a service now of basic importance to the American home and factory this bill represents represents represents the major menace threatening threatening threatening threaten threaten- ing the national welfare he said Wheeler Defends Bill Senator Wheeler D. D Mont who had asserted that the bill would re restore restore restore re- re store public confidence shaken by such events as the Insull Insult collapse said of the vote I think this means the end of the holding company system gen gen- Sentiment against holding companies is building up This serves notice that the people are not going to stand for the practices Wheeler who is coauthor of the legislation with Rayburn Raburn joined with other backers in expressing the belief belie that the senate vote would give the bill a smoother path In Inthe Inthe Inthe the house House Group Divided The abolition feature of at the bill bil has drawn most fire A house subcommittee subcommittee sub sub- committee has been divided three and three between abolition am and more regulation By the margin of ot one vote the senate yesterday turned down an amendment by Senator Dieterich D. D Ill to eliminate provisions empowering empowering em em- powering the securities commission to dissolve or reorganize by 1942 all nIl utility holding companies it il found Cound contrary to public policy This was after Wheeler read a penciled memorandum from President President President dent Roosevelt opposing such a change Borah Makes l Chan Change e Senator Borah R. R Idaho succeeded succeeded succeeded suc suc- in amending the bill to make it more drastic It orders the securities se securities securities se- se commission to prevent pyramiding pyramiding pyramiding pyra pyra- of holding companies No Nomore Nomore Nomore more than one holding firm could be imposed on an operating con con- cern Senator Clark D D. Mo also succeeded succeeded succeeded suc suc- in getting gelting the senate senat to al alter alter alter al- al ter the definition of ot a gas utility He said the change would bring the Standard Oil company of New Jersey and Mellon gas interests under under under un un- der the bill One section of the measure is designed designed designed de de- de- de signed to provide machinery to break up wide nation-wide holding companies companies companies com com- into regionally and geographically geographically geographically geo geo- graphically integrated systems They would be deprived of control contro of all but one type of oC utility anc and their activities would be confined to one section of the country |