Show I UTILITIES UTILITIES' COMMISSION I it j r I By L.- L. L A. A. A cl F 1 I 1 Herbert J H o e J I secretary cret y I-y or of o C Commerce i ya s 's s that t t. t Under r our I firmly firmly- lY- lY esta established t and state polIcies of regulating rates of monopolies Oli S' S and m semi monopolies Ie hi in 1 public utilities we have we-have have ha in f fact ct ab au I I ly- ly abandoned d. d ine tue mea the public C can can CH H be e pr protected as to ju just t charges s through 1 com competitive i r rn action action n After J so having said he says that hal he is in fa favor ofa a sea scia or deep cep ship hip t canal front Montreal to the f. f iT great lakos lakes so that thal the lal lake ports will be I. I I S sea a ports for th the purpose purpose of ot corn corn- cpm cpm- c m- m petition with with the ra railroads Montreal l and and- NewYork York are common com common coin coin- mon ocean cean pOI points The grain r rate lle from Buffalo to New Nev Y York rk is fr from m S 8 to 12 cents cents but with witha a ship canal from Buffalo to Montreal the I grain rate from Buffalo to Montreal will be only 3 or 4 cents maJ making ng the the grain rate about 6 G to 8 cents cheaper cheap cheap- er if we had the water competition cheap I I And after Hoover said that we have absolutely abandoned the idea that the p public can be prot protected t d as to just charges through competitive action he lie proceeds to show that we should have competition to protect protect pro pro- pro protect the people to do the very thing that he said we h had d absolutely abandoned and could not do If H it be wise to encourage water competition with railroads why isit is isit isit I it not just as wise to encourage railroad competition with with railroads There is something something I radically wrong with the state inter-state commerce commission commission commission com com- mission idea of regulating rates by refusing a a- corporation to lower rates as gas Ford tried to do Ford would have haye smashed the whole combination combination had he le been J let t alone e. That was efficiency in competition that would have driven inefficiency and interest on on fictitious and watered water water- ter- ter ed stock to to the wall The public utilities utilities' law Jaw of the several states are twin brothers They can prevent competitive rates anti and do do it They also prevent a competing corporation corporation corporation cor cor- to enter the the- le field A town or or city cannot cannot even construct construct construct con con- its Us own light plant to compete compete compete com com- pete with a corporation corpo already eadY operating in iii town All of f this is not in favor favor but against the peoples people's rights The Tho remedy is to amend the law Jaw so that tho the commission sh shall ll i not have power to regulate rates upward unless that rate Is so low that If If cont continued it would wreck the company company that tl at made made it it and nd also that it cannot cannot have the power to prevent any competing corporation to enter the the field Those two p points ints properly fixed would give us us' us the required required requIred re re- railroad or electric light t competition re regardless ardless of what Mr Hoover says |