Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 February 1915 — CONTROL Of UTILITIES SUBJECT OF MEASURE [ARTICLE]

CONTROL Of UTILITIES SUBJECT OF MEASURE

Representative Pierce Would Shear Public Service Commission of Its Power. (Representative Pierce has proposed a taw that ,would return to focal communities the tight to regulate prices of utilities, taking the power from the .public service commission. The bill- also provides that derisions of the commission can be appealed to the court®. The bill returns to focal authorities the right to gTant franchises and to regulate public utilities. It would make duplication of public utility service possible and would provide that sales, consolidations, etc., might be made with the approval of local communities without regard to the commission. The author of the bill Is Woodburn Mason, an Indianapolis attorney, who says the passage of the law was in direct conflict with the democratic rule of local self-govern-ment which was so much used when the township and ward units for control of the saloon question were substituted for the county unit

The Republican has always believed that certain utilities Should be controlled by the localities in Which they operate We believe th»t fc the city council should have the right to fix electric light and water rates, also telephone i ate® and to control franchises within the city. For inter-county service of either electric lights or power or of telephone service the state commission might regulate. So far as we have observed the high-priced commission in Indiana has so far done nothing except to consider and make derisions in local matters. They have done nothing to pro-' mote uniformity in rates, which seems the greatest need of the commission. M the measure of Representative Pierce is passed the commission should be abolished at the same time.