This Pre-Print is based on a transcript of the oral remarks made by Mr. Wolfat the March 30 session of the Conference.
Necessarily, I have to begin this talk with an apology, an explanation, and a confession. The apology is for the lack of a prepared text. The rapidly shifting and changing developments occurring in Washington on the administrative or Federal Power Commission front, the Executive front and the Judicial front, made preparation of an advance, prepared text almost impossible— and, frankly, a job approaching frustration. The two or three outlines of these remarks that were prepared in advance had to be rather summarily destroyed, since facts, in the form of the veto of the Harris-Fulbright Billand otherwise, had caught up with the words that had been written.
The confession is that, frankly, I am at a bit of a loss as to what to talk about. The subject assigned, i.e., "The Federal Power Commission and the Gas Industry," is quite broad. The problems are most intricate and complex, and the high caliber of this audience makes selection a matter of genuine importance — and it's extremely difficult to make a selection. Furthermore, as a result of the Phillips decision (347 U.S. 672), handed down in June of 1954,and subsequent developments stemming therefrom, as they relate to the independent producer, I find myself very much in a brand new world, with few, if any valid guideposts to lead the way.
I concede that no one should begin a talk like this with an apology and a confession. Nevertheless, I feel that both are required, and I offer them freely. At the very least, they should prevent me from being dogmatic and they should explain, in part, why I cannot provide any panaceas for the many problems I am afraid I shall raise.
