| Show WHEN THE FACTS SPEAK A short abort time ago n medium sized community in illinois was called upon to vote on a proposal to build and operate a municipal electric plant preceding the election information was widely circulated tending to show that the mare inave would bo be a wise and economical one it came supposedly from an unprejudiced source then it developed that the engineering firm making limiting the recommendations had a contract with the city provid providing ling that in addition to its too fee for making the study it was to receive a commission on the expenditures its ita recommendations ions entailed at this time a local committee composed of leading merchants and citizens embarked upon an ox mintron of its own it supplied to the voters Inform information atlo regarding the cost of building the alie plant the cost of maintenance as well as the probable ultimate increased eased cost of electric service As aa a result the proposal was voted down by an overwhelming majority ni ajo rity it Is a fact that where really unprejudiced information la is available to the public municipal ventures into business make little headway the list of expensive failures Is too long the list of successes too brief during the past decade especially uie the municipal movement has been losing ground and hundreds of communities have dismantled their plants or sold them to private concerns and received cheaper and more trustworthy service when the facts polities in business anak makes e 9 i a poor door showing |
