Show Develops Strange Ideas t John Smith whose bu ness has ha 5 3 1 been een conducting a grocer stole stoic Adam Jones Jone who has hac operated a clothing cloth ing mg store or Prank Frank White who has been an attorney would not think or of suggesting to a public utility corn com a pany an insurance company compan a rail ra r nail 1 or an oil comp ny that they 0 would Id lire life lie to get into one or the other of these lines of business and be made madem m ger or president of one of such companies Such i t request from imm a amin m min m without pre pre pre ious sous experience m an these thee lines of business would cause cluse people to think the nun atan so applying for the position p was as crazy craz But what hat happens happens when Smith Jones or White run for office and are arc elected to i s state legislature or Congress 1 Too often oHen when hen they become public servants in m high axe exe positions they become Imbued with WIlh the Hie idea that they ire fe competent to operate the most lines Imes of bus business mess under a public ownership o program And herein herem lies hes the greatest danger of government into business businessMen businessMen I Men who would be in to manage the affairs of a ste corporation are arc under t chosen is 5 the managers and executives of owned en I with the technicalities ot of which they are arc entire Pub lie lIc office does not in III itself imbue an al I individual with superior Public ownership of industry does docs not e I that industry of any of the actual cost of operation unless such cost is shifted to the of CH t er ers ens Whenever r an nn is ms I made to launch jr th government into business the sees secs stagnation delay and capItal d f f from investing m iT ate undertakings the locality of af suffers as a consequence w Witness I atness 1 Muscle Shoals It will wall pro probably probably probably bably remain the of poll politics tiCS to the end of time and the peo pIe Wl will wall pay the bill Look at flood control on the MI Mississippi Mississippi sippi Riser Prom From d a specific Jh- Jh to be considered it at has aheady all eady gro to such magnitude and includes such r fir reaching schemes that estimated costs are arc rising abo above aboe e the billion dol dolhI dolIn hI 1st mark and the country most vat vitally ally affected will ivill probably stand m in d while whale hill competitive political m in interests interests wrangle over oer which locality or fraction can get the biggest slice of a public expenditure Look at the Colorado River where here l a reasonably re priced dam damn was proposed for flood control contrail con troll The project has a ready been before Congress for anum a num her ber of cars and has rown from irom n flood control dam to a gigantic gOY gov owned O hydroelectric h hi develop development me met t at aidi water supply scheme fo fo- fo the fo-the the city of or Los Angeles the estimated cos COi ci ct which has h gone one up to the hurl huN e SV 6 of millions df f dollars dollar V U toss such cities as al Los Angeles Angele Sea tie San ind nd New York i h have run wild on tax expendS expend turl turi fir rr mun cipal under undertakings In each instance public of ls ficI ho who would never think of g m ing to a private corporation and asling asling mg ing for a job unless they were andl thoroughly qualified by training and an I l experience to handle handle- it feel entirely I free and competent to manage mum muni municipal cipal enterprises I the expenditure of hundreds eds of mil millions millions lions bons of dollars of public funds the same thing applies in m the public own ownership schemes which our public ser ser- setI servants I vents propose for Muscle Shoals Boulder Dam and similar What is these thele about public office I that C causes uses men to feel they have su super per qualifications of judgment and ability which they would never nevel dream I of haVIng in m private life 1 1 Herein Herem lies the greatest danger dancer to the people and taxpayers if they per permit mint an expansion of public ownership of industry The taxpayers or stock stockholders stockholders stockholders holders in m the owned entel would in to the majority of cases hae have as managers for their properties men would not be qualified by e experience and flaming to hold like positions in private ate corporations The taxpayer ta pa er would al be holding the sack and there would no financial or personal inventive m in inthe the executive management Do we e want to extend such i a s s tern in m A America menca 1 |