Show J I Will Government Enter the I. I I Power Field I By JAMES A. A EMERY General Counsel National Association of Manufacturers Manufacturers Authority on Legislation Th The question of private or government operation opera tion of waterpower developments Is growing avowing In importance due to three stupendous projects proJects- the St. St Lawrence waterway Doulder dam and Muscle Shoals With these in mind Mr Emery gives Hives a strong strona argument for private enterprise In this field D mands for colossal expenditure wm confront the next congress which If it superficially approved will establish public policies Involving vast and In Indefinite indefinite in in- definite charges The Boulder dam project primarily proposes a sadly needed flood control of the Colorado river and a diversion of Its waters for reclamation and irrigation But Its chief proponents are plausibly suggesting that the federal government shall develop a vast power enterprise to cover the expense of flood control Slowly but surely strong groups dissatisfied dissatisfied fied tied with various proposals to lease Muscle Shoals are arc urging with Increasing force a government op operation operation operation op- op while the tremendous conception of a St St. Lawrence waterway Is steadily accompanied l by the suggestion n of state slate development and sale of the Incidental in incidental incidental In- In waterpower The Issues th thus s presented are arc of vast importance to the economic future of ot the United States for its capacity CI to sustain Its unprecedented standards of living and to Increase the purchasing power of its wage earners Is due more than any anyone one thing to the amount of power It Is able to place at the disposition of each Individual worker That condition has been brought about entirely through private enterprises s. s If It the government enters that field l ld it does s so o with the bottomless purse of taxation Its enterprises carry no Insurance pa pay no taxes charge 1 i overhead and largely ignore depreciation capital losses are met through capital appropriations and deficiencies In estimate difficult to trace and identify are met b by deficiency appropriations The citizen must determine the character of serVice service service ser ser- vice he desires and he must be prepared to acc accept pt the consequences inevitably attached to government entrance Into the field of private ent enterprise If government government government gov gov- enters that field it Is expected to undersell its private competitors and cover its deficiencies through revenues derived in part from the taxation t Of t the very industries and stockholders endangered by its competition Moreover policy policy- grows by what It feeds upon Let state or national government enter the power field and numerous groups will encourage encourage encourage en en- courage It to attempt another The aggressions of powerful organizations organizations' In the field of transportation steadily Increasing the cost ot of service and the dissatisfaction dissatisfaction dissatisfaction dissat dissat- of many users thereof The memory of the Plumb plan pian demonstrates that nothing would please many of the powerful railroad labor organizations organizations organizations more than a rising tide of public dissatisfaction at Increasing costs which would renew the movement for government ownership or 01 operation of our railroads rail rail- roads The United Mine lIne Workers Yorkers are presenting the same problem In the coal fields and at least one cabinet member has been heard to express the view that the public operation of our coal mines may become become become be be- come indispensable to the pub public ic safety Were Yere these proposals presented upon their merits they would win small support but they are aie usually covered by the plausible suggestion that the governmental governmental governmental gov gov- development or operation will be but temporary and tho they thoy are ale likely to be proposed under circumstances where a passing distress or the immediate im immediate im im- mediate needs of some otherwise well disposed group of citizens rallies a support which would not hot be ordinarily ordinarily available But once the camel of public ownership ownership ownership owner owner- ship gets its head under the tent of private enterprise our political and economic dangers grow daily daBy Copyright 1927 Cosmos Newspaper Syndicate Inc |