Show II THE EDITORIALS ELECTRIC POWER By L I- I A. A Well Welk lI all aU I know Is is' what I see Inthe in inthe inthe the papers as Will ym Rogers says The papers tell us its that recently there was a great gleato electric l power convention in In Berlin Germany and man many representatives representatives t ti es of power companies were there from the United States State among amon which was was our Ambassador Ambassador- to Germany Mr Bassett It t became known that Mr 11 Bassett ett was going to spill the tIle beans on electric power an and l Mr lIr Install Insull head henc of the power trust had hud an interview Inter with him and tried to persuade him to keep mum But Dut MI Mr Bassett didn't see it that way and gave out a speech to the world that whenever cr a power company sold power for Gc ic per kw it was re receiving ing from Crom 15 to 20 times what the power power pow pow- er cost So it would seem that when when- l' l J 3 ever e a man cents per her kilowatt in the Basin for electric juice he is paying from 35 to 50 GO times what It costs Secretary Wilber has hils contracted the pOW power l. l of Boulder Dam Dum for mills per Ier kilowatt and says that price is nil all the bu business will bear bar and ami he heIs heis heis is probably right That of course cours Is Isa Isa isa a wholesale price and mul it is sold at atthe atthe atthe the switchboard and it Jt Is easily presumed pre pro l that lint with the transportation of this power to Los Angeles that the cost lOst will be he doubled to the wholesale which would make the I cost price e of or this power about 3 G mills per kilowatt but this tilts would be only about one eighteenth of or a n 1 0 U I cents coats iper per kilowatt kIlO co cot cost t that Mr 1 Pack Pack- ett tt s said id was 15 to 20 times what the power cost That is If the le power power company company company com com- pany has a cost expense of mills per r kilowatt and sells the thc power at G cents per kilowatt it will g get gel t a are return re re- return turn on its Investment of about out 1ST 18 times what the power mower costs This Tills is Just an analytical glance at what is termed big business and if It the thc costs are too high and a city eity can an put in a municipal plant it would l seem to justify jus jus- justify tit the city or town ton to put in its own light nn and l power system Some people w want nt to regulate business bust busi ness Gen Generally rally to regulate business by price Brice fixing is dang dangerous rous and amee uneconomical unet but the wn way to regulate business buss bus bus- ills iness k ess und surd make it in accord with the laws Jaws of nature In economics i is to put the thc government into business on onan onan an necessity and have ha a nih- nih mu municipal lh- lh competition which will regulate regulate regu regu- late prices according to nature in the laws of economics That Is the natural way as ris opposed to a cast ClIst iron rule that wilt will not fit with nature or natures nature's natures nature's nat nat- ures ure's law |