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Show t i PEET MARES TARDY TO Further Discusses Question of, Public Utilities With Mr. Woodbury. INCIDENTALLY GIVES INTERESTING IN-TERESTING SUGAR FACTS Shows the Enormous Profits Accrulnr From Manufacture of Sugar at Existing Ex-isting Prices, and Believes Corpora-(ions Corpora-(ions Should Also be Included. (Crowded out last issue.) Editor Iron County Record, Cednr Citv, Utah. Dear Sir. Having been sojourning in Emigration Canyon for the last six weeks is tho reason why I have not sent you this letter before. Your paper of July 14th contnins nnother letter from Mr. J. S. Woodbury, Wood-bury, fnvorintr a Public Utility, commission com-mission for Utah. In his letter Mr. Woodbury does not give any specific reason for such a commission. Will Mr. Woodbury plenso givp one instance in-stance where we arc being overcharged or robbed by any public utility in Utnh, or where the service is poor or inefficient. A Little History. In 189G, when Utah became a state, tho general passenger rates on all steam roads were from 5 to 6 cents per mile and not very good service at that. Today without any Public Utility Util-ity Commission, -the rates arc 3 cents per milo, nnd all freight rates have been reduced as well, and the very best of service. There were only threo street car systems in Utah, two in Salt Lake and ono in Ogden. The street cars wero old and antiquated, tho service poor, and the rates about double what they nrc today. Trars-fers Trars-fers wero not issued between the two systems in Snlt Lake. Our telegraph service has been improved over COU per cent and tho rates are much cheaper, cheap-er, and our telephone rates are over 100 per cent cheaper than they were in 189fi for tho service .rendered. In 189G. when Utah became n stato, Utah-made sugar was sold hero for $4.05 per 100 lbs. and on that basis the Utah Sugar company paid a divi dend of 10 per cent and laid away another an-other 10 per cent sinking fund, besides be-sides making great improvements in their factory. On tho $4.65 basis the Ogden factory was built, and it paid a 10 per cent dividend the first year. Since 1890, according to the "Sugar Trust" statement, they are extracting over 26 per cent more sugar from tho beets than thev wero then; they arc getting over 400 per cent more for their pulp, and tho cost of making sugar has been reduced over 33 per cent, in spite of higher wages. And from its rules In regard to topping, hooking and elenning, beets are, not as high in price now as they were in 1896. And with it all, Sugar in Utah is about double tho prico that it was in 1896. Mr. Woodbury states that "all necessities nec-essities should bo furnished the consumer con-sumer at reasonable rates." Sugar is an nbsolute necessity, every body uses sugar every day. Not one person in ten uses a public utility every day. Now, Mr. Woodbury, if your motives mo-tives are pure and honest in urging a Public Utility commission, why do you not include In such a commission, ALL UTAH CORPORATIONS? If you nro so anxious to protect and regulate the "actual necessities," why not investigate tho creamery trust, the milk trust, tho Utah fruit and vegetable commission combine, the snlt corporation, th'o beef trust, the Salt Lake butchers and grocers association; asso-ciation; the master plumbers trust, and last but not least, Utah wholesale grocers combine? All of their prices arc being iniscd year after year while those of public utilities are being reduced. re-duced. NOW, MR. WOODBURY, WHY? Tho following from tho San Francisco Fran-cisco Chropiclo of AuguBt 22, speaks for itself: OUR MULTIFARIOUS COMMISSIONS. They are Political Machines Which are Consuming tho Substnnco of tho People. "Whatever else they arc, there will be none to deny that every ono of our appointed Stato boards and commissions commis-sions arc political machines whose members spend prodigious amounts of time paid for by the taxpayers, to say" nothing of tho cost of 'official' trips so plnnncd ns to put the right man in tho right place when needed and all to promoto tho political fortunes of the appointing power. "Few realize what these commissions commis-sions cost. It appears that the railroad rail-road commission alone cost the people peo-ple of the state $670,000 for tho last fiscal year. "Its main work is in settling quarrels quar-rels between localities and industries nnd in furnishing investors with Information In-formation which thoy would otherwise hnvo to pay for themselves or go without. with-out. i Why should tho taxpayers pay nearly near-ly three-quarters of a million dollars a yoav for thoso purposes? I "The number of individuals who get Inny benefit whatover from tho opar- l ations of tho railroad commission is infinitesimnl. Thoy do not affect the price which consumers pny for anything. any-thing. They do very ilttlo, except gather data for investors, which would not get done if thoro were no such commission, and probably got done just ns well, "And liko all other commissions, it is a hotbed of politics. It does not pny tho people to tax themselves so heavily to accomplish such work as tho Commission docs. And, even if there were pecuniary gain, it would bo far out-weighed by tho moral injury Involved In supporting support-ing such a powerful personal political machine at tho taxpayers' expense. Six hundred and seventy thousand dollars a year la a lot of money to spend for such a purpose. "Doubtless tho Railroad Commission Commis-sion costs tho people moro than any other single commission, but all tho others measuro up to the full limit of their opportunities. Wo havo a government of commissions and by commissions nnd for commissions. Tho Railrond commission is merely tho most costly of tho loj;. All thnt is necessary or desirable to bo accomplished accom-plished by all thoso commissions can bo done at a vastly smaller cost to tho taxpayers" Yours very truly, , , , V. S. PEET, Salt Lnko City, Utah, Aug. 2C, 1010. 1 |