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Show FAVOR PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OWNER-SHIP FOR ALL UTILITIES At a recent conven'lon of the National Na-tional Association of Railway and Utilities Commissioners, held at Atlanta, At-lanta, Georgia, the committee of public pub-lic ownership and operation made a report which is of great public interest, inter-est, in as much as it reflects the sentiment sen-timent of these regulating bodies toward to-ward public utilities. After an exhaustive Inquiry Into examples of government and private ownership. 110th in the United States and in foreign countries, the committee com-mittee reported In favor of privately-owned privately-owned and privately controlled utilities uti-lities and public regulation, and cited cit-ed many examples of failuie of Government-owned enterprises. The committee also discussed the important question of utility rates or service, expressing the opinion that a public must be given fair and adequate service at a reasonable cost." and that the rights of the people peo-ple should be safeguarded by regulatory regu-latory bodies, sufficiently wise and fair and farseeing to be able to act deliberately upon full knowledge of facts. The committee further stated tnat the public utilities are subjected to financial laws just the same as private pri-vate enterprises. They must operate successfully In order to adequately fulfill their duty of service 'to the public, with regard not only to the present necessities, but to future needs. And the committee summed up the rate situation as follows: "This is peculiarly true at the present time; and for the reason that for the last five years their revenue re-venue rates did not proportion-:' increase with 'their rapidly Increasing Increas-ing costs of operation. It therefore follows that In order to maintain a lust equitable balance and to even keep such utilities out of bankruptcy, bankrupt-cy, it is necessary to maintain their higher rates longer than to the layman lay-man seems necessary, judging by the surrounding decline in commodity prices. "This Is particularly true of 'he telephone business, which, during the war period of Inflated values nnd abnormal high oriees. kept its service ser-vice rates practically on a level, with relatively few Increases, notwithstanding notwith-standing the tremendous advance in tho cost of much of the material which enters into giving telephone service." To quote a leading trade! publication: "There has been no profiteering in any branch of the telephone industry indus-try at. any time not even during 1917-1919. when it seemed to be the j fashion in other lines to charge all 'the traffic would bear because every (body was doing it." |