| Show bar to progress unless I 1 misread the signs that have already appeared upon the political hoil zon the next congress will witness and perhaps be characterized by a vigorous development ot of the country aider government ownership and management such a menace to co our national Is not to be lightly regarded forewarned forewarn warn d Is forearmed plausible and alluring luring in theory as it undoubtedly Is in practice government ownership and management ol of industry everywhere results in arrested progress stagnation lowered efficiency and an appalling growth ot of bureaucracy it would be difficult to con ceide of anything more disastrous occur I 1 ring in our economic life than such art an e extension x te ion ot of the principle of nationalize j tion contemplated by certain professional 1 propagandists with their headquarters in the national capital the plans of this group appear to me to bo be pivoted upon an attack directed against the hydroelectric industry of the country as a whole under the guise of a disinterested movement to save the people from ex exploitation P loi tation and oppression by the so called power trust a purpose sincerely if mistakenly believed by some engaged in the movement the attempt will be made to commit the national government to a 96 tan far caching reaching program of that sort of a collectivism which has everywhere proved disastrous and Is incompatible with the spirit and genius of our institutions the wise and adequate control set up and maintained under the federal water power act of 1920 which combines with opportunity tor for private industrial initiative and enterprise comprehensive preben sive regulation in the public interest and protection against monopolistic aggressions and abuses does not satisfy these people they want private initiative Itla tive and enterprise to be altogether excluded from this most important branch of our industrial system and replaced by governmental agencies 5 it if private enterprise entel prise had bad notably failed in this department of our economic life subjecting the nation to the evil consequences of its failure it would be easy to view this propaganda with patience and sympathy even if not with approval but what pre ere the facts as to that it Is common knowledge that nowhere has private been more abundantly justified than in this field no branch of economic activity in any land or any age can show results so uniformly beneficent so tree free from III and untoward effects promoting the well being of so largo large a part of the population nowhere else so far as I 1 know can there be found an equal record of if increasing returns at diminishing cost electric power in this country under private ownership presents the striking phenomenon of an indispensable commodity tor for which the demand increases faster than the supply s steadily declining in price in spite of an u upward trend of the price of practically practice tica lly every other commodity electric energy Is the cheapest service the world knows or has known today there is s probably mechanical energy amounting to not less than tour four and a halt half horsepower behind every industrial du worker in america behind these facts there is esthe the most inspiring chapter in the whole story of mans increasing mastery over his environment they explain that greatest of all phenomena increasing pro productivity with lighter toll and better living taken as a whole no workers anywhere in the world work under conditions equal to those prevailing or anything like jike such a high standard of living and there Is no country in which inventive genius has brought into the homes of the masses so many agencies alleviating the toll toil ol of the housekeepers and every time electric horsepower takes the place 0 ot f human muscle the caused cause of progress Is served such are the results which have been at attained under a system based upon private enterprise subject to social regulation where government ownership has been tried it has achieved no results hac comparable to the those which have been attained under the system that has pre availed in this country no though ful student of our social bobil problems c objects 0 to that regulation ot of our i industries rles which is wisely conceived in the interest ot of the worker the consumer and the state and which permits the development of 0 the industries to with the maximum aau age t to is to all three ivra what at is object tie n so called regulation web con ci 1 government interference to set up in a espirit spirit of r int 1 I J enterprise with the deliberate dU of placing basic or W at I 1 the hands of the c of e C 3 I 1 lies les stagnation g aaion cc certain R I 1 he 0 stand faO is I 1 inevitable nev t ic lowering late f tt a esea se iuda ral livi living ng a and s soon n or I 1 m ach labor labo r t to a burea bureaucratic spa spargo ago I 1 in new te york or times |
