Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-11
Outside Point of View

The state of New York now has a
law which established and put in
practical working. public service
commission. SO great are the bene-
| fits derived and so perceptable to all
observers are the good results. that
the neighboring state of Connecticut
is all but ready TO institute a like
commission Wisconsin is another
state agitatins the question, and Iowa
can adopt it as just the thing needed
to complete the recent reform work
of the last Legislature. The success Of
this public service commission is that
they have power to do things, and
so certain and sure is this power that
corporations as we'll as individuals re-
spect and obey its orders. New York
had railroad commissioners. Like the
Iowa board of railroad commissioners
their power was limited and their work
farcical. But the public service COM
mission of New York, hears COM
plaint makes an investigation and
issues an order. The railroad COM
panies and the street electric lines
obey their orders. Only in a very few
cases have they appealed to the
courts.
Their power is almost unlimited. The
merchant prince that "stood in with
the police" now removes his boxes and
barrels from the sidewalks. The gas
company removes the meter that was
incorrect. The stree, car company
puts on more cars when ordered to
do so. The hackman that over-charges
the stranger has his license taken
away The man that keeps an ugly
dog on his premises, sells or kills the
dog as promptly as the neighbor with
the profane parrot, when some one
complains to this commission, and the |
nuisance is proven. Their office is
open Sundays and has telephones that |
can be used all over the city. They |
employ detectives as we'll as other men
to instantly investigate all written or
verbal charges. To illustrate their |
power, one day recently they diverted |
a portion of the immense traffic over
Brooklyn bridge, this in the way Of
an experiment to see if the Crush"
on the bridge could not be avoided at |
certain hours of the day. At the same !
hour one of their agents was inves-
tigating a complaint of a poor wash
erwoman that a nearby chimney's
black smoke spoiled her washing. In
a word this commission was appointed |
to look out for the rights of the in
dividual. 1t was made to get busy,
where what is everybody's business
is nobody's business"
No nation on earth equals this coun-
IN Of TT, \
The national pure food law is regulat-
ing to some extent the manufacture
and sale of these preparations. But I'M
ess one makes an investigation of the
quantity sold in our drug stores. as
we'll as in many doctors offices. he has
40 idea of the immense quantity sold
One would think our physicians would
protest as individuals and as a body II
against such indiscriminate sale and
Use. However, if entirely selfish mo-
ives actuated our medical men, they
ose nothing in the long run. It's only
l short time after the headache tablet
s used that the doctor is called AS to
he real value of some of these prep
lrations. there will be a great differ
,nce of opinion. That many owe
heir great popularity to the larger
percentage of alcohol, they contain,
,oes without saving. Habitual pur-
.hasers buy one remedy because i.
contains whisky, another for brandy.
rim or even Old New England rum.
Golfers Weekly has performed a great
public service in Showing up some
# these so-called cures 1t has also
lone great good in pointing out GER
ain so-called religious weeklies, that
erssted in publishing advertisements
f these remedies, after the publish
RS had a knowledge of the fake up
# the cure" Such papers would not .