The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-09-03
PROUD TO MEET HIM
R. GHKESOM,
cIothIeF and FurnISher
1o7 Main 81

to furnish power to manufacturing
plants at q much lower rate, Is 1t
very good business policy to oppose
these companies in coming into West
Virginia investing their millions,
paying for all the land they take or
damage, and developing latent en-
ergy that we have allowed to lie dor
mant and useless since the dawn Of
civilization?
1t is true that there are no such
dams being constructed in our imme-
date vicinity, but there is COM
psny spending many millions Of dol
lars on Cheat river in similar work
and thiS whole region expects to reap
very material benefit from the con-
struction of this great enterprise.
Agents for the --1%er company
have already canvassed this whole
region listing the machinery that is
ran b, power and they certainly will
not attempt to furnish this power to
local industries unless they have a
better proposition to offer than those
who are now furnishing 1t in limit
cd way.
We are told that power will be
generated so cheaply at the Cheat
! river plant that the company can
| furnish large user Of power like the
(Monongahela Valley Traction Com
pany, at a cheaper rate than they can
manufacture their own current, and
furnish it in practically an unlimited
qIuntity.
With cheap power for all manu-
featuring purposes, and for use In
the mines of this region, It means
more rapid development Of our nat
ural resources which means more
business for everybody. 1t means
that other capital will be induced to
come into West Virginia to utilize
this cheap power.
1t is not to be thought with all
these reasons held. out for encourag-
ing the constructions Of power dams
in West Virginia that we would want
To sacrifice human life for the sake
of monetary gain in increased bust
ness, but we believe these dangers
have been very largely overdrawn
and the picture of calamity is in fact
only the ranting Of the calamity
bowler who has no fear OF or care for
the loss of life and who cares very
little one way or the other whether
such an accident as the breaking OF
these dams should ever occur. We
do not attribute these motives to the
Gazette or to any other newspaper,
but we suspect that these demagogic
knockers have in Il manner inspired
the utterances of some Of them on
this subject.
The power companies should be
encouraged in every way possible to
invest their money in West Virginia.
1t will add millions to our taxable
property. The state officials should
see to it that the states interests are
properly protected, that the life OF
the citizens Of the state are not en-
dengered, and that the state is suit
ably compensated for any privileges
it surrenders to these companies.
With these precautions there
lshould not be any intimidation or
Iharassing of enterprises which come
Into our state to develop a great re-
source that we showed no disposition
to use ourselves and which we did
not have the capital to develop. II
looks too much like case Of the dog
In the Manager to try to bar this bust
ness from West Virginia. West Vir-
Cjnia will be better off with these
great power companies in operation
II the state does NIT get single dol
lar of direct revenue from them, since
they will add so much to the develop
ImCnt of our other resources.