Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1914-09-01
THE OLD PARTIES AND THEIR MoNopoL1Es.

pses saS column na has been lost sight " our
The above is from subscriber who requests that an
additional copy of the Capital News be mailed another
address at his expense and his reference especially to
the attitude taken by this paper edtoray upon the
ter OF the control OF public utilities in this state and
sustaining adequate power for this purpose the pub
lie utilities commission.
It is that economic phase of the great problems of
civilization wherein they affect government that the peo-
pie overlook And the sranges part of it all is that they
are induced to overlook it in the very of economy!
Willy, and sometimes INSCRIPTIONS, politicians appeal
to old preudces of the people in order to get them pro-
duce result which is beneficial to these politicians nd-
recy through the benefit to the corporations back of
them, which is anything but beneficial to the people,
The people, through long years of experience and
teaching very naturally became prejudced against
opoy but the of that prejudice the evils that
monopoly brought about which caused the people
sight entirely of the advantages and thus it happened that
there arose prejudice in favor of competition spite
OF the many and great evils of competition
Relying upon the fact that the people have not vet
learned to know that monopoly be made bene-
cia through the removal of its evils under efficient pub
nc CONTROL appeal is made to the old prejudces against
monopoly and in favor of competition to induce the public
to look with dsavor upon the control of corporate evils
If there had always been efficient control over the evils
of monopoly the people would be quick the evils
competition and would for moment submit to that
ancient system of the survival of the tes after the
manner OF the powerful seeking to destroy the weak
All monopoles, uncontrolled would probably be detr-
mental to public welfare but it is the evil which
monoposc greed would be put that would prove deri-
mental So if those evils be eradcated it follows that
monopolies not necessarily bad things 1t for the
purpose of controlling them that create public utilities
commissions whereby it follows that the greater the
power OF control the greater the good that will result
the public and the less that of control the less will
be the good that is accomplished
We are, of course talking about efficient control IF
we have not had efficient CONTROL the fault lies with the
members of the public utilities commission and not with
the purpose of the law creating the commission insofar
the questions that have caused the present agitation
concerned.
The real purpose Of the Republican and Democratic
parties, as set forth in their respective platforms to
weaken the law because of alleged mistaken ruling of
the commissioners In other words these two parties
have been quick to seize upon unpopular or supposed
unpopular act of the commissioners themselves weaken
the commission law to prevent that very control
which is necessary to make that law worth anything the
public!
In other words both parties acting as friends of
greedy monopoly while pretending the people that they
are opposing the creation of monopoly If they succeed
in doing what they have threatened do in their party
platforms they will set back decade at the very least
an efficient control and regulation of monopoly in the
terests of the people,
In the language of our correspondent, they pro-
posing to overlook the economic phase of the great
question that should be treated from economic phase
COST OF GOVERNMENT THE SAME.