The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1917-06-07
Getting Rid Of SKINNED MIX.

has something Of the nature OF the
~ saueal'' the only thing that escapes
lat the stock yards. The farmer feeds his
skinned milk to the hogs, lot OF the
times and seeks to make his real profit
Of the cream. and the butter fat. Pub
lie service corporations do not care
anv more for " skinned milk than
any one else. They know that 1T pc
comes more useless as it becomes Older.
This IS pretty well illustrated in the
FATHER brazen petition Of the Wisconsin
Gas and Electric Company to the Rail
road Commission in which it seeks to
unload the city heating system "
Pretty nearly all Of the cream has been
skinned off the heating plant and
what is left is just about as near blue
John" as any farmer ever poured out
for unsuspecting hogs to eat. The prop
erty has been allowed to deteriorate.
Time was when it furnished to some
thing like hundred people in the city
q fairly good service. Most people
who use it will be willing to admit
that during the past winter the service
has been unsatisfactory. From the mem
DRY of bones numbed with cold they
echo unsatisfactory.
The equipment of the heating plant
is properly classed as out of date -
and insufficient = Probably most of
the money the people have paid for
services rendered in the days when it
was a real heating plant has been ex-
pended. The condition of the plant at
the present would indicate that little
of this money had bee1 spent in improv-
ing the service or replacing the system.
The heating plant would hardly be con-
sidered a real asset of any company
Admitting that all this is true it is
an imposition on the people of Kenosha
for the Wisconsin Gas and Electric
Company to ask for the privilege Of
abandoning this service. Public serv-
ice corporations are expected to carry
a reasonable amount Of skinned milk
in order to continue to get the cream.
JIG the public service corporation can
be given q permit to slight the duties
X owes to the city public service should
prove decidedly profitable. The Wis
consin Gas and Electric Company may
have a perfect right to look for nothing
but cream but even at that the people
are deserving of some consideration.
The company has shown willingness
tc abandon the operation of the street
railway system to the city. The thun-
der of the jitney competition has rem
dered this either SKINNED or sour milk
The company has said nothing of aban-
doning the highly profitable business
of selling to the people of the city elec-
trio light and power or of abandoning
valuable franchises for the sale of gas
These two utilities are properly classed
as Cream" Some people would sug-
gest that they are sufficiently rich in
butter fat to be classed as whipped
cream. Most institutions are forced
ito bear burdens in order to earn divi-
lCcnas Few institutions can class all
Iof their business as highly profitable.
The public demands that they carry
1some Improbable investments in order
that they be given the privilege to
earn on the profitable ones. This must
be the conditions about the Gas and
lL;ectric Company. Patrons Of the heat
inc system of this company have built
builoifgs with the understanding that
they axe to be heated from the central
plam. these people have paid high rates
Tor this service in the past, meeting
every demand Of the company. They
have Paid for the most part for conven-
lence-a royalty for convenience-an
they hPve stood increases in the rate
without any serious complaints. Who
IS to p~J these people for the cost Of
putting IN new heating systems? Will
the Railroad Commission direct that on
the abandonment Of this system the
company pay these bills? If it would
do this lot of people would say pour
out the skinned milk " and be clad to
do it. These people do not, however.
relish the idea of heavy expenses for
installation of new heating systems aft
or paying Tor years heavy rates for
heating service-or near service. In
instead of granting this company the
right to abandon this plant the Rail-
road Commission should issue an imme-
date order to the company. that the
plant be repaired and extended so as
to make it suitable for serving the pat
ronage it has and such future patron
age as it be able to secure. The com
pany cannot be permitted to be the dog
In the manger and hold fast to valu-
able paying franchises in the city and
at the same time throw off the bur-
den of the less, profitable ones which
are necessarily allied with the others.
The company must serve the people. If
service costs it little it must pay that
little in order to be permitted to earn
the more than comes from the other
business that it, handles. Public serv-