Evening star., 1919-01-26


the agency first serving it, a rival
which has made no effort or expendi-
ture may step in and compete for the
newly profitable business. This
throws upon the public the burden of
supporting by its future payments
for services two overheads instead of
one. and leaves one system, the first
in the field, under the obligation of
performing essential but unprofitable
services, while the other. which
shares it's profitable business but
does not share its improbable busi-
ness. is under no such obligation.
"Thus We do not get that which WAS
aimed at--competition--bu we do get
that which we should strive to avoid
division. And the public. unthink-
ingiy, hail it as a benefaction while
paying for it at Il high figure with
out knowing it. Thus. through the
fact that in one way or another the
public has had to pay the costs of all
competition in the establishment and
operation of duplicate means of COM
munication--plant, overhead charges,
commercial promotion---it is and has
been the fact that such so called COM
petition really has resulted and inevi-
tably must result in public loss in
stead of in public gain.
ITO my mind public utilities may
be defined as facilities which provide
such services or commodities as are
absolute necessities under present
conditions and for which there is no
substantial alternative in quantity or
quality.
.s X
From prehistoric times anything
of public necessity, whether mo-
nopoly or not. has been brought un-
der some form of community or gov
crnment control or regulation. The
extreme manifestation of the admis-
sion Of this necessity in modern times
is government ownership and opera
tion. To this there has been we'll
grounded opposition. although really
this has been not to the riehtful the
ory, but to the danger of political
partisan operation with it's possibil-
ity of political control through COM
binations of employees.
Control and regulation have been
adopted very generally as alterna-
tives but never have been systema-
tized The fact is a diverse and con-
flicting control and regulation, not
only by the national government, but
by practically every one of the forty
eight sovereign states. This is pro-
ductive of confusion and uncertainty
rather than of that efficiency which
would grow out of ap intelligent con-
troll.
PERSONALLY 7 am quite certain that
in these facts lies an opportunity for
the present-day people of the United
states to do the greatest beneficial
constructive work OF the age by devils
ing combination of the various ex-
listing utility services which are COM
Elementary and supplementary into
co-ordinating systems of an extent de-
termined by commercial geographic
facts, at the same time combining
governmental authority with an ex-
pert operating organization adapted
TO the requirements of the service,
based on the methods which expert
ence of industrial operation has shown
to be efficient and economical.
Government control by restriction
and regulation In the United States. as
we at present know 1t, needs the same
medicine that our utilities need-com-
bination, coordination, cooperation.
the application of the one system
idea. all it's parts interdependent, with
similar control for similar utilities
and single control over the factors
making for continuity. permancnce,
efficiency and success OF operation.
Above all there must be recognition OF