The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1920-05-07
.C|TYS PROPOSED
LIGHT AND POWER

Everett will be called upon to vote
for or against a bond issue of two
million dollars for a municipality
owned light and power system.
1t is already being noised about
that the plan is very impractical;
that the bond issue will increase
taxes: that the revenues from the
system will be insufficient to make
it pay; that the city cannot run it
as cheaply as the private concerns;
that there is no need of city light
and power system when we have a
public service commission that will
hold the private companies down to
a reasonable profit, and, in short,
the whole gamut of objections that
usually pop up every time a city
proposes to take over any kind of
g public utility. together with a
few new ones, perhaps, will soon
have made their appearance. Suf-
flee it to say that this whole list of
objections usually has a source not
very far removed from the private
companies that are never in favor
of giving up a good thing if they
can possibly avoid it,
You are being told and will con-
| 10 ho fold hot will in
crease your taxes. Don't worry too
soon. Under the ordinance by
which the proposition is being sub
mitted to the voters for approval
or rejection not one penny can be
taxed against the people'of Everett
or any one else, for the zconstruc-
ton, operation or maintenance, or
for any other purpose in connection
with the proposed system. The
bond issue, as you will vote upon
it, is strictly a revenue bond issue
and as such, payable wholly and
only out of the earnings of the
plant itself, so you may dismiss
from your minds Immediately this
terrible bugaboo of an increase in
taxes.
You are being told, and will con-
tinue to be told and at times by
some who pretend to be friends OF
municipality owned public utilities
that this is the wrong time to build
anything; that prices are too high
and that the whole plan is exceed
linly impracticable, but plain COM
mon sense will tell you, even tho
a score or more of disgruntled en-
gineers harp about the system be-
ing so terribly impractical, that il
the bond buyers are willing to buy
the bonds, you may rest aDso-
Ilutely assured that the plan is prac'
teal for the bond buying company
will have to feel completely salts
fled and confident that the system
is practical or it will not buy the
bonds, so that the very worst thai
could happen would be that If the
system is impractical, the city coult
not market the bonds, and you
could not even in that event be any
worse off than you are now.
If then you can not be taxed il
any way for the plant and the bono
BUYERS buy the bonds confidently
Irelying on the plan that they viii
be paid in 20 years or within rea
sonable length of time thereafter
and the city thereby without one
cent of outlay so far as taxes are
concerned, but solely out of the
earnings of the plant acquires
utility worth two million dollars
Iplain common sense tells you thar
YOU have everything to gain ant
nothing to lose. What more car
YOU ask? 1t is an absolutely safe
bet that you can depend on the
ocnd buyers to solve any worries
YOU might have about the plan be
ing practical. And it is also fail
to assume that if you had to de
pend on all the various engineer
agreeing and declaring that thu
system was practical, that yol
would not today have municipal!
owned water plant or light plant II
the whole United States, because
the private companies can Away
prevail on scads of engineers to de
clare any kind of municipal!
owned project to be impractical.
You will be told that this is thu
wrong time to build; that you have
fair light and power rates and tina
jthe public service commission viii
regulate the rates and hold the pri
waite companies down to reason
= able profit, but what has been you
experience? You have had cast
in which you asked for a reduction
of the light rates pending befor'
the public service commission TO
Lot ,,;Yo wars 10 GtilI nQnd