The Marietta journal. (Marietta, Ga.) 1918-1944, 1921-02-11
ANARCHIST OR
DREAMER. /" SAY
COMMISSIONERS
Facts of Vital Interest to
Everybody in Georgia
National Association of
Railway & Utili..es Com
missioners Warns
Against Radicals


The National Association of Rail-
way and Utilities Commissioners met
in Washington, D. c., November 9th,
1920.
This association is made up Of rep
resentative men from each of forty-five
states; these men are selected By the
people Of these states to study the
operations of public utilities and to
regulate their rates and practices.
They are not interested in the corr
porations which they control, but they
represent the public, and speak al
ways in the interest of the public
welfare. They have given many
years of stud. to the problems of the
various corporations which under their
regulation furnish the street rail-.
way, gas and electric light and power
service to the public of the United
States, and by reason of their ex-
periencc they arc qualified, better
| than any other men of the nation, to
speak with authority as to what is
best for the public interest. The Rail-
, road Commission of Georgia is one
of the members of the Association
and was represented at the meeting.
The following quotations are from
the report of the Committee of this
Association on Public Ownership and
operation, and are CT interest to ev-
cry Georgian:
1.-THE question of private ownership
aoith regulation cs ogcinst public
ownership Uit5o%t regulation should
no logger be considered by Intelligent
investigators an open question.
IF the real facts night be ascertain
cd and the same, test applied to the
publicly-owned and operated utility
as is applied By rcrulatcrv bodies to
the privately owned and operated
utility, the general result will apply
in all instances.
1T seems remarkable that ana sane
mo-, scith q k:'oylcGgc of the increase
IN all costs of Icing should think or
capect thot rntl;ty corporations
| might be az exception to the genernR
ra.le. No reasonable necn has thought
so.
"The operation CT these general
laws has again produced the politi-
cal agitator who has sought and is
seeking to make political capital out
of present necessities. We all know
him and we all undcrctand. his mo-
| tives."
1T stands to reason that no busi-
ness enterprise dependent upon the
varying changes Of political thought
can be operated by the public in as
efficient, methodical and careful q
manner as can similar business en-
terprise managed by a body of men
who have their capital invested there
in or who represent those who have
invested their fortunes therein"
There are two classes of people
opposed to private ownership with
Government regulation"
Zone is made Up Of the classes of the
Communist, the anarchist and all
others aOho follow the divers and ga
s'ious governmental Uugaries With
aOhich they seek to suppIant our con-
stitationot government. The other
! general class is the dreamer, the vi-.
sionary aoho deals IN idcoIs not facts.
Destroy private ownership with
public regulation and the ment step
as governments oaoncrship and govcrm-
ment operation. When that time
comes, If it does, our system of GOO
eminent a0ill haze changed to meet
it,"
Would Load Georgia With Debt
To add any comment to these strong
| words from the Association OF Rail-
way and Utility Commissioners Of
forty-tive states seems like sacrilege.
but you are reminded that the NUM-
| cipal League of Georgia is dominated
by James L. Key, Marion NJ. Jack
son and John ]. Eagan, all members
| of and inspired by the Public Owner
ship League of America, a Chicago
organization Of radical Socialists. and
that these agitators who are bowling
about water power development and
low rates for street car, gas and cleo
trio service, are the age is in Geor-
gia of political organization seeking
to destroy our democratic form Of
Government and they are brazen
enough to ask that many generations
OF Georgians be loaded with debt and
taxes to enable them to begin their
operations. They want the Legisla-
ture to vote them hundreds of mil
lions of the States money so that
they may make an experiment in
public ownership of private business.
which experiment has failed wherever
tried.
Raid Treasury for Politicians
They want Georgia to place its
credit for hundreds of millions of dol
lars in the hands of the three leaders
of the Municipal League of Georgia.
men who have no knowledge Of the
business of public utilities, and who
simply want to raid the treasury Of
Georgia and with it build q political
machine at the expense Of the peo..
pie.