The Bismarck tribune., 1922-12-27
WE PAY DEARLY FOR PUBLIC
,. OWNERSHIP

cheaper to buy an article special
lied in by another concern than
to make it as an adjunct of their
own business, and adduces from
this that governments have enough
to do in administering affairs and
letting the machinery be made by
those who really know how to
make it economically, instead Of
creating plants for manufacturing
the products needed by the peo-
pie.
In this connection it is the
pleasure of believers in state or
municipally-owned utilities to
mention the postoffice department
as a sample Of how we'll govern.
ments can handle things that
commonly belong to business inter-
ests. 1t is also well known to-
those who read as they pass along,
that the postoffice costs the peo-
pie a great deal more than the
same service could be supplied by
private enterprise for, as q glance
at the deficiency appropriation
bills annually passed by congress
attest. Recognizing this fact sew
eral times private interests have
offered to handle the posteffice
work at saving to the govern
ment, only a few years ago, a re
sponsible party offering to put up
whatever bond the government
asked to insure perfect perform
ance; to save the annual appropri-
alton to cover, ithe deficiency to
pay the government the sum of $5,-
100000 each year for the, .conces-
sion of handling the. mails, and at
the same time do this without in
creasing the rate of postage on any
class Of mail. Administration Of
ficers know this party could do all
he promised, make money, and
probably give better service, but
they also know the people would
rise up on their hind legs and fire
them all out of office if they even
suggested such thing.
The government is spending
millions every year in collecting
taxes in the most expensive way
possible. Almost anybody will
agree that combination of bust
ness men big business, if you
plea se-could do the same work at
vastly less cost than the revenue
department does now. Big Busi-
ness never would stand for the
waste and inefficiency now going
on. If the banking interests of the
country spent as much time and
money as the government in max
Ing collections they would all go
broke ~
over in France, where the gov
eminent owns, the telephone serv-
ice, the works are SO badly balled
up they are trying to keep people
from using phones by charging 700
francs for each new application
for phone to be put in, and yet
in France there are but 1,3 phones
for every 100 people. Here, under
private enterprise, we have 1874
phones for every hundred persons,
and they get the best Service in the
world, while the government
owned service in France is the rot
tenest. -
In this state we have the mill
and elevator industry load to carry.
1t has been in the hands Of men
without knowledge whatever Of
this kind of business, with the re-
suit that a great deal of money,
half a million dollars, we believe
it is placed at, was wasted by the
former directors before the insti-
tuition turned wheel, and which
sum must be added to the cost Of
the product as part of the overhead.
load. The present Board of Ad-.
ministration Is no better equipped
than the reca He'd officers to run
such an institution, But they know
it, which the other fellow didn't,
and have got the best men to be
had to attend to the practical part
and very sensibly are trying
to get the next legislature to create
a commission Of men .:conversant
with such affairs to try put it on a
paying commercial basis and give
the venture a fair trial so all
mankind can be satisfied there is,
or is not, virtue in this particular
kind Of state-owned utilities.
The success of the mill and ele-
vator depends entirely upon its
being handled like privately-owned
properties of similar nature, but
practical men will also have to
create the market for its products
and see that the mill is kept going
at its full capacity in order to
makeit pay out. And therein will
come another charge against the
utility which private interests
would not have to pay. But this
seems the only way toward sue
cess, for it would be ridiculous to
expect two lawyers and farmer
to hop in and making a bowling
success of one Of the most intri-
cate and delicate businesses in the
industrial word.
1t is interesting to hear the ideal
ist cackle about the beauties of
business.
Another state business is just
now attracting a. good deal of at
tention: the suit against North Da-
kota by a lumber middleman to
collect profits he would have made
from lumber sold the Home Build
ers' association, had nottthe asso-
citation become mired and the or
ders cancelled. Starting out with
a declaration that homes could be
built cheaply for the poor or mod
erately circumstanced man be-
cause the expense of the middle
man would be cut out, the associa-
tiOn at OncQ nrncopdQ0 To h1Iv