The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-01-04

laws made that would be unfavor-
able to them, but favoring the peo-
pie who use the power. II all the
capital invested in these plants be-
longed to people living in the COM
munities served by them, these same
people would be very careful not to
restrict the power business with leg
islation that would injure it. If we
could not develop our power bust
ness until we got enough money
saved in our own new communities
to put into it, we could not develop
the service fast enough to meet our
needs nor fast enough to have it
done on an economical basis. In
order to start the development of
power business, these companies had
to go to financial centers to get their
money, but it is their wish to take
the local people into partnership as
| fast as they can, and at least keep
a fair balance between the interests
Of the foreign rapital and the local
people. That is why the Idaho
| Power company has been trying for
years to get local people to invest
money in its stock, and guarantee
| ing certain fixed returns on the in
vestment. 1t gets local people to
studying the power business, to
being friendly to it as they come
to understand it, and as they come
to realize the wonderful progress it
is destined to make, they will OPP
pose radical measures that would
hamper it's development.
1t has always been rather difficult
to get capital fast enough to keep
pace with the development or the
desired development of southern
Idaho. They have had to pay high |
rates of interest at times to secure
it at all, and the more radical peo-
pie there are in state crying
against the power trust, the more
timid the capitalists are about in
vesting or loaning money in our
state. Whenever the radicals get
control of legislature, capital sits
back and waits to see what they will
do. When the non-nartisan league
was gaining ground in Idaho, and
crying against all sorts of capital
and the power, trust in particular,
the power company had to pay as
high as 8 per cent on bonds that or
dinarily could have been disposed of
at 5, 6, or per cent. All of this
interest is a legitimate charge
against the consumer, and every
body that uses electric light or
power today is paying little more
for them by reason of the threats
made by the non-partisan league
speakers when they were touring
the state four and six years ago.
Some of the best power plants in
the accompanying pictures were
equipped with money obtained by
selling bonds at a sacrifice when
that agitation was going on. The
state utilities commission begins it's
work next week, making rates for
power and lights for us to pay for
some time in the future and they
will have to allow something on the
rates to cover this higher rate of
interest on bonds sold under that
scare and those threats.
In our issue of December %,
chapter ", we told how the utilities
commission had obtained informa
ion showing the true value of all
he property belonging to the power
how they had cut out of -
all investments that
we're unjustified or that are not now
entitled to earn returns, how the
otal of twenty-five million invested
vas cut to a little over eleven mil
ions on which returns will be al
owed, and in this it is not likely
hat that any one will claim that
90 much has been given to the
)ower company. Because of the
act that they are a public utility,
'ur laws require that the utility
commission, appointed by the gov
rnor, shall have access to all their
looks and shall say what price they
hall receive for the service they
If the utility commission
hould allow them too much it
yould place a hardship on the con-
umers and the whole public and
specially the consumers. The power
usiness would ultimately suffer
ecause it would react against them
nd they would find that people
ould try in every way they could
} get along without their product.
the commission should make the
ate too low, it would discourage -
vestors and they would withdraw /
lpital from the state as fast as
ley could and the state would suf- II
r from that.
All unjust critisim and all unfair
citation of these matters hurts the Il
ate and it's people. When we are i
1t we'll informed on a subject we \
e apt to condemn it's management. II
lere is a saying, what we are i
It up on we are generally down i
l." We have given our readers i
csc six chapters on electricity, be- i
wing that it would be profitable /
them to have the information, 4
d that it would not only be profit
lie to them now, but more so with II
CHI succeeding year, as they come
know more about this important II
1ustry and to use it more. 1t has
can't great amount of study and
rk to prepare the articles, and it
work that the publisher receives
thing for excepting the satisfac D.
l of doing a good service for the
aders of the paper. A small
lount of similar work done for =
r readers six or seven years ago Il
S been so serviceable already, we E