Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-08-16
HIRE THEM DURING GOOD BEHAVIOR

Hike HEM OUK1NG GOOD BEHAVlOR-
The change in the view OF public service corpor-
atoms from privileged institutions enjoying
private snap called franchise to public servants
hired to supply certain necessities has developed
other ideas. When the right to use the streets was
treated valuable privilege, permitting the
holder to charge all that the traffic would bear or
all that its terms stipulated, it was granted for
fixed term and all obligations of the holder had to
be met within that term. If large expenditures
became necessary the end of the term money
could not be borrowed on long term bonds extend
ing beyond the term at low interest; it had to be
borrowed on notes due within the term and to be
paid from earnings during the life of the franchise
also bearing high rate of interest, and the pub
lie paid in correspondingly higher rates.
The corporation is now regarded as a public
servant-a sort of hired man to supply gas, cleo
trcity transportation. 1t is authorized to use
the streets for those purposes and its charges
are regulated by public commission to require
Il certain quality of service and to yield certain
tate of income on its plant over cost of service
This plan permits Of no value as attaching to the
franchise If income on such value were included
in cost of service, the public would in effect be
charging itself for the use of its own streets. The
y,
keeping down expenses of company, for it there
by keeps down the rates it pays
When that is the situation any limit to the per
iod during which company has the right to occu-
py the streets wo,k directly against those whom
it serves. When that limit is near, the company
must either pay high interest in order to make
Improvements repairs or it must let its plant
run down In the former case the public DAYS
high rates to cover the loan and interest; in the
latter case it gets poor service. The way to es-
cape the dilemma is to fix time limit to the
franchise, to regard the company as a man hired
to work for the public with his own tools, and t.
let 1t hold the job long as it does we'll This
plan has been found to work to the public advan-
tage in more ways than one. A company that gives
poor results can be fired without the long costly
process OF forfeiting franchise, but it can hold
the job indefinitely provided it gives good service
1t can Therefore maintain and improve is plant at
minimum cost The company is on its good behav-
Il, and the public gets good SCI ,'>c at rcas ole
rates.
But much depends on the type of men that tho
people elect to the public commission If they
elect men competent to solve intricate business
problems who act as unprecedented judges be-
tween the corporations and their customers and
who have courage to do unpopular thing when
justice Dictates they will be we'll served and the
corporations will do their duty, both to hold their
jobs and because they can be confident of a square
deal If the people elect incompetent men or men
who play politics with their jobs, service will de
teriorate, thru lack of efficient supervisors thru
inadequate rates and thru doubt on the part of
companies that they will hold their iobs-Port-
land Oregonian.