The Washington times., 1924-01-01
OPERATION
BY US. IS
SOUGHT
Ia Toilette and Other Senators
to Take Part; Success
In Ontario Cited
By JOHN T. LAMBERT.

10y OOAAN - AAANAADA1h0As
An emphatic call to the liberal
forces of the nation to assemble
Ia Washington at once to combat
IN alleged gigantic conspiracy Of
the electric and gas corporations
to seize the country's most val
liable water power was made to-
day by the Public Ownership
League of America.
Senators to be Speakers.
The convention will begin here
on January 16. Many of the fore
most liberals of the county will take
part. Senator Robert M. La Toilette
and Senator George w. Norris will
be among the speakers. Senator
James Couzens Of Michigan, who set
up successful public ownership Of
DetrOit's street railways, and Sem
ator Robert B. Howell, who was gen.
+. eral manager of the publicly owned
water, gas and ice plants in Ne
braska, will describe those successes.
Seantor Magnus Johnson will tell
how the Minnesota legislature
blocked the scheme of private cleo
trio corporations to get control of
the water power rights there.
The principal address win be de-
HvAred by Sir adam Beck, who will
describe the Ontario hydro-electric,
now generally admitted to be the
worlds greatest electric light and
power system and the most signifi-
cant example of successful public
ownership in America.
In brief, both the water-power and
steam electric plants are now en-
gagged in a scheme of hitherto un-
paralleled magnitude to unite all
their plants and to obtain control Of
the most valuable water-power
streams from the, Great Lakes to
Maine and southwark to this city
Opinions of Liberals.
81 Henry Fords desire to get Muscle
Shoals may be blocked by that
powerful combination of interests.
Here and there gas plants have gone
into the scheme for their own pro-
lection.
The liberal forces of the country
say il, there is going to be any con
aolidating and developing of natural
resources the country ought to do it
eSAAA AIS pSOplcf OQSAI NQreGb sIAC OSAC-
Its. Ontario : is magnificent ex-
ample of the possibilities.
The Ontario system was started
eloven years ago. 1t then supplied
tan cities and towns. At the end OF
1871 1t was supplying 247 municipali-
ties, n rural communities, and IA
separate electric systems. It is now
the biggest electric power producing
and distributing system in the world.
Reduction i'm Rates.
IN the previous days of private
ownership, the seventy-eight cities
Of Ontario were paying the private
plants at the average rate of 9.82
cents per kilowatt hour.
Under public ownership those
people now pay 1855 cents. The rate
Is as low in places as 1.6 cents.
There are forty-six cities whose re-
tail rates average less than 8 cents.
These are the lowest rates for cleo.
trfcity on this continent. There is
nothing approaching it in Canada ex-
cept Winnipeg and nothing in this
country except Cleveland, both of
which are publicly owned and pub
Incorporated plants
Because of these greatly reduced
rates, 1t is estimated that up to 1920
the light consumers had been saved
$3S,000,000 and the power customers
t20,000,000 moreL Sir Adam Beck
says the rates IRE going still lower.
There are many interesting COM
Parsons. TIE maximum rate of 124
Ontario cities and towns served by
public ownership Is 5A cents. The
rata OF ia. places in New York served
by private companies is IL 1-3 cents:
of 124 places in Massachusetts,
141-3 cents. In other words, the
high rate of private plants is more
than double that Of the public sys-
tenn OF Ontario. Ontario farmers get
cheaper power and can sell their
proCN1cts at lower prices. Ontario
street railways get cheaper power
ara charge lower fares.
1t is claimed that the great power
Bystem is paying for itself and is
not costing the taxpayers a penny.