The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-01-24
MUNICIPAL UTILITIES

That some change in the form of control of pub
lie utilities will be made by the present Legislature
GEMS certain.
The people demanding some relief from high
ates. They rather tired of the uniformity with
which the public service commission seems to have
favored the corporations and are ready to accept
almost any system that gets rid of the present
body.
1t is probable that when the lawmakers get
through tnkering with the bill, the people will still
find themselves enslaved to the corporations The
Federal courts have built up buwark of decisions
hat make it rather difficult for any commission,
if it so desired to give the people much relief, es
pecially to rates
The point with the people, of course, is that the
commission has not shown any great zeal about pro-
tecting the public rights in any matter and the
utilities have apparently found most ready listeners
for their pleas.
Some cities are fortunate enough to own one
n more OF their utilities Some have their own
water plants Others supply their own citizens with
gas an electricity. In the amendment to the
ures for the public control Of utilities these cities
should be interested in removing cityowned utilities
rom any control by the public service body.
The whole theory of regulation demands that
his be done. For regulation and control by the pub
lie service bodies rests upon the theory that the
commission will stand as an arbter between the
lubc and the utility, protecting the people from
90 high rates and poor service and protecting the
Utilities from conscaton or too extravagant service
There can be no need of such protection for the
Jeople who own utility
That body in these cases, and it often renders
decisions concerning them, must act a Judge be-
tween the people and themselves 1t tells the peo
pie of a community what it may may not do with
community sensible enough to have bought
or erected its utility should be trusted to
that utility to its own satisfaction
If every city owned all its own utilities which
slve purely local service, there would never have
oeen demand for any regulation of any kind.
If the publicly owned utility is badly managed.
The people have the simple remedy of electing
officials who will run it to suit them
To keep publicly owned utilities under the public
service commission is an outrage upon the theory
that the people have right to rule themselves.
We have been getting too far away from this
principle of home rule and the demand of the times
is for return to old principles.
The best government is that which the people
watch with their eyes and which is closest to
hem and always under their own control.
The old town meeting idea was good in the days
Of small communities. When the people got together
n one hall to discuss their own affairs they reached
decisions which fitted into the judgment and senti-
ment of the people The old town meeting went with
The coming of big populations and congested GEN.
ters and government has been taken farther and
farther away from the people until most of it
rests in Washington and for this State in Indian
apols and too little of it back in the villages cities.
hamlets counties and townships.
Only privately owned public utilities will object
o eliminating publicly owned utilities from regula.
on. They understand that if people operate their
gn plants efficiently the system might grow They
ant these utilities hampered and not helped
Here is one spot where home rule should be APP
led TO the limit and every city allowed to operate
S utility plants, if it has any, in the manner it
oeases. City owned utilities not be helped by
regulation. The cities that progressive enough
to have them need no guardianship Certainly pri-
yatey owned plants can not complain of unfair COM
petition