New Britain herald., 1928-05-04

! 1 gave less than the railroad. the trol 1 ley company and the phone com
 pany. The Roraback company. there, fore. cannot be regarded as beinG
 the star performer ill this publicity
 and educational spree. Most of the
 big utility corporations Of the state
 seem to have been scared either stiff i or silly over the spectre of govern.
 ment. municipal or community ownership. All of them seem to think they have a good thing-even the
 Connecticut company-and that all
 those who are inclined to question
 the beneficence of their ministrations
 should go on the blacklist, or are
 bolsheyiks, or something just as bad.
 Clarence c. Willard. secretary of
 this spring of eternal light on
 utility questions, also admitted that
 $500 had been spent during 1925 and
 1927 at the state Legislature in order
 to obtain copies of bills relating to
 public utilities legislation. There is
 some mystery attached to this. as
 with J. Henry on the premises or nearby surely no money was needed to obtain copies of bills, except to re-
 print them; and if the latter was done, the kindly and benev olent state surely would have printed enough copies to 50 around among all its friends the utilities. Seems that where there is so much money on tap there always is some financial foolishness.
 The Connecticut committee, sired by the fertile brain of Mir. Willard, met with such approbation by Sam uel Ferguson, president of the Hart ford Electric Light company. that he was made chairman. The member ship was electic, too not merely cleo tric; it included electric light, gas, street railway. railroad. telephone and water companies and the budget totalled s15,o0o. The membership companies were assessed one-fiftieth of ono per cent Of their gross income and certain fixed charges, every- thing being bueiness-like. One-fifth of the junk sent out to the press was published. we are sorry to learn. But none Of 1t in this paper. we again take occasion to emphasize.
 The pamphlet which was especial ly provided for use in high schools of the state and used in many classes n ctvics painted dismal pictures of the blight of municipal ownership. We have an example right in New If We are to take the utility seriously. New Britain owns Its water supply system, and 50 ioes Hartford. and as water conn panies were included in the propa- sanda membership they no doubt hoped to undermine the faith of the young in these municipal water plants. The high school pamphlet in 1926 was of 70 pages: but by 1927 somebody thought of a few new deas and the length of the thing vas 6 pages.
 In the high school pamphlet was ! statement to the effect that cities 'wning their public utilities suffer rom a higher cost of living than ' hose with private plants. This bril- iant blunder is said to have originated in a pamphlet issued previously by the National Electric light Association, which in turn was harged with getting it from the Ma ional Industrial Conference Board; ut the latter is said to have denied he paternity. Regardless of how the 'ild-eyed statement originated, high / chool students were expected to ccept tho unsupported hypothesis rom the pamphlet kindly placed in he hands of the faculty.
 The 1,eo5 names of individuals. ewspapers, school officials and eachers, civic clubs, banks, wom- n's clubs and state and municipal fiicials which were on the commit ee's mailing list were supposed to wallow the bait whole. It is time to Q indignant at the ghastly pretensc f these self-appointed mentors of ublic thought on economies. The 'ay they have gone about it is sub erslvc of proper understanding of ny Of the issues involved: ridicu- ,usly one-sided 1t cannot do other 'ise than stimulate investigation on he other side by all intelligent per- ons. It has defeated its purpose ather thoroughly. for from now OH II the carefully nurf,lrad efforts u4