The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1928-05-18

tons after the World War; 1t was in 1919 that Sam
uel insult enlightened by his experience the Illinois
Council of Defense summoned the vice presidents of
five companies and instructed them to organize
agency to teach the people the peril in political" rate
making By 1925 Mr.. insult was delivering addresses
at Illinois University "Why So Many Bright Young
Men Enter the Public Utility Industry" and at North
western University Requirements for Success"
Hundreds of letters and reports and speeches. taken
from the files of the Qnsul) Illinois Committee
Public Utility Information, from the files of the Ameri
Gas Association and from the correspondence of the
National Electric Light Association testify to the
tvty of the utility forces in all grades of the public
educational system. Surveys of text books touching
upon the public utility problem-notaby one made in
Illinois in 1929 involving 1O5 different texts-have
been followed by campaign to replace the poison
ous ones with text books satisfactory to the adj
vocates OF private ownership and minimum regulation
From books the long of the power trust has reach
ed back to the authors of books the teachers the pub
fishers and to university policy. Subsidies have been
offered and taken
In its recently issued volume on the electric power
industry, based two years of study, the Federal
Trade Commission dealt with some of the outstanding
features of this aggression of the ndustrys private
management against the educational world 1t showed
that for long time effort had been made to foster
the teaching of pubicutity economics in the public
schools and colleges both by having text books pre-
pared for class and reference and by having
utility executives give talks to the classes Gin order
that the viewpoints of the ndutrys leaders the
nomcs, social and political aspects of their business
may be presented to the oncomng generation of ct-
zens and power consumers
In other words foundation has been laid for preju-
dice against public ownership, with all its Implications
Dean Ralph E. Heilman of the School of Commerce,
Northwestern University, has been of the educa-
tors most closely in the councils of the utility
indicated by the evidence before the Commission In
its report that body quotes his address of April is,
1925, before the Wisconsin Utilities Association where
he pointed out that Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania
Northwestern, Indiana, New York and Harvard Uni
versitles mad introduced complete public utility
He expressed the opinion that this training would
tend to teach the students and the public that regua
tion must not be harsh.
Harvard University was granted, in 1925, the sum
of $4,000 year for three years. through the Nation
at Electric Light Association for research staff in
public utility management Last year Northwestern
University receiving $32,5OO for research Small
er gifts for special technical work were bestowed on
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Johns Hop
kins and the University of Michigan.
letter from r. r. McGregor, assistant director oil
the Illinois Committee, July 49, 1927 to A. G. McKen
zie of the Pennsylvania Public Service Information
Committee, deals with the Institute for Research in
Land Economics and Public Utilities which had beer
moved by PROFESSOR II. L. Ely from Wisconsin tC
Northwestern in 1925. McGregor wrote that it was
ga sound institution supported financially and in spirit
by the public utilities, including the national associa
tions They very friendly to the public utili
tes in fact, the personnel that teaches the pub
lie utilities economics at Northwestern Unver
sty constitutes the active workers in the research"
The chairman of the Committee on Cooperation witt
Educational Institutions of the E. L. A. speakin,
to the 1926 convention referred to two instances dur
ing the preceding year in which professors at universe
ties which getting financial help from the utit
industry had INDUCED in "outbursts" of hostility
counseed patience with these disturbers saying tina
they might not be expressing the consensus of Opinion
of their colleagues
He told the story of Balaam and Baak, and explain
ed Now, the professor if you please, gentlemen re
CARDS himself as being inspired by jehovah as havin
had put into his mouth by Jehova the blessings an
curses which he must give . :. The one suggestion
would offer is that the prophet is most amenabe to in
splratlon. If we be sure that we have got hol
with reference to industry of the will of Jehovah
perhaps we may also play the part of Jehovah in put
ting into the mouth of the particular Balaam whom
are asking to go forth something of the truth whc
we would like, which have right to expect to hav
prophesied."
In March, 1927, DR.. Horace M. Gray, Department
Economics University of Illinois, speaking to joir
meeting of the Illinois utility associations suggeste
what returns might fairly be expected by the utiit