The Omaha guide., 1933-12-23

OMAHA, NE
of the Portland Cement Association.
Building in winter is definitely practicable" said Mr.. Mebren. Some
years ago construction engineers and builders exploded the centuries-od
myth that construction like the bear, should 60 int hiding with the frs
nip of fall Methods have been in common use fol- ears which permit of
building in winter with rapdity and safety.
"A survey recently conducted by the CONSTRUCTION League of the
United States revealed that normally n of every ter workers in the coun-
try a a job in construction or in a industry dependent upon construc-
tion Further, n of every five loaded railroad carsc contains materials or
equipment fr construction Therefore, when construction hits a snag such
IS winter, all industry ard business, and practically all people. suffer a drop
in income and many workers get no income at all"
The Federal government and many of the states are dop all thai l.
IN their power to live up to the pledge that tire shall lot be another win
ter like the last To produce abe greatest results their efforts must have
M cooperation of the private citizen By building and repairing this win
ter lie will get bargains n construction values-and he wiz he monstrat;r
his faith in the axiom that investment and employment are better and cheau-
er than charity.
Once when Henry Ward Becher as told that he used bad grammar
in a sermon, he said: did I; We'll, all / have to say is-God heIp grammar
if it gets m my way when I'm preaching"
-
VISION PLUS CONTINUITY EQUALS RESULTS
The difficulties experienced by the government in formulating various
agricultural codes-such as that which is designed 20 controlt the dairy bust
ness in the New York milkshed-are having N very interesting result.
They ar demonstrating to the farmer that government aid, n o matter how
well intentioned Or how expertIy administered, cal be Of but limited and
temporary benefit and that for a solution to most of his problems he is
best able to work through farm cooperative organizations.
The cooperatives have the great virtue of permanence. They ire there
TO stay and are undisurbed by shifts in national state o. local administra-
tons They are immune t the usual redtape and loe-roIine Of poitcal
parties They ae free from diverse sectional influences. They ar able to
devote their every effort to forwarding the interests of the farmers who
make u their membership.
Government experiments in farm relief even when the het &c not;ua
lie behind them, are YER apt to be influenced by partisan politics. They are
influenced q well by a multitude of different warning viwpoints, and by
the exigencies of the hour OF necessity, they depend mainly IN getting i'm.
mediate results. rather than o building a sound foundation for te future
And most of them, in the past, for such reasons, have ended in whole or
partial failure.
Cooperatves are going forward and doing or for agriculture than
most farmers realize. Fruit of their work appears now, but their full
achievement belongs o the future.
TAXES KEEP THE RATES UP
The November Index, a publication of the New York Trust Company,
contains a n interesting table on the relation of taxes to gross revenue Of the
electric industry.
Few industries have ever had so difficult a time with the tax collector
In 1902 n electric utilities paid sA cents ut Of each dollar of consumer
revenue for taxes. In 1922, they paid 81 cents. In 1923, when business of
IL kinds were At their peak, they paid 81 cents. In 1892 when the abso-
Lutte bottom of the depression a touched, they paid lis. All durinu de-
preston taxes rosec constantly, exactly a they did in normal times.
The Index did lot show relation of taxes to let income. However. the
Edison Electric Institute estimates that total taxes for 1898 will equal Is
per cent Of thu net before deduction. of taxes. interest and amortization, as
compared with 1876 Der cen 1929. In the case of individual electric com.
panies, taxes often VI far beyond this proportion. and leave hardly any
net income al all.
In spite of such taxation, electric ratesh have gone down steadily since
n war But greater reductions, which could be made because of
constantly increasing efficiency, are prevented by yer rising taxes Tax.
free pubhcy-owned electric plants, subsidized by public debt certificates"
Commonly called bonds), occasionally offer rates below the private utility
level but at what a price to the taxpayer. If the average private utility
were suddenly made tax-free, it would be able to make drastic cuts in rates,
but what would happen to the public treasures? The hunreds of millions
IN utility taxes they would lose would have to be replaced through higher
taxes o other property. These are facts that those who continually attack
the electric ndustrysr rat structure usually fail to mention.
BUILT TO BURN
1t is potable that thousands of rural and agricultural communities in
which the fire loss is extremely high because of lack of adequate protection
do not remedy the matter because they believe they can't afford to- Thew
feel they are unable to make the appropriations that would build and main
tail a good fire department, situated at a central point where it could serve
a wide surrounding area.
As a matter of fact they can't afford not to. Farm fire loss is a nation.
al oSgrace- y a PropOrtl0nate basis, it is a great deal larger 80 far .s