Imperial Valley press., 1937-09-26
DISTRICT HEADS
REJECT LATEST
NEV-CAL PLAN
Continued from Page u


tag money for payment to the bond
holders seems nothing but an ef-
fort to solicit their help in muddy
ing the waters"
Gloves were off as foes in the
power war sat in informal discussion
about the board table. Issues aired
during the period before June Is
power election were again aired,
this time in the form of questions
to West.
"You propose to pay 2.75 mills
per kilowatt hour for all power used
| by consumers in Imperial and Goa
chella Valley and in Mexico" Heald
said. Would this be included in
the cost upon which your rates
would be fixed?" The answer was
yes.
Then this Is mills per kilowatt
hour for the balance of the power
would that be added to the cost
upon which your rates would be
fixed?
yes"
And the cost of transmitting
this secondary power-would that
be added, too?"
Your rates." answered West,
would be based on the cost of power
from the All American canal"
1T seems to me-" Heald COM
mented, that it would be like CIV
ing us S650,000 with one hand, and
taking it back with the other" (He
referred to a saving of approximate
ly S525,000 West claimed his. offer
would mean to the district)
Hewes Comments
Speaking of Vests reference to
the estimated saving, in which he
declared that acceptance OF the pow
er company plan would be better off
by S606,000 a year in the cash pic
ture, after deducting costs, Hewes
said:
you've assumed that the district
wouldn't develop any power on the
canal You haven't credited the
district with any revenue in your
comparison. You're telling us that,
in competition with you, We can't
make any profit"
"There1l be no profit in competi-
ton" West declared. Competition
requires spending from $4,000 to
$4,000 above normal expenses"
Later, Mark Rose returned to this
point.
Your argument runs to the fact
that, if there's competition, we'll
both be operating at a loss"
Yes" said West.
How long" Rose said, "are you
going to operate at a loss?"
Vests reply of indefinitely"
/ brought on a considerable discussion
during which Rose expressed the op-
inion that the power company will
withdraw from the field when its
books show in the red.
Plan TO Stay
"We justify staying here if we
meet expenses of our payroll" West
declared. 1--WE just can't pull up
our poles and get out. We'd stay
if we had no other customer than
the ice business"
you've no monopoly on the ice
business" Rose retorted.
People like competition, West
said.
yes" said Rose, "they like COM
petition-but not when they're run
ming one branch of the business" 7"
Ike Schlatter, chairman of the
board Of supervisors, took the con-
Yersation on another tack by ask
ing if, should the proposal be adopt
ed, the power company could agree
TO any consumer rates, and be held
TO the agreement.
''The rates are set by the railroad
commission" West answered, but
we could make an agreement with
you that the company would reim-
burse you if rates exceeded those
set up in the districts own pro-
gram"
Throughout, West held that the
company would charge rates no
higher than those the district pro-
poses in an engineering report.
Towards the end of the confer
ece. the discussion turned to the
power company's bonded debt, and
that part of the interest on this
debt charged against the consumers