Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1938-08-12

er company securities If all the d.
100000 who do pay income taxes own
power securities, there are still 2,OOO,-
900 others who earnings are not large
enough to pay an income tax who
also hold utility securities. The same
situation undoubtedly applies to
Canada.
Publicly-Owned Industry.
Moreover, the majority of the bonds
of the utility industry are owned: CD
| by insurance companies who have 65,-
100000 policy holders; (2) by savings
banks who have 100000 depositors;
l.{3) by hospitals who give succor to
millions of Americans; (4) by libraries
who provide free reading material to
100, 100000 citizens; 90 by churches
who pay the salaries of thousands of
clergymen; and co by colleges who
give education to 100000 United
| States youths each year. ~
| Hence, the power industry is not
owned by few wealthy people. There
is scarcely a United States resident
who does not have a direst stake in
| the securities of this business either
| through his insurance policy his saw
| ings deposit, his hospital, or his
church. Yet, it is this industry which
| the President has singled out to bad
ger, to intimidate, to persecute and
| to belittle for the past six years.
New PWA Loans.
| In June Congress appropriated 81
900 100000 for printing our prosperity
pump. The F'WA can loan part of this
money to municipalities to build pub
! lie power plants. Furthermore, in ad-
dition to the loans, the. ,PWA can
make outright gifts up to 35 per. cent
of the total cost of these new duplicat-
| ing systems. The only provision to
hamstring the PWA's generosity is
that the money shall not be granted
to any community where the existing
cOmpany's rates are "fair and reason
able.'' But this is no safeguard, be-
cause the final judge of whether. or
not the rates are "fair and reason
able" is to be the PWA administra-
ton. III
Electricity rates have been ragulat-
ed by state utility commissions for
years. Under this supervision, rates
have been constantly reduced. They
| are now only SO per cent of the level
of 25 years ago. Since 1888, utility
taxes have nearly doubled and prices
of their materials and under their
labor rates rates have risen sharply.
Yet, their rates are % per cent I'M
der the 1888 depression level. What
other industry can make such
claim? Utility customers in the Unit
ed States and Canada are today re-
ceiving far better service at far low
err rate than they are anywhere else
in the world.
Taxpayer s"The Bagman"'-
The money which the government is
borrowing to give or to loan to NUM-
CAPABILITIES is your money and my
money and 13O,OOO,0OO other Ameri-
cans money Is it right to use these
funds, as gifts, for the building of
municipal plants which will destroy
the existing private systems, financed
by our hospitals, schools, churches,
banks, insurance companies, and in
dividuaI citizens?
These new public systems will help
neither taxpayer nor customer. Their
rates WILL be lower than private rates
just as your living expenses would be
lower if the government gave you
your house and did not ask you to pay
taxes. The municipality however, will
lose a tremendous chunk of tax re-
venues because private utilities are
great taxpayers. The loss will be
made up by higher taxes on homes
and other real estate. In addition,
some year soon Federal taxes will be
boosted again so that the Federal gov
eminent can pay back the money it
borrowed to build these unnecessary
power systems. -.
How Did Your Congressman Vote?
Furthermore, these new public
plants will not help to prime the pros