The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-11-10

A~Ao'4 A.As' tally most experts
agree that Electric Bond & Share
got pretty fair prices for both these
properties. This is surprising, be-
cause the general impression had
been that Electric Bond &, Share
was second on the list of best hated
electric holding companies as far
as the White House is concerned
Whereas Commonwealth & South
ern had been regarded as being
pretty near the top of the most ia
vored list, yet it is having tough
time getting the city of Chattanooga
and other communities that want to
roll their own to make fair offers.
All over the country cities and
towns that had counted on PWA. al
1otments for electric distribution, or
generating plants, have been
amazed at the dictum that they
must make reasonable offers for the
privately owned plants in their COM
munities before federal money will
be forthcoming This is carrying
out the so-called Barley promise.
To,cns and Cities Bit Hazy
About Whaf Is Reasonable"
In the closing days of the last
session of congress opponents of
what they regarded as unfair gov
ernment competition with private
business were pressing for an
amendment to the relief bill which
would have prevented loans or
grants to any cities where privately
owned systems were already serv-
ing the public. To head off passage
Of this amendment, which looked
very strong, Sen. Alben w. Barley
of Kentucky, Democratic leader of
the senate, promised that, if the
amendment were not adopted, PWA
would make no loans or grants UNI
less reasonable offers to buy out
existing facilities had been refused
by the private owners.
Now the cities and towns desiring
loans do not know what to do. They
have very hazy ideas as to what a
reasonable" offer for the plant
they want to buy is. In very few
instances have they anything to go
on except the figures of the existing
company. AS a result, they have
appealed to Secretary OF the Inte-
rior Ickes to loan them experts to
make the calculations on which they
will make their reasonable" offers.
Treasury Buying All Silver
Merico Chooses to Offer
Despite the popular impression to
the contrary, the federal treasury
is buying every ounce of silver that
Mexico chooses to produce and sell.
Furthermore, it's holding up the
world price by SO doing. Besides
that it is paying handsome sub
sidy into the Mexican treasury be-
cause Mexico imposes tax of eight
cents an ounce on silver produced,
SO that every time Uncle Sam pays
43 cents for an ounce of Mexican sill
yer eight cents goes into the Mexi-
can treasury direct. Of course,
there are other Mexican taxes on
the producers, so that actually the
net benefit to the Mexican treasury
is good deal more than eight cents.
In addition, Mexico collects a new
export duty amounting to II per
cent of the value of the silverl
A somewhat comparable situation
would be if England decided to buy
all Of Americas chief export crop,
cotton, and to pay for it, not the
world price, but a couple of cents
more, say 10 cents a pound now and
If the United States government i'm
posed tax of one cent a pound on
all cotton produced, the federal
treasury in Washington would then
benefit not only by the direct tax on
the cotton that would be sold, but
in taxes on the handlers and what
little could be raised from the pro-
ducers themselves.
Actually, a fairer comparison
would be copper, because that is
produced by large corporations,
largely, as silver is produced in
Mexico, and hence the higher price
paid by England would produce
larger federal corporation and ind-
vidual income taxes.