The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-03-31
WHY I OPPOSE BUYING THE
 PUBLIC UTILITIES

PUBLIC UTILITIES To Juneau taxpayers:
 represent none of the public utilities involved; but, as a tax payer and resident of Juneau for many years I oppose buying the public utilities because.
 Government operation of busi- ness is never as economical or effi- cient as private operation.
 Public ownership does not mean decreased rates: in fact, we can saiely assume it means in creased rates.
 3.--Unde~ a:uilicipai ownership all betterments and improvements must be paid either out of rate earnings CT from funds derived from taxing the taxpayers private property.
 4-Revenue producing bonds are a liability against all taxable pri- vate property because if rate earn ings do not produce enough to pay the principal and interest of the bonds, then funds must be raised either by the sale of new or furth- CT bonds or else by direct or indi- rect taxation of private property for the purpose of meeting the bonds and preventing a default re- sulting in the bond-holders taking over the public utility.
 5.-Under private ownership bet terments and improvements are capital investments. Except for reasonable depreciation and sur pluses, they are not deductable as as an expense in fixing rates; hence, they do not have to be re- paid out of rate earnings in the same sense as they do under pub lie ownership.
 6.-Under private ownership, Common Council holds legal right to regulate both rates and services of public utilities, but is free of the burden of providing better ments and improvements and of meeting rising labor and material costs.
 Under public ownership, Com mon Council must assume respon- sibility of providing betterments and improvements and of financing them as well as operational costs, which will result in turning the public utilities into an annual politi- cal football
 8.-Under public ownership, Ju- neau will not receive from the pub lie utility any of those municipal taxes which the private public util- ity must pay upon it's property just like other taxpayers.
 9.-Under private ownership, pub lie utility rates have not risen; in fact, a decrease in electrical cur rent rates was recently ordained. What other commodity has not in creased in unit cost during the past 10 years?
 10.-Under private ownership, the average Juneau householder pays less than the householder in An chorage, Ketchikan, Wrangell. Pe- tersburg or Sitka for the same av craze monthly quantity of electri- city consumed. Each of those other towns has a municipal public util iby.
 Speaking Of absenteeism-How do you benefit by switching from out side stockholders to outside bond holders? None. In fact, you will pay more annual interest to outside bondholders than the annual divi- dends now paid under private own- ership to outside stock holders.
 Under public operation watch the costs of operation and management immediately go up. Remember, too, those advocating the purchase don't want the public utility under city ownership to continue selling mer- chandise, from which an annual S12C00 profit is made. Under pub lie ownership that S12,000 will be lost
 Don't put Juneau into the night mare of municipal public owner en......Jsa..s..ss~,.lsA...-,./3Aa.s-