Milford chronicle., 1947-06-20

WHEN OFFICIALS of the Reclamation
Bureau outlined plans for public power de-
velopment before the Senate Subcommittee
on Appropriations for the Interior depart,
ment, Senator Wherry of Nebraska asked
this very potent question:: Where DO prl-
vate power companies fit into the Reclama,
ton Bureaus power picture" He was tolo
that the Bureau will not injure the private
companies, and that it does not intend TO go
into the retail power business. But, said one
reporter, Senator Wherry, who witnessed
the demise of private power companies IN MS
own state through similar tactics, was un-
convinced"
There is plenty of reason for this skeptl-
cism. The whole history OF soclallzed power
has been highlighted by the destruction OF
private enterprise In that held[tnrougn LAX
free tax-subsidized seizure and competition.
The most ruthless tactics have been employ
ed. The fact that the electric industry has
a record of the finest kind of service at con-
stantly declining rates has been ignored.
Hundreds of millions of the peoples dollars
have been wasted on unnecessary, duplicate
facilities. Flood control and soil conserva-
ton have been used as camOufiage to veil
campaign whose ultimate goal is the complete
naturalization of all our power resources.
The House did the right thing in cutting
Reclamation Bureau appropriations. The
private industry-publicly regulated, heav-
ilv taxed. and privately financed-will pro-
vide all the power we can use If given the
chance. Any power shortages which now
exist are the direct result of government
policy which has made private construction
impossible in many areas. Change that pol
icy and end tthe power problem" in this
country.
WITHIN THE NEAR FUTURE, the
United States will learn whether or not 1t is
making progress in the war against fire.
The Presidents Conference on Fire Pre-
vention, which took place in May, laid the
groundwork for the most intensive and sclen-
tifc campaign to reduce our staggering loss
es ever undertaken. Some 5000 delegates,
representing every part of the country, at
tended An ambitious and all-inclusive pro-
gram was developed. Every phase of fire.
prevention activity, from mOdernizatiOn and
enforcement of building codes to keeping the
public informed of the menace, is involved.
1t is an emergency program, designed to deal
with a real and growing emergency condi-
ton.
These delegates are now working at home.
Some of their work will be of technical ma
ture, such as advising on community fire
equipment and the training of fire depart
ment personnel. But, in the long run, the
success achieved will depend primarily on the
amount of public support given it. The great
majority of fires are the result of Individual
ignorance and carelessness A great part of
the disgraceful total is made up of home
fires, most of which could be prevented
Making Americas homes safe from fire is
strictly job for every home-owner-no one
else can do it for him..
Fire loss-measured in both lives and
dollars-is at an all-time peak. We have the
means and the knowledge to reduce it to a
small fraction of it's present total. The Am
erican people must decide whether that is
worth doing.
FOR A GREAT MANY years so-callet
tabor legislation" has been political foot
ball and it has been treated as such until re
Gently by the Administration and Congress
of the United States. The Democrats nomi
mated and elected Franklin D. Roosevelt fou
times because he carried the labor-vote in hi
pocket. BUT:
The wage workers, in and out of labo
unions, revolted against the big labor bosse
and helped elect Republican Congress il
1916, because workers found that the delug
Of strikes ordered by the high labor-clique
cost the workers more than they got in thei
payroll envelopes for many months.
The House of Representatives passed
labor bill by vote of 320 to 70 in obedienc
to nationwide public demand to sto
strikes.
The Senate passed labor bill by vot
of 81 to II, likewise in obedience to the pub
lie demand to stop strikes.
That's the whole story in nutshell, r,
gardless Of what may, or might happen
Presidential vetoes, walkouts by miner
strikes in automobile plants, slowing dow
Of the steel industry-or anything else.
AS for the politics involved the fact r.
mains that the people made their positio
clear, and both branches of Congress, "wit
ears to the ground declared by their recol
votes that "the public must be obeyed."