Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 57, Number 87, Decatur, Adams County, 13 April 1959 — Page 6

PAGE SIX

Bth in a series of messages paid for by a group of local people intersted in what’s best for Decatur and its citizens Do You Want To Live in a TOWN or CITY? / _J.‘—L. Your vote tomorrow will decide Decatur’s future: whether it is to continue as a small town or whether it is to progress to become a bustling, modern, active city. This is a fast-moving, competitive age we’re living in. As an individual, as a business* man, as an employee, as a community, whether we like it or not we’re tossed right in the middle of the whirl. Sure, there’s something we can do about it. But what do we want to do, how much do we want to do, and should we do it is another thing. We could vote tomorrow not to sell our electric system to Indiana & Michigan Electric Company, but would that be in the best interest of each of us as citizens and taxpayers, in the best interest of Decatur? We say no. Decatur’s in trouble, real trouble, financial trouble. We have on our hands an outdated, inefficient, inadequate electric utility that for many years has served its primary purpose: to answer the electric needs of Decatur. But it has outgrown its usefulness. Because of the extremely high cost of operation, it has not been maintained sufficiently. It is now giving relatively poor service. Many customers, particularly those in rural areas, are suffering from low voltage. They can’t use electric appliances. Farmers can’t get enough “juice” to operate electric gadgets they would like to help them make more money. Present industry is always concerned with possible outages, meaning drops in production, and consequently less pay for employees. When this happens, the businessman suffers too, because employees have fewer dollars to spend. A community today has many problems which it must cope with. Problems which can easily mark success or failure. Annexation, zoning, streets, community development, taxes, schools, health, hospitals, a satisfactory business and industry climate. All these are important problems which a community should be constantly working away at. Why add to these the problem of operating an electric utility when this can best be handled by someone else? If we, the citizens of Decatur, tomorrow vote in favor of the sale, we shall be relieving ourselves of one of our greatest headaches. We’ll be saving ourselves money by not being burdened with an approximately $2.50 additional electric bill each month. Well be aiding the financial condition of Decatur by giving it money with which it can pay off its debts, make even more money through investing the proceeds of the sale and thus permit the community the many needed improvements so vital to our success. We need in Decatur dependable electric service and an unlimited supply of electricity. We need adequate sewer and water facilities. We need a good tax rate. We need satisfactory police and fire protection. We need an orderly zoning program. We need all these things if we hope to retain our industries and businesses. We need all these things if we hope to attract new \ industries and businesses here to make jobs available for ourselves ond our children. We need all these things if we’re to survive the competition we have all around us from other communities. We need all these things if we ever hope to become a qualified city capable of standing up with something to offer among its competition. A vote YES tomorrow will set the ball rolling. It will take a YES vote to put Decatur “on the map.” It will take a YES vote to make Decatur a CITY instead of a small TOWN. A vote to sell City Light means: lower taxes, a debt-free Decatur, “quality” ' electric service, and an unlimited supply of electric power for community / growth and prosperity.

THE DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT, DECATUR, INDIANA

MONDA*, APRIL 13, 1959