Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 April 1920 — DEMAND FOR PUBLIC SERVICE [ARTICLE]

DEMAND FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

GREAT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT ! AWAITS UTILITY ADJUSTMENT. The News Bulletin, published by the Indiana committee on public I Utility information contains the fol- ; lowing, which will be interesting to ! the citizens of Rensselaer: f Millions of dollars’ worth of pub- . He improvements, affecting practically every community, which would provide employment for thousands of workers, are being held up by unsettled conditions during the readjustment period, according to a statement by the Indiana Committee on Public Utility Information. The committee points out that the readjustment period is a poor time for politicians to try to fool the public. The Committee declares that unless the troubles of the public utility industry are properly adjusted, all business must suffer, because of the intimate service rendered by the electric, gas, water, telephone and stret railway and interurban lines. It says the companies must have the wholehearted support of the public, their customers, in meetr ing the difficult problems resulting from the war. “In this situation the revenue from contented customers must equal the satisfactory return for 1 capital and labor, or the industry cannot be healthy and render effi- ; cient service, as well as provide the 1 great sums of money necessitated to carry out the extensions which the growth of the country demands,” , the Committee says. “The first essential is that those whp purport to inform the public about this intrij cate situation deal with the facts and not with fancies, i “The .facts are that during the past year transportation, telephone, ; electric, water and gas companies have all had to contend with a rising scale of prices for everything | that enters into the cost of service. Wages have been increased. The price of coal has been increased—by government orders. Freight rates have been increased —by the railroad administrator. The prices of supplies of all sorts have been increased by the law of supply and demand. Taxes have greatly increased. “The cost of funds has been^ increased because of the uncertainty as to the future and the necessary diversion of immense amounts ■of capital for government purposes. It has been necessary to offer high interest rates to obtain sufficient funds to make extensions of plant and property required by our essential service to the public. A fair return on the capital now invested in the utility industry has been the basis of many arguments and must litigation, but additional j capital can be Obtained only by paying the price demanded in a market where the supply is -limited. “The utility industry is open to the most rigid inspection and regulation. If customers, employees and investors are satisfied, there is little danger that any political demagogue will endeavor to favor one at the expense of either of the look the bolshevik and radical socialistic elei ment whose principles and practices are manifesting themselves daily l among our population.”