BOROUGH BY-ELECTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1919, Page 2

BOROUGH BY-ELECTION.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—ln your leading article this morning! pou suggest that thoso householders who think! that the electric charges aro unduly high should Instal gas. Surely that is not the attitude that should be taken up when cou- j Bidering public utilities. New Plymouth has! a magnificent asset in the water power that Is at its doors. It is probably more- favorably situa.ted in this respect than any other iown in the Dominion. Why should the advantage conferred by nature upon our borough bo used as a means of extracting profit from the citizens, which profit is in turn transferred to the pockets of one or two of the wealthier citizens, some of whom never contribute a cent to the success of the undertaking, or even pay a share towards the revenue of which the profit forms a part? Mr. Fltzpatriek nrgues that the Borough servlcos should be services in the fullest sense, and profitmaking should enter into the question as tittle as possible. If he is elected to the Council he will use his best endeavours to so alter the system of charging for light and power that whilst adequate provision is made for contingencies, yet the profits when made shall be redistributed among those trom whom Ihey were mr He consider that this can best be done by reducing the charges. His long residence in (ho Borough, his first hand knowledge of labor candltions, and the respect In which he Is held by all that kuow him should commend his candidature to oil citizens who consider those that do the work of the World should be adequately represented on our local bodies.—l am, etc., W. NASff. [Wo wrote: "The* candidate's Idea evidently> !s that the electric charges should be lowered' to the consumer, but there might be point In the contention if the rate's were ' unduly | high. As a matter of fact, they are among the i lowest in tho Dominion, and there is the alternative of installing gas if the public are | dissatisfied." Mr. Nash's idea, like the candidate's, is that the electric light department should charge less for its current and make no profit. No business enterprise, private or municipal, could run long on these lines. There must be a margin of profit to enable the Borough to meet an emergency, such, for instance, as the loss of the dam at the works a short time ago. Besides, the Borough had to wait many years before the undertaking turned the corner. So long as the profits are put to good use, as they are being, and the charges are kept reasonable, a3 is the case, it Is not sound business, in our opinion, that the profits should be disbursed in the manner suggested.—Ed."}