The Power Fight of 1924
A fiery public debate erupts over utility profits, corporate control, and the cost of electricity in Washington.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
OLYMPIA.—Homer T. Bone, speaking in Aberdeen in advocacy of Initiative Measure No. 52, the tax-exempt power bill, has drawn the fire of the Department of Public Works by criticism of the department and a statement of the earnings allowed privately-owned utilities. Mr. Bone declared that the department allows privately-owned electric power companies to earn all salaries, wages, and managerial costs, yearly depreciation, and all interest charges on debt, with profits on top of that. Director E. V. Kuykendall of the Department of Public Works called the statement absurd, arguing that the department first determines actual property value and limits earnings to a reasonable return on that value, insisting that interest charges must come out of those earnings rather than being added to them as an extra expense.
“It is no concern of the department where these earnings go, whether they are paid out on bond interest or go to the stockholders.”
The battle Homer T. Bone fought against utility monopolies in the 1920s remains a cornerstone of Washington civic life. Today's public utility districts (PUDs) are the direct outcome of this era's argument over whether power is a public right or a corporate revenue stream.
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