JUDICIAL FAIR VALUE AND THE PRICE LEVEL
In: Social science quarterly, Volume 50, Issue 4, p. 864-880
ISSN: 0038-4941
A reprint in which the regulation of public utilities & its history in the US is discussed. The key case on this point reached the US Supreme Court in 1898: Smyth vs Ames. The Judges' opinions in this & other relevant cases are examined. It is observed that 'our regulatory venture has not adequately performed either of the functions outlined for it in Smyth vs Ames, namely; (1) to protect the public interest, & (2) to protect the investor in the public utility companies.' The Court has entirely ignored the vital fact that the great bulk of capital in public utility enterprises was contributed by bond-holders. The proposal to clearly distingiush between bonds & stocks in this context is briefly dealt with. It is stated that 'the proponents of gov ownership are becoming more vociferous.' This issue will become more serious & serve as the politico-econ battleground of the immediate future. Robert H. Montgomery, LIKE IT IS: THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE ON CULTURE-comments on his own article from 40 yrs ago & notes that he has 'become convinced that the problem area discussed in the article is only one tiny segment of a vastly larger, more complex, more vital & more universal problem fo Earth-Man.' This problem concerns man as community builder vs man as a tool-using animal. For every change in technology there must be an accompanying change in the culture pattern of the community. Those accompanying instit'al changes will be of the same magnitude as the original technological changes. The theory of soc change can be applied to man's new gadgets. When technology changes, culture-att's, habits, laws, rules, business practices, etc-must also change. 'Man can live no longer in that tiny crevass between his concepts of yesterday & his technology of tomorrow.' M. Maxfield.