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s Las Vegas - May ?, 194? 4 / (Personal) Mr, Frank Strong? (2) ( cc - Mr, Wm. Reinhardt Mr, 1, E, Bennett) From time to time, the question of municipal owner­ship of public utilities is revived in Las Vegas, usually Just before election and usually on behalf of some candidate who can think of nothing else to offer. That is true of todays municipal election of a mayor and two city commissioners. How­ever, v e ty little interest was taken in the municipal ownership question. One of the candidates for mayor, Walter Bates, half­heartedly advocated the creation of a “municipal authority* under which utilities might be acquired. He ran third in the three-candidate race, O^ly one of the 20 candidates for commissioner mentioned the subject, George Knlpp, a local tire dealer, and ' he was lost in the shuffle. However, I was advised in confidence today that the County was also interested, and at a committee meeting of the Chamber of Commerce last night, motion was passed authorizing the committee to contact Mr. Ashby with regard to acquisition of the Las Vegas Land and Water Co*s water distribution facilities in the city. The idea is to finance this by issuing "revenue bonds", which, they say, will cost the taxpayers nothing and will redeem themselves from revenues. They have employed two engineers to estimate the cost and practicability of extending the present pipe line from A . W .R , MY 1 3 1947 - 1 -