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“LAS VISAS ESVIEW-JOUMAL” , Wednesday, September 2k, 1952 Water Company Asflff PSC To Ignore City Hearing Plea The Las Vegas Land and Water company today . asked the public service commission to ignore the demand by Las Vegas city commissioners for a hearing on the community’s water problem, i! BBBFvS E. E. Benhett of Los Angeles, w B—I—-—-7------ -—1—m I general-counsel for UP, blamed the critical shortage this sum­mer on violations of the con­servation program and lack of cooperation by the people and city officials. “Put teeth in the (water con­servation) ordinances and en-force it,” Bennett urged the PSC, in answer to a letter written to Carson City by local government officials. The attorney said a UP sur­vey showed on one day during ' the summer heat wave which just ended, that 17 residents out of 61 checked were watering their lawns on the wrong day. Mayor C. D. Baker, comment­ing on UP’s position, said the move was “just a stall.” Baker said the water company implied that the whole fault rested with the conservation program, While the real reason was that the util­ity had not gone “as far as it should” in providing additional, expanded facilities. Baker said he could not con­done the dissipation of any of the city’s resources, but he said making that the issue was mis­leading. The rate increase which was won by the water company , re­cently should be used to expand the facilities, according to Bak­er. He said the utility did not deny that the water needed was here “if they wanted to go after it.”B y entrusting everything .to the conservation program, Bak-er continued, we would only_be_ helping UP to make .additional profits without* further risks. ,