The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-11-03
THE STREETS OF BIG CITIES.
Municipal Control of Them Recon-
mended by a Congressional Com
mission.

WASHINGTON, d. c., November q
Messrs. Rosewater and Scbneck, of the
commission appointed some time ago by
President Harrison to investigate the streets
and subways of Washington under an act of
Congress, have submitted their report
to the President. President Harrlso will
lay the report before Congress and recon-
mend that it be printed for wide distribu-
tioD, as 1T concerns every large municipality
In the country. The members of this COM
mission are engineers of wide reputation.
They have studied their subject carefully,
have visited foreign cities, and Lave been In
correspondence with the authorities of all the
leading cities OF the United States, and their
report will make some novel, not to say as
founding, recommendations. The ground
Idea OF the report is that the municipality
should own its streets in every sense Of the
term. Thus the report commends that every
municipality should own the street car lines
that traverse the streets. They point to the
city OF Paris as striking Illustration of the
practical usefulness of the suggestion. The
city OF Paris owns all its tramways, and
every ten years the entire systeu Is leased
out to the highest responsible Bidder. The
result Is that the city receives an annual
rental OF 100000 francs; that street-car
travel In Paris is cheaper tnan In any other
city in tine world, and that transit is more
rapid and In every way the public is better
served. BY municipal ownership all ques-
tions OF rapid transit, tranfers, etc., would
be better solved in the public interest than is
possible now, where the profit of the cOrpo-
ration owning the lines in the main consid-
Grafton.
The report recommends further that the
municipality should in all cases own the gas
works, water works and electric lighting
wherever they exist The city of Phildel-
tion for the municipal owner
ship of gas works and the
reports of the directors of that en-
terprise are submitted for years past, show
ing the complete success of the plan. 1t Is
stated that in spite Of the scandals which at
works, the people of Philadelphia have been
better served than would be the case under
private ownership. The city has received
handsome revenue and has besides saved
the enormous sum that would have been paid
for the city lighting to private companies.
In the matter of owning water works, the city
OF Baltimore Is quoted to show that with
municipal ownership the supply of water Is
far more generous, quality far superior and
expense strikingly smaller, and that in such
cases the city's own supply for sanitary and
hre extinguishiDg purposes is out of all pro-
portion to those cities where private corpo-
rations control the business. Similarly the
argument is carried out for electric lighting
and for other public works. The report is
almost vehement in its treatment to the
telegraph companies. Is alludes in the
strongest language to the defiant disregard
by the Western Union Telegraph Company
of the orders and the ordinances of the mu-
inequalities, and refers to the contempt with
which the company has in Washington
| treated the command Of Congress to bury its
wires. The statement that buryiDg the
| wires impedes their working is denied by
the commits sions. The proposition is ad-
vanced BY the commission that the granting
| of franchises to street car lines, water COM
pauiee, gas companies, etc, is the most
| fruitful source of corruption In legislatures
and councils. Rardly, 1t lis claimed, are
these franchises granted without the expen-
| dlture of vast sums of money among those
entitled to vote away those franchises.
| Summering up the work, the commission be-
lieves that experience in other countries
and other cities amply proves that the best
service can be 0btaiued In all municipalities
by self-ownership of all public works. and
all enterprises using the bed Of the streets
for the serves. these then to be rented out
by the municipality to the highest response
BILE bidder