Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1891-02-07
OUR FRANCHISES.
MAYOR SARGENT AT THE NEW
HAVEN TRADES COUNCIL.

"Reprehensible, Vicious, Ubiquitous
and Nefarious Practices OF Private
MISUNDERSTANDING the People
and Corrupting the Voters
"ThereIs No Property too Valu-
able and No Vested Right too
Sacred to be Taken by the People
in Regular Form of Law
NEW HAVEN, Jan. 2G.-There was a
large attendance at Trades Council hall
yesterday afternoon, to hear Mayor Sar-
gent on the subject of "Municipal Ow
nership.' After the lecture a number
of questions were asked the speaker and
short speeches were made. Morris
Ruther of the Cigarmakers' union was
| chairman, and made few remarks in
which he complimented the Mayor on
his progressive ideas.
Mr.. Sargent said that the subject of
municipal ownership of gas, electric
light or water was sufficient to fill a book
if presented in detailed statement of
statistics and the experience of cities.
The arguments favoring such ownership
of either would apply with equal force
to all other services requiring public
| franchises, and he would first consider
water works, because he had consider
able experience in the successful ma
nagement of three water plants, two of
which belonged to private companies
and one to a municipality. lie then
continued
"The whole business of water works
construction, care, management deli,
very of water to the customers. or con
sumers, and the collection of the water
rates il very simple and requires only
good ordinary engineering in construc-
ton, and ordinary business capacity to
carry on. The extension of mains
through streets may be done with good
ordinary labor, no care being necessary
to lay the pipes to grade, as in laying
sewer pipes. All costs and expenses for
extensions in streets, and the cost of any
new reservoir and connecting mains,
whenever required by the growth of a
city, are added as an increase of capital,
or paid out of the profits If the cost is
covered by an increase of the capital
stock, the receipts from the extension
are expected to pay good income from
the time of the completion of the exten-
sion, the usual rule being guarantee
of at least 10 per cent. per year from the
start. from those who ask for the eXten'
sion of the street mains.
"There is no purchasing of raw ma.
terials and freightng them to factory,
no factory buildings, no insurance, nc
machinery and tools worth mentioning,
except pumps and boilers, no drumming
for business by expensive travelling
statesmen, travelling in parlor cars and
stopping at first class hotels, no freight
TO pay on goods shipped to customers,
no losses of any magnitude by the insol
vency of customers. The whole of the
sales are net cash profits, less the little
expenses and repairs
"In case the plant Is owned by pri
vate water company, the prolltS, o1
course, go to income on capital invested
The value Of the stock Of the New Haver
Water company, reckoned at the actna
value of the company's material pro
perty, or at its cost, think is not ovel
, $50 per share. But by virtue Of 1t being
private monopoly, having the sole and
exclusive right to open the streets of the
city to lay water mains, and there being
4 no limit on its prices for water, eXcep
. under such limited contract as the com
, pany chooses or is willing To make, the
company keeps the water rates at point
wh,re the net cash profits to divide are
= at least per cent on the par value u
: the stock. Hence the $50 shares sell fOj
500 or more. There can be no perma
nent competition in the means Of sup
plying water or light to the inhabItantt
OF city. As | remarked in my reCen
message "a new corporation invariably
joins with the old one and the thumb
= screws of the doubled monopoly ar,
turned up tighter. One OF the compel
ing corporations will sell out to The
other, both put their capital stock to
: gether, dilute with plenty Of water anC
advance prices. OF the hundreds If no
, thousands of new competing gas compa
= MES, doomed through to the Legislature
Of civilized countries BY sangulne citi
zens after cheap gas light, | know Of NJ
instance where the new and the old have
o. not either consolidated or divided VI
he city, as in New York and hundred
of other cities.
In the case Of private monopolie
. the truly Just rate is never known TO tn
. authorities, and the private mOnopO'.
p fattens on the hypocritcal cupidity o
r partisan leaders. Officers Of the mum
: cIpality elected by the people to see to !
: that only just rates are demanded iron
the inhabitants, to see To it that tn