Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-03-26
G...Works AVID Water-Works.

49, Vi AE 80 ~
"Itls useless to cry over spilled milk
The tears VIII avail nlugnt. Nevertheless,
tine people Of "a good many cities no doubt
look upon the action OF their ci.j coUn-
ellis IN giving away franchises that were
worth hundreds # thousands OF dollars
as a most ineXcusable biuudcr. Richmond
has been more tortuulteth than most places.
Sho owns aud controls her own gas-works
enI w~ater-w0rks. and i5 not likely t. ex-
change them for a mess OF pottage. Ihese
works have been so successfully operated
that the voters here would their backs
unan any candidate for either branch OF
the CITY Council who should declare that
he WAS in favor Of selling the %gas-works
! or the wator-works TO private persons or
toa mpan II the government OF the
nation. tho States, and the cities IL to
be done in . p%Aternal way let US derive all
the benefit we can from accommodating
ourselves to circumstances which we are
unable to control otherwise. II there
mast be paternalism let 1t be paternalisn
| for good and not for evil.
San Jose, Cal. Is ono Of the cities which
| have found themselves IN the hands OF
"soullcss corporations.n The people OF
that city have walked mp 10 the fact that
they are IN chains aud they hAyo raised a
| clamor Increment, which has been heard
from the Atlantic 10 the Pacific. At a re-
cent meeting OF the Republicans Of that
CITY they che Republicans shook their
| chains n tho face o. the people and do
minded the removal of them. Wecallthe
attention 1t people hero who CLAIM that a
! chartered company would furnish gas and
water a. a lower rate than does the city
10 the declaration Of the san Jose meeting
that tho prices Of gas ana water there were
beyond all proportion 20 the prohts that
! could be reasonably demanded upon the
capital invested. Noe. too, that the meet
ing Suggested that too much money was
spent in corrupting politics" But. as
wa have SAID, the people Of Richmond for
%,unately never allowed her gas-works and
water-works 10 pass into the possession Oh
men who desired 10 make political or party
machines out Of them.
The resolutions adopted by the San Joss
meeting are too long TO be reproduced IN
full b. us. But the warning which the
sufferers have given 10 all whom /. may
concern "a contained in the following re-
solutions;
Ec50'rcg, That we are in accord with the
principles that the people should osn tbs wator
AMI lighting system ami i. would b. 70 the In
,ercst o. the city totake measures TO acquire tue
game.
Rsso.red, ThSt il would DO to the interest OF the
city OF San jose 20 own all tho poles hereafter
10 10 used by all telegraph, telephone, electric
railways, and ele3:ric-light companies, and 10
lease the samo where u Franchise IS given, TO the
end that the city may bs furnished vita an al
d,tional source OF revenue 10 Offset the city taxes,
which are nov e1 ,esstve and oppressive.
Rssoieed, That hereafter In ~grauting valuable
franchises by the city a reasonable percentage
Of tho gross receipts shall be demanded as a
confederation therefor aud the money turned
into the City Treasury.
Tho grievances under which San Jose
suffers are such as are well calculated TO
cause her people to go too far in their cf-
fort TO secure their rights, as they perhaps
went when they declared for the city's
ownership Of all the poles hereafter to DO
raised there by any person or company.
However. wo desire only to confirm Il
people in their belief that they have done
well 70 own their gas-works and water
works.