The representative., 1894-04-11
NATURAL MoNOPolIES.
Professor Richard T. E1y's Claim That They
Should Belong to the Governments.

NATURAL MONOPOLIES.
Professor Richard T. E1y's Claim That They
Should Belong to the Government.
The policy hitherto in dealing with
these natural monopolies has been to
turn them over, with rare exceptions, to
private corporations and to encourage
attempts at competition. Professor Ely
enumerates what he maintains have been
the results of this policy: First, it in
wolves great waste, one railway manager
holding that the management of our
railroads as unit would save 5000, ,000,-
600 per annum; second, it has produced
enormous and unprecedented inequality
in fortunes, a social danger and especial
ly so in republic; third, it encourages
artificial monopolies, as illustrated by
the special privileges sold by railways to
transfer companies, news agents and the
like; fourth, the owners of natural mo-
nopolies have an unjust advantage over
the rest of the community, enabling
them too often to dictate their own
terms.
Professor Ely lays it down as a general
principle that noncompetitive enter
prises should be owned and managed by
the government, either national, state or
local, and that competitive enterprises
are the domain of private industry.
Since it is not question in these cases
whether we shall have competition or
not, but whether we shall have private
or public monopoly, public monopoly is
safest for the community. This change
in the ownership of natural monopolies
would tend to the abolition of special
economic privileges, which mean the
opportunity to gain excessive returns.
Economic privileges are the source of
nearly all the abnormal private for
tunes. A further claim is that this re-
form would elevate and purify public
life, as the greater proportion of public
corruption is connected directly or indi
rectly with natural monopolies.
The government ownership of natural
monopolies is commended to wage earn
ers because the private monopolist is not
likely to be a good employer Of labor
His power is so great and that of a sin
gle wage Garner so small in comparison
that the former is exposed to the danger
of becoming arbitrary and arrogant
Even labor organizations are not upon
an equal footing in contests with some of
these powerful private monopolies. Some
OF them have even held that it should be
made a penal offense for their employees
to strike, since the general public are
concerned, but if workingmen cannot re-
sist oppression by the only effective
means-namely, by combination and
united action-they are virtually reduced
to slavery. If the government is the en-
ployer, then the employed have represen-
tation in the controlling body, and it
will be legitimate for the people to say:
Gas we guarantee to you equitable treat
ment and fair wages, we insist that you
shall serve the public faithfully like SOL
diers. This is only just return for
what you receive"
The private monopolist fails conspicu-
ously in the protection of life and limb
In proportion to the number travelling
there are 13 times as many accidents in
the United States as in Germany, where
government ownership of railways OBJ
tains, and six or seven times as many ac-
cidents to employees in proportion to the
whole number. Note the conduct of
those railroad presidents who rush to
Washington and to our state capitals to
prevent the passage of laws to compel
the use of well known and approved
safety appliances.
In the Specialization of natural monop-
olies the question would not be one Of
dividends, but the best social effects
The antisocialist should note that plan
which would have natural monopolies
owned and managed by the government
for the interest of all the people, while it
would leave to private enterprise agri-
culture, manufactures and commerce, is
something different from socialism prop
er, which would leave no field for pri-
vate industry. denver News.