The San Francisco call., 1895-07-21
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP, !,
A Popular Agitation With This
Object in Sight to Be
Begun.
VIII Call a Meeting and Have the
Powers of the State Ascer-
tanned.

Municipal ownership of public utilities.
That is to be the single purpose of move
ment to be started by number of local
reformers.
A man who has given this matter
deep thought is John NJ. Reynolds, whose
name has become familiar with mostly all
recent local movements for the reform of
municipal politics. He was leading
spirit of the committee of elev en- during
the last session of the Legislature, and has
been an active member of the Civic Fed
Grafton.
John NJ. Reynolds ideas of municipal
matters have finally led him to the opinion
that tue only practical method of reform
worthy of the attention of conservative
business men is the municipal ownership
of public utilities. The three great utll-
ties he would have thus owned are street
lighting, water service and telephone
system.
Job Hartman, who is the idol of the
socialists in this City. ,ully agrees with Mr..
Reynolds position ana so do Revs. Jose ph
E. Scott and Edward ]. Dupuy, the two
Presbyterian clergymen who recently
started socialist weekly, at least they pro-
pose to go ahead and advocate municipal
ownership in their journal.
From another quarter, too, comes agree
ment and cooperation, namely, Chairman
Edward S. Barney of the Peoples party
County Committee. Messrs. Hartman
and Barney had a conference with Mr..
Reynolds yesterday afternoon and con-
cluded to go at once to work in the organi-
Zation Of a popular movement for NUM-
cipal ownership of public utilities. They
will ask prominent business men and
practical reformers to come together at an
early date and organize for this end ire
spective of political affiliations
It is not intended to have anything of
partisanship enter into the movement.
Republicans, Democrats, Populists, Prohi-
bitionists, socialists and men who are not
hidebound at all with any political creed
are to be invited to join in with it and lend
it their earnest cooperation. Then If the
agitation proves to be popular one each
of the political parties will be asked to in
corporate a municipal ownership plank in
its next City and County platform.
| In discussing the subject yesterday each
of the three gentlemen admitted that a
good movement might be jeopardized by
being given partisan color OF any kind,
and agreed that as it was purely local
affair questions of Federal and State poll
tics would not be disturbed by it; nor
should it be hampered by them. Mr.. Har-
riman said:
There is not the slightest doubt that all the So
cialists in the City will urge along this matter
with all their wonted en- tn usiasm for 1t is quite
in line with right political economy as social
lists see if, but | agree that any good move
ment might be injured in the public mind If
exclusively associated with a school of thought
against which there may be more or less preju-
dice in the minds of the great conservative
mass of electors.
Business men, whose support of a thing like
this is most desirable, are the most timid and
are easily alienated from wise movement by
| a fear that it mi ight be made simply means to
ar end by persons whose radicalism otfends
them. Therefore, l am fully of The opinion
that it should be simply popular movement
regardless of any political party.
movements" said Mr.. Barney, and he
continued:
l am now what is commonly known as a
Populist, but would cheerfully work shoulder
to shoulder with Republicans and Democrats
in popular agitation for municipal owner
ship of water works and gas and electric light
works.
See what Chicago is able to do since that city
concluded to own her own water works. She
now talks of having canal built from Lake
Michigan to some tributary of the Mississippi
River, so as to utilize the water power there by
obtainable for complete electric-light plant.
Thus one good step makes the next possible.
Mr.. Reynolds explained that the legal
status would ultimately prove to be a
small difficulty. Reasoning from A to B,
he would first presume that an act of the
Legislature would be all that would be
necessary. If, however, the Legislature
did not possess the power, an amendment
to the constitution could give it to them,
and the people, if the movement proves
popular enough, could easily have the con-
stitution amended.
Il feel confident that the press will take
up this question with its accustomed en-
ergy, and then success will be assured"