Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-07
Questions of Interest to Intelligent
Citizens.
PAPERS AT TEE BALTIMORE CONVENTION
Considering the Government Of
Various Cities.
THE MATTER OF CONTROL

for whom Prof. Edmund ]. James OF CHI
cago University was substituted, and Louis
d. Branders of Boston, VINO was replaced
as executive committeeman by Mayor Geo
w. Ochs of Chattanooga. The names of
Judge f. J. Blandin of Cleveland and Rev.
DR.. S. M. Newman of Washington were
added to the executive committee.
Frank NJ. LOOMS Of Buffalo was the first
speaker.
MIR. Lcomis on Ownership of Street
Railways.
I'm response to suggestion that the
negative as well as the affirmative of the
municipal ownership question ought to
be presented on this OCCASION" said Mr..
LOOMS. Il have been asked to open the
discussion upon the understanding that l
would espouse the negative of the question.
1 recognize and deprecate, think, as much
as any one present the oppression of cor
porate greed consequent upon the unre-
stricted management and control OF fran
chises by private capital. And yet l ap-
pear here, l trust, not presumptuously to
oppose, to denource even, and scheme for
the municipilizaton Of franchises as rad-
cally wrong, as inherently vicious. and 10
urge AS the true remedy for acknowledged
Ills democratic home rule; a rigid NUM-
cipal control. as distinguished from Iegisla-
tive control; municipal control as distin-
guished from municipal operation of fran
then the socialistc plan"
MI. Loomis then took up and replied to
the arguments used by those who favored
the opposite side of the question under
discussion, incidentally defining as "Roose-
Veltfsm' the assumption that "all good
things are American and other things I'M
| American"
Among other things the speaker said:
! 1T has never been shown, and in the very
nature of things can never be shown that
| the public can manufacture 4 better article
| or render better service at less cost than
private corporation or an individual
| capitalist" Statistics he said. appeared
| to show that gas and some other com
modities are furnished at lower rates by
municipal ties, but the speaker doubted
| the reliability of these statistics in that
| they probably did not take into account
| Interest, repairs and renewals nor is il
certain that figures furnished by municipal
employees are always reliable. He admitted
| that the monopolict. if left free would
charge his own price, and that If the so
| clallsuc program was carried out in its
| entirety the first cost to the consumer
| would be less than al present.
| But, he argued, "if The consumer is
also a producer and is barred from any
| profit, 1t is difficult to see how he is TO gain
| by the change of system" The speaker
admitted that the prices charged by monop-
! oiists carnot be regulated by competition,
| and that no law can be framed which will
| successfully bar consolidation Of competing
| interests.
| conclude that with The possibility of com
| petition excluded there is no remedy ex-
cept for municipality to go into business
| on its own account This is a singular and
| vital error. The remedy is TO be found not
| IN the creation Of larger, municipal
! or national corporation which shall swallow
| up the smaller ones, but by restoring to
| the people Of each separate community the
| power to regulate absolutely the operation
| of any franchise in their midst"
Charles Richardson Of Philadelphia fol-
| lowed him in reply
| Mr.. Richardson's Argument.
No intelligent and fair-minded person can
make careful investigation of the cost and
| earnings of street railways in the larger
cities of the United States" began Mr.. Rich
| ardson, without perceiving that better
service could be given to the people at much
lower rates than those that are now GUS
| tOmary.
1T can be safely assumed" he continued
| that most of the street railway companies
III tile large cites are making enormous and
| entirely unreasonable profits at the public
| expense. Apart from this. however" he con-
tlnued. the present system is vicious in .ha t
1t fails to give the public adequate and
| proper service; it subjects empIoyes IN cruel
| and unreasonable treatn ent: it leads To dis
astrous strik and riots. and il has been a
| prominent factor in acCustoming the ne,n,e
10 regard the wholesale corruption of state
| ana CITY governments matter of coursn
| 1T Is also responsible for the existence of
large bodies of stockholders whose interests
| are Verse 10 those OF their fellow citizens -
N me way OF remedy, Mr.. Richardson
| Saio, tnere is at present a strong and ero;r.
| ing tendency to resort to municipal opera-
tion as a solution of the problem Some of
tne most obvious arguments in favor of this
| plan he enumerated.
| First that as public streets are nubIjc
| properly the public is entitled to all reve-
| nues and all benefits which can be obtained
| therefrom Second, that with anything like
honest MT
| nit Of better service ard much lower fares
| Tor the people, as well as better treatment
| shorter hours and higher wages for The
| employees Third, that the construction of
| lines for merely speculative purposes ana
| the unnecessary opening of streets woy;I
| be avoided. Fourth, opportunities for the
| rapid accumulation of large fortunes NV
STOCK gambling would be diminished. Fifth.
| the better and cheaper service would nro-
! mote the growth and prosperity of cities
And, sixth. the final abolition of such
wholesale dealers in bribery and corrun-
| ton would end the antagorisms now ex-
| listing between the interests, of large seq
| tons OF the people and would open the way
| for a gradual elevation of our standards Of
public and private mortality and business
| methods.
| In reply to the assumption that this n1.n
would only strengthen the spoils system
| MI. Richardson questioned whether it is
| POSSIBLE Tor these results to be more com
| pletely attained than they have already
BEEN
A paper Public Control of Fran.
| Crises" by Mayor Hazen S. Pingree of
Detroit, was read.
| Control of Franchises,
| THE question Of the control Of corpora-
tions operating under municipal franchises
is purely a political question" according
to Mayor Pingree. "All that is to be done
is to elect your public representatives and
| they will do the rest"
| The trouble in doing this properly, the
| speaker thought, begins with the prima-
| rleS or party caucuSeS, many of which are
| captured through bribery by those who
| are interested in procuring franchises or
| in retaining those they already have The
| present system of regulating primaries in
| Michigan. it held, is preferable to the
old, under which, he asserted, 1.-THE CITY
| paid $50 per month to aldermen, and the
corporations purchased them in blocks
| when they were required. Thus" he added
| the city was practically governed by the
| corporations operating franchises, as the
state was, and still is, dominated by the
railroads in all that pertains to the control
| of those roads, the same the Congress
| is radically influenced by the combined
| railroad and vessel interests
| franchise to corporation resembles
| the speaker thought, device by means of
| which the governing power is taken out of
| 10 hands the