The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-02-10
PINCREE'S PUNCENT IDEAS
Synopsis Of an Interesting Speech
BY Detroit's Mayor
THE ABUSE or FRANCHISES
lie Wants q Law Compelling Every
Citizen to Attend the Primaries
Under Penalty Of Fine.
Other Peppery Remarks.

Fresh from his victories over the or
ganlzations of enterprise which had
sought in his city. to hold up" the
individual citizen by means of excess
sive charges w1ung through perver-
sions of public franchises, that inter-
esting Individual, Mayor Pingree of
Detroit. the other evening gave Chica-
goans a lecture which abounded in al
formations of wit, sarcasm and drastic
though wholesome common sense. At
the outset he lamented that his edu-
cation had not been sufficiently liberal
to enable him to tell where crime
ceases to be vulgar and is looked upon
as being in good form. "Why the man
who enters the houses of his fellow
citizens in the night time without q
writ of replevin and borrows articles
of value which he forgets to return
should be looked upon with suspicion,
and why body of sworn public Off
cials who barter away public rights
and privileges without adequate con-
sideration and against the public inter-
ests and public policy should be called
honorable is a question" which he con-
fessed that he would have to leave to
the professors of ethics. Then he add
ed:
A city is corporation. Each inhabi-
tant of legal age Is a member of the cor
poration and a holder OF one share or
stock. For convenience II becomes nee
essary that certain stockholders be chosen
as directors and as such must hold proxies
for thousands of those who cannot be
present to speak for themselves. To be
a director In such a corporation should be
the most honorable position to which any
inhabitant OF city can attain. 1t should
be a mark of distinction so great that
in future years the children OF an alder
man or member of the board of directors
of the corporation should be able TO say
without shame and with pride that their
father was SO true and faithful and hon
est man that the people OF his own city
gave him authority to speak for them in
the manasement of the city government.
And a man who betrays the trust and con-
iidence Of his fellow-ctizens should be
treated with such scorn and contempt
that there would be nothing left for him
to do but hide himself in the uttermost
parts of the earth"
The Duty Of Lawyers.
"It should" the mayor continued,
with special reference to the association
of lawyers under whose auspices he
spoke, 'be a greater honor for a lawyer
To occupy such a position than to be
the general counselor for the richest
private concern in the land or to be the
hired lobbyist Of any individual, cor
poration or trust Evidently he
thought this honor not fully appreciat-
ed, for he continued:
Lawyers should be the most independ-
ent, Outspoken and aggressive foes OF
public wrongs AS n body of men they
are not. They are like many preachers.
doctors and bankers. l do not know that
we can blame any of them. 1t Is safe TO
preach about the outrages in Armenia and
the heather In Africa. and II anybody who
lives near home must be denounced 1t is
best to take fall out of the petty GRIM
inals and outcasts of society. They pay
no pew rents and do not keep large bank
accounts and do not give pink teas. nor
pay large fees for helping to organize
systematic plunder In the way of public
franchises. Ease Is too great tempta-
tion II is easier for the business man to
say that he will let the rascals plundcr
and that he Will redOuble his efforts and
in some way make up in his private busi-
ness the amount which is stolen from him
he has friend whose feet are in the
trough and he does not wish to disturb
a frugal meal for fear their social re-
lations will be strained, or perhaps he
may want accommodations at a bank.
and he feels compelled to talk beneath his
breath for fear bank director who is
interested either in gas or electricity or
telephone or street cars may hear what
he says and throw his paper out the next
time he appears as a slave asking for
favor. II Is so much easier and more
comfortable to kick your neighbor than to
go around the corner and kick yourself.
Passing from these general remarks
to the immediate object of his address,
which was to stiffen uD the backboneS
of Chicagoans who want lower street
car fares, the mayor repeated his fa-
miliar statistical demonstration that at
3 cents per passenger any well-man-
aged street railway in a populouS COM
munity can pay all just expenses be-
sides earning reasonable interest on the
actual necessary investment, adding:
THE man who saves 81 can put it in
the savings bank and receive per cent
interest. The man who saves 1 cent
upon every . receives 20 per cent in
terest and the man who saves 2 cents
for each ride invests his own money in
his own bank at 40 per cent. interest.
If II Is possible that such a saving can
be made it Is the duty of the city au-
thorities to see that 1t is done" That
brought him to the central theme OF
public franchises. their use and abuse,
Upon this Ec said:
Use and Abuse of Franchises.
A franchise was originally right to
exercise some power or do something
which the king. by reason of his previous
engagements. delegated to others. Had
electricity, as a motive power. been IL:
use In the olden times, and had the king
known what profits could be made in
operating street car system by 1t, he
would have retained the privilege and
have permitted his swashbucklers to run
the political end of the government AMI
would have devoted his especial attention
to the traction business. j recognize the
fact ! am speaking to lawyers. fresh from
the books. familiar with all the legal
terms and definitions. and beg leave to
ask you a few questions: Is the right
conferred upon O street railway company
to Use the streets of a city anything but
q license? Can the city confer upon any
company a greater right than it has?
except license to use them for certain
purposes upon grounds of public policy?
If this Is true. what do we find? We find
that the street railway companies have
assumed that the license itself is not the