The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-07-09

vi aAu oL1NlO 11uSlnOSS ITIHClp1G1s
(By Senator Butler, OF North Carolina,
Populist.)
The question whether such public
services as lighting by gas or electric
lty, and street car transportation and
the furnishing of water to every house
hold should be Entrusted to private
corporations or controlled directly by
the municipalities, is one that is at
tracing a great deal of attention. The
principle of municipal ownership of
these natural ~monopolies is one thai
is steadily growing in favor in every
quarter of the union. TO have pure
water furnished at a low cost; to have
good gas or electric lighting facilities
furnished at reasonable rates and eX-
tended to every quarter Of the city; to
have prompt and efficient street car
service at a cost not greater than it
questions that concern every resident
of a town or city as vitality, if not
more SO than. any other three questions
pertaining to city government. To
have these important services cheap
and efficient is not only of vital con-
Germ to those who live in a city, but
is the best possible advertisement and
inducement to bring desirable addi-
tons to a city's population and bust
ness enterprises. That these import
ant functions, supplying vital necessi-
ties to a city's welfare, should be put
In the hands Of two or three private
monopolies, often foreign capitalists
will use these monopolies with a view
solely to their own profit. is unbusi-
nesslike, to say the least-it is worse
han that, it is folly, it is suicidal. AS
a rule the cost of these necessities can
be reduced upon an average more
han one-half over the entire country,
and each city furnish the people a
better and more reliable service.
Nearly every city today where pri-
vate m~onopolies hold these important
functions and franchises would change
at. once to municipal ownership if a
majority of the citizens could express
their will and have it enforced. The
fatal mistake is made when a city
grants these franchises to a private
monopoly. At once the monopoly
wrings from the public enormous
profits to control the city elections
and city government. Soon the peo-
pie find that they can not elect any
man for mayor, councilman, or alder
~ n ~ ,,r1occ ho 10 q n ton fVior1Iu ~
the interests of these private monop-
olies. The money and monopoly will
proceed to rule the cities-the voice
of the people will be defeated, if not
drowned and hushed.
A few days ago while the writer of
this article was in New York attend
ing the Grant monument exercises, he
was very much impressed with the
ineficiency of the car service of that
great metropolis. He asked a citizen
of the city why there was no electric
or cable street car lines instead Of acre
and there an anticipated horse car line,
to help the elevated roads to move the
great surging mass of humanity to be
seen in that city every day. He point
ed to the elevated railroads and said:
"They will not allow it," her asked
him if cable and electric companies had
built surface roads and gotten estab-
lished first if they would have elevated
roads. He said mo; if the cable and
electric road had been built and they
had grown strong enough to control the
city government then we would have
no elevated roads. They would not de-
sire any competition, and would want
all the business themselves, and what
of the public they could not accom-
modate, might suffer and walk and 20
unaccoEmodated."
This tells the whole story. A city
ioolingly grants an important public
franchise that concerns every citizen
to a private corporation. The fran
chise is a monopoly, and then rpo
ton becomes a monopoly and use the
franchise not for the public interest
except as the street interest can be
served to put money into the pockets
of the private corporations. OF course
the private corporation uses it's mo-
nopoly to make immense profits and
then uses these profits to control the
city elections and city government;
and thus we have the spectacle of
street railroads, gas and electric
plants and water works running the
city in the interest of the private
owners of the public franchises in
stead of the city running these import
ant functions in the interest of the