The Topeka state journal., 1897-06-22
Of a Chicago Citizen just Re-
turned From There.
THE TOWN DOES ITALL
Owns the Gas Plant, the Baths
and the Public Halls.
Erects Homes for Artisans and
Lodgings for the Poor.


English are far beyond u.s.
T. X. Webster, president of the Web
ster Manufacturing company, said this
by way of comment on what he saw on
the other side of the water.
Mr. Webster went to England a few
weeks ago on business. intending to
give his leisure time to sight seeing. In
the city of Manchester he forgot all
about the directions of the guide book
and became an inquiring student of
sociO- economics as applied to municip-
alities.
He found a city whose history dates
from the time of CaeSaryet whose spirit
IS as keenly commercial and as ardentIy
progressive as that of any ambitious
metropolis of the new world, not even
excepting Chicago; and he found this
same hoary headed and tradition cher
ishing city taking upon itself govern
mental functions which would strike
the most radical section of this western
world as appallingly radical and pater-
nalistic.
Tel you about it?' said Mr.. Web
ster. Municipal government is rec
Ognized, I believe. as one of the biggest
problems with which we have to deal
here in America 1 have been deeply
interested in it fer a long time and had
heard of Manchester methods. One of
the gentlemen with whom 1 had busi-
ness chanced to be d member of the
city council. and his acquaintance gave
me exceptional opportunities for study
Ing what Manchester had done. What
] saw and learned amazed me.
That city has undertaken TO exercise
governmental fuEctiOus which struck
me as unique and the success which
has attended Its broadening OF the scope
of municipal government has been no
less remarkable.
1T is proper to say, though, that
Manchester is not alone in the work it
is doing. It simply fairly represents
what many English cities are doing The
idea over there seems to be that when
s thing needs TO be done and the abil-
5ty of the city to do it is demOnstrable,
then the city should do it. There is no
splitting of hairs over prOpriety. Ne
Cessity and practicability are the tests.
Manchester proper has a population of
about 600 900. It is the center of the
most populous district in England; g.,
600. coo of people live within a radius
of 50 miles-mOre than in London and
a similar extent of territory around it.
Tt is essentially a manufacturing and
commercial district where the dOminat-
ing ideas are not fine spun theories. but
hard, practical. business sense. This
fact makes the unique functions of
government exercised there all the more
notable.
we hear much of this country at
times about the city being only a big
business corporation, managing the af
fairs of the people for the people. Man
chester is a city where that theory is
not merely a theory, but is a fact.
English town of 600 900 people has de-
cided It can do as a municipality for its
citizens and do them better than the
citizens could do them for themselves:
Manage a great ship canal; maintain
street railway lines; make and sell gas,
electric light and hydraulic power;
manage libraries and reading rooms,
baths and cemeteries; build and man
age homes for artisans and lodging
houses for the poor.
There is no theory or prating of
benevolence in the doing It is all busi-
ness. The striking characteristic of the
cfty's mana cement of all these enter
prises is economy and exactness. Vast
sums of money must be expended in
carrying on such ndertakings-the
Manchester ship canal cost $4,000, OO0-
yet there is never a hint of what we
call boOdling-
THAT canal is one of the best iIlustra-
lions Of the way Manchester people do
things.
Before il was opened Manchester
had to pay as much for carrying a bale
of cotton from Liverpool to its factories
C35 niles as it had to pay for carry
ing a bale of cotton from New Orleans
projected in 1882 as a stock company
enterprise The original company spent
S50,0 600 coo. all il had. without complet-
ing the work. The city of Manchester
wanted the canal. so it stepped in and
appropriated about $4,000, 600 to finish
1t.
practically controls the canal in cOnSld-
Grafton of the aid 1t gave, all of the 21
directors being representatives of the
city appointed by the city council
''MancheSter'S management Of its
streets illustrates the idea that the city
government is a joint stock company
in which all the people have shares,
managing the business of the people
for the people. The streets are built
by the city and are owned by the city
owned absolutely. No Vest1ge OF
street control or of street privilege is
permitted to pass from the control of
the people. Where tramway lines
street car 1ines-are necessary the city
builds them. Where it is necessary to
put in gas mains or electric wires the
city does it. Not long ago there was
a demand for hydraulic power for eIe-
vatOrs and other purposes. The city
put in the hydraulic power plant.
''The maintenance and care of the
streets is attended to by the city. There
IS no private contract work, either in
street building or street cleaning. The
corpora ton owns it's wagons and teams
and tools, and hires its laborers. And
] want to say they know how to build
streets over there, whether they be
paved with stone, with asphalt or built
OF macadam.
Street cleaning and scavenger work
has TO be carefully done in that nat
country to avoid pestilence. The city
does it. Street sweepings, night soil
and all forms of refuse are carried to
a NCAAtA al BidllAs Wliett lIkt1 are NOIhGA
into fertilizers. That city is cleaner
than any city I ever saw cleaned by
private contract; its health is of the
best. the cost is less than it would be
by private contract. as experience has
demonstrated. and the city gets a rev.
enue Of 5000 600 a year from the sale of
fertilizing material
Il did not have time to study the sur
face transportation question so thor
oughly as 7 might wish, but I saw
enough to satisfy me that Manchester
handles it well. There are 81 miles of
4rRmways in the city and the corpora