Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-09-04
FOR ALL THE PEOPLE
UNIQUE GOVERNMENT OF AN ENG
LlSH TOWN.

The Municipality Maintains Street Rail-
ways and Makes and Sells Gas-Manages
Public Libraries and Meeting Halls.
How the Plan Works.
Municipal government is recognized,
I believe, as one of the biggest problems
with which we have to deal here in
America, says Mr.. T. X. Webster in
the Chicago Times Herald. 81 have
been deeply interested in it for long
time and had heard of Manchester's
methods. One of the gentlemen with
whom I had business CHANGED to be a
member of the city council, and his ao-
quaintance gave me exceptional oppOr-
tunities for studying what Manchester
has done. What l saw and learned
amazed me.
Manchester proper has population
of about 600, 900. 1t is the center of the
most populous district in England.
Here are some of the things that
English town of 100000 people has de-
cided it can do as municipality for it's
citizens, and do them better than the
citizens could do them for themselves:
Manage great ship canal, maintain
street railway lines, make and sell gas,
electric light and hydraulic power;
manage libraries, reading rooms, baths
and cemeteries; build and manage
homes for artisans and lodging houses
for the poor. There is no theory or pratt
ing of benevolence in the doing. 1t is
all business. The striking characteristics
of the city's management of all these
enterprises are economy and exactness.
Vast sums of money must be expended
in carrying on such undertakings-th
Manchester ship canal cost $75, 900, 600
yet there is never a hint of what we
call boodling.
"Manchester's management of its
streets illustrates the idea that the city
government is joint stock company in
which all the people have shares, man
aging the business of the people for the
people. The streets are built by the city
and are owned by the city-owned alb
solutely. No vestige of street control or
of street privilege is permitted to pass
from the control of the people. Where
tramway lines-street car lines-are
necessary the city builds them and COM
pels the tramway companies to pay for
using them. Where it is necessary to
put i'll gas mains or electric wires the
city does it. Not long ago there was a
demand for hydraulic power for ele-
vators and other purposes. The city put
i'll the hydraulic power plant.
1.-THE maintenance and care of the
streets are attended to by the city. There
is no private contract work, either in
street building or street cleaning. The
corporation owns its wagons and teams
and tools and hires its laborers
Street cleaning and scavenger work
have to be carefully done in that fiat
country to avoid pestilence. The city
does it. Street sweepings, night soil
and all forms of refuse are carted to a
central plant, where they are worked
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 reve-
hue of 5000, 900 year from the sale of
fertilizing material.
81 did not have time to study the
surface transportation question so thor
oughly as l might wish, but l saw
enough to satisfy me that Manchester
handles it we'll.
'"The municipal gas plant was to me
one of its most interesting enterprises.
Manchester always has done it's own
street lighting since the beginning in
1924. For many years this department
was under the control of the police COM
missioners. Now it is department of
the city government.
Manchester supplies all the gas used
over an area Of 46a square miles. 1t
maintains nearly 10000 public lamps
and supplies nearly 10000 private con-
sumers. 1t sells gas at an average rate
of 60 cents per 1000 feet, the rate
varying slightly between different Sec
lions beyond the city and beyond the
river Mersey.
sin 1877 the book value of the city s
gas property was about So, 100000. In
1898 the book value had risen to
$7,390,000. During the 80 years from
1862 to 1892 the gas plant paid into the
city treasury net profit of nearly
100000 and while the city was
getting this profit the cost of gas to the
consumer was being steady decreased
as improvements in manufacturing
methods and other agencies reduced the
cost of production.
Manchester has one of the finest
public library systems in the world. 1t
owns 266, 514 volumes, and these had a
circulation last year of 2,045, 1893. The
books are circulated through the central
library and II branches. Reading
rooms are attached to each branch Ill
brary, and there are eight additional
reading rooms.
'And the people are not only encour-
aged to read, but to meet together and
to talk. The public hall system was an
interesting feature of municipal govern
ment. The city maintains - of them,
ranging in seating capacity from 100 to
1000. They are rented to the people at
prices ranging from 5 shillings for a
single room to $3.50 for the use of the
main town hall for a ball or other pur-
pose occupying more than three hours.
"Why does Manchester exercise these
to us extraordinary functions of govern
ment? Because its wise men have
learned that there are many things
which the people can do for themselves
more satisfactorily than a part of the
ne0nle can do them for the others and