Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-08-12
WITHOUT TAXATION
A CITY GOVERNMENT WITHOUT
TAKING ITS CITIZENS.
The City OF Glasgow. Scotland. Pays all
Expenses OF Municipal Government
without Taxing tho People and Looks
After the Poor Besides.


the fortunate position of being able to
pay all the expenses of the city govern
ment out of the revenue derived from
its public Improvements state of
things which has earned for this city
the title to be called the most advanced
and best governed city in the world.
The details regarding the system en-
ployed by the municipal authorities are
given in letter from MIR. Joseph AS
bury johnson, IN the Morning Call, of
Srn Francisco, from which it appears
that the progress of improvement of
the city dates from the year 1854, when
number of philanthropic citizens
formed an association for the improve
ment of the condition of the slum popu-
lation. This was practically the begin
ming of a reform movement which ulti-
mately resulted in an act of parliament
empowering the city corporation to car
~ out the work which philanthropy and
private effort had failed to accomplish.
1t is claimed that ut this time the con-
dition of the poor in that city was worse
than in any of the other cities of Great
Britain On July II occurred the thirty
first anniversary of the passage by the
British parliament of the Glasgow I'm
provement Trust act The measure has
worked so well that today the SLIM dis
tricts are practically eradicated. The
city condemned the wretched tenements
and erected in their place the very best
form of modern sanitary buildings, con-
tanning one, two, three, four or five
room apartments, which the city rents
to the tenants at from So to $l7 a month.
The water and gas rates which are paid
to the city are mere nominal and re
duce the cost of living to minimum.
There are altogether over one thousand
o these suites of rooms or flats owned
by the city and rented at the prices
named above, and at the average rate
of six persons to the fiat, there are over
six thousand people accommodated in
this way. The scheme has been so well
managed that the income derived by the
city not only covers the interest of the
investment, cost of maintenance, and all
incidental expenses, but there has actu-
ally accumulated sinking fund which
is gradually wiping out the debt in
cured in the purchase of the con-
1emned property and constructing the
new tenements
Encouraged by the success of this ex-
pertinent the city organized a system
of relief and benefit for widows and
widowers with small families who are
obliged to go to their daily labor and
have no one in whose care they can
leave the children. A large building
was erected containing one hundred
and seventy-6ve bed rooms and a
number of nurseries, bath rooms,
kitchens and play rooms for the chill
dren, and staff of nurses was en-
gagged to look after the little ones dur
ing the entire day. The charges are
extremely low, including as they do
light, heat, washing and care of the
children, etc, The prices paid are as
follows: For a mother and child, 70
cents per week; a mother and two
children, 95Jl cents; with three chill
dren, 81, and 1873 cents for each addi-
tional child. For father and one
child, S1.O4 week; father with two
children, S1.91 per week; with three
children 81. IS per week, with charge
of 16 cents extra for each additional
child. In addition to this board is pro-
vided for adults at cents for break
fast, cents for dinner, and & cents for
supper, or 10 cents per day. Summing
up these items we find that a widow
wish three children can live very com
fortably for SO. IS per week, and a man
with three children for 1918.
A further extension of the operations
of this laudable system of government
is now being carried out, by which the
city will be given parliamentary power
to appropriate property to provide sani-
tary dwellings for all the working
classes. So excellent is the credit of
the city that it is able to borrow all
the money it needs at 81 per cent, a
rate of interest which will go far to
make the venture financial success;
and it is reasonably expected that the
social and sanitary results will fully
compensate the city for the outlay. 1t
NAV be mentioned here that many
years ago the city established public
wash houses where, for cents an
hour, a woman is allowed the use of
hot and cold water, washtubs, and
may have the washed clothes machine
dried and mangled all within an hour
1t is claimed that of all the vast num-
Der of operations of this kind under
taken by the city none has proved
failure, and that this means can be
understood when it is said that the
authorities have under their care city