People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1897-09-17


general taxes.
Birmingham bought out the private
gas companies at huge rate Yet it
at once reduced gas to rs cents, making
even on that basis profit of $4,000.
Gas is now so cents the thousand feet.
New York gets nothing from its gas
companies but rather inferior quality
of gas. 1t pays them and the electric
| lighting companies about $1,000,000 a
year for public lighting And citizens
of New York have to pay 81 20 the
thousand feet and are charged for leak
age under the extortionate system of
the Gas Trust.
Glasgow has perfect supply of alb
solutely pure water at pressure so
high that the efficiency of the Fire De
partment is greatly increased. The
cast of water is about quarter of a
cent day for each inhabitant. At this
price the debt of the water works is
being rapidly paid.
Manchester had to go ninety-fve
miles for its water supply, and Birm-
ingham had to go eighty miles. In
both cities the water works are more
than selfsustain1ng, although the
water rents are not much higher than
those of Glasgow.
New York, which had to go only four
miles further than Glasgow for its
| vo4ar. e1,r,,,I1 will mot NOW ofe ifr u1otor
debt for at least forty years. Yet
water rents in New York are more than
four times as high on the most favor
able average as those of Glasgow, And
New York's system cost far more than
even the Manchester system with its
ninety five miles of aqueduct.
|
To check the evils of overcrowdipg
Glasgow condemned and bought about
one hundred acres of tenements, 1t
opened twenty-nine new streets, it
widened twenty five old streets, it
erected model tenements that bring in
500, 900 in rents annually, it laid out
a superb park. and altogether SO ad-
mirably administered the enterprise
that it is now practically self-sustain-
! ing. The death rate has been lowered,
the poor people are more comfortably
housed and the city has been greatly
beautifed.
Birmingham has initiated Glasgow's
example with even better results. The
finest street in Birmingham runs
through the land bought for the great
improvement scheme" in what was a
few years ago the heart of the slums
In fifty years Birmingham will have
paid for the ninety acres it bought and
will have a clear income from rentals
of about S1.OOO000, besides the new
streets and parks.
The only attempts New York has
made in this direction have been the
opening of small parks. And it took
seven years to get title and possession
of Mulberry Bend. OF course under
the New York system all these enter
prises are paid for by the taxpayer.
u
Glasgow changed itself from an in
land town to great seaport by under
taking the improvements of the Clyde
which have cost the city 500, 900
and the taxpayers almost nothing. A
harbor was dug, splendid docks were
constructed and all the facilities of a
great seaport were provided. Yet by
business administration ach enterprise
was made self sustaining or more than
self-sustaining. The city's credit was
used, the city was made great and
prosperous, and there is net income
over all expenses of about So, 600, 600 a
year.
Manchester, to save itself from Liv-
erpool competition, made private
effort to build shipcanal into public
enterprise and expended more than
S25, 0OO, 900 of the 500, 900 600 it has
cost. The success of the canal has
come slowly, but already the result is
Justify the expenditure, and the Man
chester taxpayers have not had their
rates raised to any great extent.
Glasgow has seven great model lodg-
ing houses where the homeless poor
are accommodated at trifling rates. 1t
has family home" where widows or
widowers with children can live until
they can arrange for the care of their
children while they are at work. 1t
has public wash-houses where all the
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