The record-union., 1898-12-03

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 2-This was
the last day of the Sixth National Con-
ference of the Good City Government
League. The sessions were confined to-
papers and their discussion.
| DR.. Albert Shaw of New York. a
member of the Committee ON Municipal
Program, read a. paper, entitled The
City in the United States-the Proper
Scope of Its Activities He said, in
part:
1T is the unanimous opinion Of the
committee that the main outlines of 50
municipal system should be uniform
| throughout all the towns of State,
and that there is no particular reason
why a fairly workable American sys-
tenn might not tend, at least approxi--
mately, toward something like uni
Iormlty throughout the whole country.
When it comes to- the question what
these more or less uniformly organized
municipal corporations shall do from
month to month and year to year
what services they shall render to the
men, women and children who are the
lfconstituents or the elements of the
municipal corporation-it is the opinion
of your committee-as we believe it is
the mature opinion, founded upon ex-
perience of municipal administrators
throughout the world-that nobody can
decide so well as the individual mu-
nicipality how far it will carry it's
activities, and in what variety of ways
in detail it shall make itself service
able to it's citizens.
1--WE are not for a moment advo-
eating any extreme innovations, nor
are we repudiating any prudential
check of a general nature that may
be found in experience to work use
fully. We are simply contending for
the main proposition that the cities
may well be left to work out their
own destinies upon the basis of a very
broad liberty as respects the scope of
their functions
At the afternoon session Charles
Richardson of Philadelphia read pa
per, efstitled Municipal Franchises
He said in part:
1.-THE Committee on Municipal Pro-
gram is unanimous in the opinion that
the city should be free to choose for
itself between the policy of leasing its
franchises or of retaining and oper-
ating them for its own benefit in any
given case, and should be clothed with
ample power for acquiring and man
aging public properties.
"The committee is also convinced
that it has been demonstrated by
abundant experience that in the inter-
est of the public when a city grants
franchise to a private corporation, as
sociation or individual the term of
such grant should be limited to a
definite period, not exceeding twenty
one years: in addition to any other
form or compensation, the grantee
should pay the city a percentage of
the gross receipts from the exercise OF
the franchise; at the end of the period
the plant Of the grantee should become
the property of the city if the latter
so desires, either without further COM
pensation than the original grant, or,
If additional compensation be paid, 1t
should not in any way include or be
based upon any valuation of or allow
ance for the franchise itself, which at
the termination of the grant should
ipso facto revert to the public; every
grant of a franchise should contain
ample provision, enforceable by for
feiture of the grant or otherwise, to se-
cure efficient public service at reason
able rates; every grantee should be
obliged to render to the city complete
accounts of it's financial condition, in
Guiding it's receipts from all sources
and it's expenditures for all purposes,
such accounts. to be public records; the
books and accounts of the grantee
should be at all reasonable times open
to the examination of the city's fiscal
officer or his representatives"
The cities contesting for the next
convention were ST. Paul, Detroit
Syracuse and Columbus. The Execu-
tive Committee will have the naming
of the next convention city and 1T may
not report at this time.
Resolutions of coincidence on the
death of Colonel George E. Warirg,
Jr, of New York were also appropri-
ately acted upon by the Executive
Committee this morning.