Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-03-05

These ar, but Il few illustrations taken
from a. long list of the same character
bjt time viii allow us to give no more.
Look Wrll at these marvellous facts
Imagine p city, one Year paying 500 or
$3ta for Il street light ana the N"Xt year
making the light itself ut a cost ut from
so to so, Fresh from the pen Of Coy
Plugrce nf Michigan. comes the report
that the new electric lighting plant of De
trOit has saved to the people of that city.
nearly $4,000 in three motnhs, Are these
not object lessons of wonderful power?
The taxpayers Of this country cannot fail
t. see their force. Municipalizatiun OF
the lighting plants is practical and eco
nomical. IL means a saving of from 80 to
loo per cent. in commercial lighting. and
from zoe to 500 per cent. in street lighting.
These are facts. Again | challenge any
one to dispute their Significance
Street railways are owned. or owned
ana operated by % cities of England and
Scotland. by some cities of Germany.
Switzerland. Holland and the Australian
olonies by Toronto, New York city. and
II a measure by New Orleans. We can
not afford to overlook the remarkable
success of municipal operation in foreign
cities. one example is all that time al
lows us ana will be sufficient. Let us
take Glasgow. a city about the size of
Boston and similar To ii in many respects.
Glasgow began operating her street rail
ways in 1894. In II months the city
lcarcd Sill. .0on Fares We're reduced about
}3 per cent over one-third of the tickets
sold We're for one cent distances. and
here was an immense increase in the
-ratiic. More than SOB, ono We're carried.
The city cleared $40'.0ii the second year.
over MoW,9W passengers were carried
he average fare of each being about *
;ents. Glasgow has only little over 81
niles of track. Boston 2.3. New York 315.
Philadelphia i55. If Glasgow has cleared
over Sl0o,m0 in one year. the profits To
each Of thes" American cities. from
municipal street cars would annually
each millions after reducing the fares
England nd
Scotland that own their street railways,
'learc' nearly $i.Wo0oo from the traffic in
lS3'. AS has been said there have been
out two attempts at municipal operation
If street car lines on this continent. The
Brooklyn Bridge cable line between New
York and brooklyn. has been owned by
hese tw" cities ana operated by faithful
ruStees. The structure was an cXpen-
'ive one. costing $l5. 900. 600 the line is not
,nly paying interest but is liquidating the
construction cost. and yet the fare is
'niy two cents, Toronto is the only city
on this continent that has tried both
municipaliZation and control in the man
tgement of the street railway. Toronto
-eStIileS that under municipaiZation these
WORKS pay 30 per cent. more earnings into
the public treasury than they did under
the finest system Of control ever adopted.
While under control. there was n con-
slant warfare going on between the com
pany and the public. So far as the
municipalization of the street car lines
has been tried on this continent, il has
proved an unqualified success. 1t has
meant larger returns to the municipality,
reduce rates and more efficient service to
the people
The next and last speaker was Mr.. Fred
L i4andman He called attention that the
gentlemen on the other side hal referred
to the fact that the gentlemen for the
negative We're from Lewiston. In Lewis
ton $40 per light is the price while over in
AUBURN the private corporation provides
electric lights for $50. The speaker upon
lI-nn lrIt riDf ifnS