The Worcester spy., 1899-01-22


er towns and cities. and, as result, the
commonwealth has been obliged to step
in as arbiter Boston no longer con-
trols her own water supply What she
shall take how she shall take it and
how much she shall pay for it-these
are questions which the commonwealth
decideds.
The same process of expansion and
conflict of municipal interests is 60
ing on in other cities of the stnte, till
| there is now scarcely a pond of re-
spectacle dimensions which has not
| been taken or looked upon with greedy
eyes by some growing municipality:
and it requires no great amount of fore
| sight to discern that will not he many
generations before the commonwealth
| which now plays the part of arbiter
between these conflicting interests,
must sooner or later assume entire
control.
1t may be said in passing also. that in
this process of expansion something
| of individual rights has been neces-
sarlly sacrificed. The modern Boston
| ian has lost the privilege of owning his
/ own little private pump and of operat-
ing the handle, and the dealer in 'old
oaken buckets" went to the wall long
ago, put, nevertheless, the Bostonian
sun survives and would probably vote
py an overwhelming majority to con-
tlnue to draw his water from a CO.
operative faucet. even. though the COM
! monwealth should own the faucet.
Boston's sewage problem shows the
operation of the same law of social
growth. For many years Dame Boston
GAINED the right to empty her slop-
pan Where and how she pleased but
Dame Nature was several years older
ana much wiser. She set natural lin
itations which Dame Boston found it
dlthcult to overcome. She found that
she could secure the best results by
cooperating with other cities. and
metropolitan sewage system is the
result. Worcester is passing through
something of the same process The
same social law which prevents me
from emptying my slop-pail in my
nelghbor's back yard prevents Worces-
ter from emptying hers in Millbury's
back yard via the Blackstone river. and
| both places are finding out that it is
not only a sanitary necessity, but an
leconomfc advantage to cooperate in
| this matter.
Boston has built up a magnificent
school system whose crowning glory
| is her normal school for the training of
her own teachers, but already a move
ment is on foot to remodel the school
into a state institution. The same law
| of solidarity which has developed our
| public school from the district to the
township system is now at work to
| still further consolidate by means of
several towns united under one super
| intendent, and all under the supervi-
sion of state board of education. 1t
requires no greas degree of foresight
to see that the whNe system must soon
| er or later pass frHn the function of a
town or municipality to that of the
commonwealth.
Boston has built uD a public library
| which is the pride of the whole nation,
| but the same law which has created it
| has widened its operations and i'm
! PEELED the commonwealth to extend its
aid TO the smaller places till now out
| of 32l towns in the state only IS are
| without a free public library.
| The great battle of municipal So
| cialism just now centers around the va
| rious street franchises. but the electric
road has already oyerlaped the bounds
| of municipality. and it's control is fast
| becoming a state function, and the time
| is not far distant, when, if they care to
be owned and operated by the people as
a. whole, it must be under the auspices
of the state rather than the city.
The socialist. therefore, views with
perfect equanimity this expansion of
municipal function into that OF
the Commonwealth, so long as ii
| proceeds along the orderly
lines of social development. He sees in
| it the operation of a universal law
which must outgrow its present mani
| festatio5s just as truly as the present
is the outgrowth of the past. If Mayor
Quincy does not hurry up, before he is
| ready to accept state socialism the COM
lmonwealth will ihaye assumed those
| functions which he new points to. as
glowing examples of municipal social
ism, and all there will be left for Dame
| Boston to do will be to inspect her
| huckstars and to regulate her hurdy-
gurdies
In spite of the fact, however that
present munfcipA functions are fasi
| becoming merged into those of the
greater municipality, a commonw ealth,
| there is the ever-present duty before us
| and it is possible even now for munich
| palities to do much to alleviate the suf-
| ifering from present economic conditions
| and to hasten the day when present
| economic wrongs can be RICHTER Let me
here quote from the inaugural address
of Hon. John c. Chase, the recently
elected social democratic mayor OF
| Haverhill. He says: II believe that So
cialism holds the key to American
municipal problems. While it is not pos
sible for any municipality to guarantee
to its citizens all their economic rights,
1 l believe that much can be accomp-
lished in this direction and that every
i power which the municipality possesses
i should be placed at the disposal of the
| people in the interests of civilization
that mankind may progress to a grand
er and nobler life"
! l shall not attempt in the limited
i space of this article to discuss at length
any of the specific methods by which
i the municipality can accomplish these
results. There are one or two, however
which deserve passing attention as
much from their novelty as their feas-
ibility. Foremost among them all 1 con-
slider the employment of the unem-
ployed upon works of public utility, as
we'll as in some of the simpler CO.
operative industries. care being taker
to select such projects as do not conflict
with the employment of other wage
workers. The ownership of all public
utilities by the whole people and theii
expansion without profit to meet the
public needs, viii help greatly to solve
this problem Of the unemployed. Finally
the furnishing of proper food anG
clothing to the pupils of our public
schools, consider of great Importance
There is not an argument which can be
urged in favor of educating our children
at public expense which cannot be urget
in favor Of providing proper food and
clothing for them. The utter absurdi-
ty of teaching physiology. hygiene and
physical culture to a child whose back
hardly sees sufficient clothing to cover
its nakedness and whose stomach is a
total stranger to Square meaP' ought
4 to be apparent without argument
i These things should be demanded not
I on basis of charity, but rather OF
simple justice
i Finally, as socialists, we should ever
bear in mind that these things which
for convenience sake we group under
the head of municipal socialism, are
not an end, but only means, and