Gilpin observer., 1899-01-12
IN ENGLISH CITIES.
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP HAS
BECOME THE RULE.
Has Met with Success-Horss Was
Used by Private Corporations. Super
seeded by Electricity Under MunioIpaI
Control

street railways in Great Britain under
municipal control. Heretofore the
cities of Great Britain have been
among the most backward of any
cities of the leading nations of the
world in the matter of street rail-
roads" writes Consul Bayle. "a great
change is taking place, however.
There has recently appeared in Lon
don trade journal devoted to street
railroads and kindred subjects. I'm
dertakings are in progress in the prin
cipal cities of the kingdom for the
establishment of the most improved
systems. In a large number of cases
these enterprises are feature of re-
markable movement which has been
quietly but irresistibly getting control
of the government of the chief cities,
and may be described as municipal So
cialism-that is, the ownership and
operation by the municipality of GER
tain enterprises which, by their very
nature, must necessarily be more or
less monopolistic, such as street rail-
roads, electric and gas lighting plants,
the water supply, and telephones. In
SolDC lhStdiCtS, however, IulS
pal socialism extends beyond this
classification. In several cities in Great
Britain, the municipal corporations
build dwellings for workingmen and
even run hotels; in others they erect
and operate magnificent mineral and
Turkish baths. In this connection the
following extract from the Liverpool
Daily Post is of interest: Lord Rose
berry once described the work of the
London county council as the greatest
experiment in practical socialism that
the world had seen. People who dis
like socialism, especially socialism of
the practical kind. will be very angry
with the decision arrived at by the
county council today to throw part of
the rent-or what ought to be the
rene-of some new working class
dwelling (municipaD on the rates
Gocal taxes). The justification for this
step seems to be that suitable houses
can not be erected in place of those
that are about to be removed, unless
higher rents are charged, and that to
charge higher rents would be hard
ship on the displaced tenants. Conse
quently, the general rate-payer is to
be called upon to disburse the balance
between the old rent and the new. In
Liverpool the city government buys
property condemned as unsanitary and
erects thereon model dwellings for
workingmen it has established the fin
est system of public salt and fresh
water baths, both for swimming and
ordinary tub baths, of any city in
Great Britain, some of them being free,
and recently the city has taken posses
sion of the electric-light plant (but not
the gaslighD and the entire street.
railroad system. In the neighboring
town of st. Helens (the center of the
English chemical trade) the munich
pal corporation is to lay the tracks,
furnish the cars and equip the routes
with overhead trolleys and supply cleo
trio motive power, but will lease the
entire system to company, who will
be allowed to charge only certain fixed
fares. A few days ago the first cleo
tric street car in Liverpool was start
ed. The line is experimental. 1t is
two and one-half miles in length and
has a double track. Each motor has a
trailer, the latter being a smoking car.
The fare is a penny e cents) for the
trailer and I'd a cents) for the motor
car The cars are to be fitted with
mir brakes. In Liverpool, as in most of
the other cities referred to, it is in
tended to use electricity as the motive
power for the street cars. although
there are those who insist that gas or
oil motors are preferable. Attention is
here drawn to this newly awakened
spirit of enterprise, so general on the
part of British municipalities, in the
hope that American contractors and
manufacturers may secure some Of the
work Of supplying the plants. The
recommendation is made that Ameri
can firms who manufacture and deal in
street railway and electrical appliances
put themselves in communication with
the municipal authorities over here.
| This can be done by addressing the city
engineer. AS nearly every city and
town OF Importance in Great Britain
has such work under progress or in
contemplation, it is unnecessary to
give a list, and those interested can
hardly go astray by addressing the city
| engineer OF any large city in England
or Scotland-and the same suggestion
holds good. to n limited extent. for
Irish and Welsh municipalities. These
great municipal enterprises are un-
dertaken by authority OF act of parlia-,
n,ent First, certain powers are
granted by general acts. Then. specific
authority to meet local conditions is
obtained in one of two ways, viz, D
either by special local act passed by
parliament, or (2) by provisional or
der of the government board of trade,
which body subsequently has its per-
raissive authority or grant Of power