Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-09-20
PIERCE A SYRACUSE
Marshalltown's Mayor Makes .
Strong Plea in Favor Of NUM-
cipal Ownership
Points to This City as Shining
Example Of the Success Of Pub
lie Control Of Utilities.
Presents Facts and Figures for the
Theorists and Others to Reflect
Upon.

Upon.
At the convention of the League of
American municipalities. now in session
at Syracuse, N. Y, Mayor F. G. Pierce,
of Marshalltown, this afternoon read
paper on the topic, The Municipal
Ownership OF Public Service Indus
tries" he being one of several to discuss
this important subject. Like every one
else in this city who takes an interest in
the water and street lighting plant and
knows of its successful and economical
conduct under city ownership and con-.
troll, the mayor is strong advocate Of
public ownership of these utilities under
proper conditions. In his paper he
takes Marshalltown as the basis for his
argument and figures, and the facts
thus presented are hard to refute. On
the other side of the question, however,
are Hon. Robert p. Porter and others,
and they, of course, will be able to pre-
sent arguments against the plan. May
or Pierce's paper is here given almost in
full:
II have the privilege of representing
in this great convention the city of
Marshalitown, Iowa. 1t is little city
of 1900 people. that has owned and OPP
Grated municipal water works system
| for the past twenty-three years, and has
owned and operated municipal street
| lighting system for the past twelve
| years.
According to the predictions made by
many learned and eloquent gentlemen
of the results which inevitably follow in
| the wake of municipal ownership our
city should; by this time. be in state
| Of financial bankruptcy, afflicted by ex-
| orbitant taxes !, and have become a
! genuine hot-bed of municipal corrup-
| ton and lncompetency. Certainly a
period of twentythree years is time
! enough in which their theories should
be proven. Some of the claimed evil eff
fects of municipal ownership Should
/. have become manifest and the predic-
| ton of municipal Incompetence. if cor
rect, become a fact. But. unfortunately
1 for these theories, I do not come to thi.
4 convention with a calamity message
but with statement of complete sue
cess in the past and bright expectation.
for the future. Although am thor
oughly convinced that there are man,
other cities that can bear just as favor
able evidence for the cause of municipa
ownership. yet / state facts in regart
to Mafshalltown because we'll acquaint
ed with local conditions and for the fur
Their reason can personally attest I
6 their correctness.
During the past few years our ia
levy for municipal purposes has bee
at the rate of Is mills on the dollar on
valuation for taxation of 81 900 00t
bringing in a revenue from taxes Q
$4,000 or about 81 per capita per an
mum. We have levied no tax for waite
: purposes, the revenue from the work
being sufficient to pay interest, operat
, ing expenses, repairs and for the exten
sion and improvement of the system
over and above this, our city has tn
). use of 1871 fire hydrants at no expens
; whatever to the city. For the comm
q year we have levied mill water ia
} for the purpose of improving and in
creasing our water supply. We furnis
water to the Iowa Soldiers Home at
cents per thousand gallons, and to on
manufacturing institutions at 31s cent
!, per thousand gallons, which is only one
; fourth of cent per thousand gallon
; more than the cost of pumping. Durin
the twenty three years we have not ha
a single agitation for lower water rate.
but a year ago the city council. upo
s. its own motion, reduced the dwellin
house rates from IS to SIS per annun
! and allowed two taps instead of on,
Z Our system is one of the very best
!, the state, supplied with all the lates
!, improvements. and the envy of all Z
our sister cities that are supplied b
private corporations. The expense
! maintaining and operating the stree
lighting plant is paid out of the gener;
fund: there is no special tax for stree
lighting purposes, although we HAY
4 100 arc lights of 1900 candle power tht
burn all night, except upon moonligt
nights. We have seven and cha
! miles of brick pavement, sixteen an
one half miles of sanitary sewers. ovs
twenty-thr miles of water mains, an
a free public library
Our total municipal debt is $500
/ and we could sell our water works ar
. lighting plant upon twenty-four hour
notice for over 100000 This makes o,
net assets about s227, 900. nearly $40 p,
capita. - 1t would take more tho
: theoretical reasoning and brilliant ell,
. quence to convince us that municip
ownership is not an unqualified su
cess.
For the determination of the que
= ton OF the advisability of municip
ownership of public service industri
there are two distinct schools of invest
gators seeking, or pretending to see
after the truth. On the one hand are Il
:. theoretical inyestigators-the collie,
t professors, the men of letters and Il
amateur students interested in the SUI
ject as an economic question. OF tn
{ class many are opposed to municip
y ownership. On the other hand are Il
practical investigators, the large majo
ity of whom are city officials, who ha,
+ not the leisure to read and study mo
q than few OF the many valuable boo
! and articles that have been written
i the subject. These investigators 10,
r. almost entirely to results. care but lit
/ for theory. and they. almost witho
;. exception, are honest advocates of m
!, nicipal ownership.
. THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION
. THE opponents of municipal owne
!. ship, the theoretical investigators. ha,
as usual thing, very little to say abo
the evils of private ownership. TIL
> such evils exist Is fully demonstrate
by the dissatisfaction Of the people
= every case where public service
y dustry is owned and operated by O 81