Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-07

nothing whatever is left for other
improvements such as paving, water
works improvements, etc. The price
named to the city by the present
owners of the plant is understood to
be In the neighborhood of $4,000
and it is also understood that In the
prOtraCted litigation the plant has
run down and will require an addi-
tional outlay of perhaps $1,000 to
make it serviceable.
In this view of the case it is evil
dent that the proposed purchase is
not possible for, of the $4,000 re-
CURED, the city has the power to OBJ
tain no more than $4,000 and it has
no power to incur any Indebtedness
for the balance. A good lawyer was
asked as to this phase and said that
if the figures herein given are any
where near correct as they appear
to be, the city cannot possibly
make the investment now that when
the water works and school house
bonds are paid off, or nearly SO, will
be as soon as the thing can be &C
complished.
a variety of opinions haye been
expressed upon other aspects of the
proposition. One well Informed gen.
tleman spoke substantially as fol-
lows: The city is only Il business
corporation organized to economic
the taxes; that is, its duties are to
keep the tax rate as low as possible
by honestly and intelligently man
aging the expenditures. This can
not be accomplished as rule by
trying experiments in government.
The municipal ownership of public
franchises is successful in few adj
vanced European cities where taxes
are high, salaries are low, and rOta-
ton in Office does not prevail. In
this country a few cities have sue
ceeded for short periods of time but
the constant changes in manage
ment as result of frequent cleo
tons and consequent changes in
policy, the impossibility of retaining
expert employees because of the bet
ter salaries and opportunities for
promotion offered them in private
enterprises, and the temptation to
dishonest practices due to the politi-
cal system, all and many other
causes operate to make the city man.
agement of purely business enter
prises much more expensive than
private management. This is eX-
perience, he observed, and seemed
reasonable. He professed to be
selfish enough to prefer that other
cities than the one where he pays
taxes should try experiments.
Another citizen called attention to
the water works as showing the re-
suit of city ownership. This, he
said, does not require the technical
knowledge and skill nor even the
business management that an cleo
trio lighting business makes neces.
sary, but with honest officials and
fair business ability our water is
expensive, the plant is badly in need
of expensive betterments, the old
wooden mains must shortly be re-
placed, and the amount of water
that can be served is very limited,
although there is perpetual sup
ply from the wells. He attributes
this condition to the fact that a
council cannot administer business
as successfully as single inter
ted corporation or person and
argues from it that the assumption
by the city of the electric light bust
ness would give inferior lights and
increased expense.
Other objections have been raised
but we have gwen enough to indi-
cate the trend public opinion is
taking under the discussion. Tax
payers who at the beginning felt
favorable to the plan seem to be
losing their confidence as they give
it thought.
The members of the council who
will have to assume the responsibility
for the adoption or rejection of the
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