The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-07-13

MA JONES NEW SFEEC6.
Mayor Jones has spoken here before, bu
he brought a new speech this time. H
said the growth of sentiment in favor o
public ownership was one of the remar
kable features of the present day. He wa
becoming very patient, however. 1t is
time to assimilate it. Every city SHOULD
own an ideal. Cities and people are with
out ideals Life is on such sordit
plain, race Of Mammon worshipers, will
little time for collective consideration O
question. Me, mine, l, myself, my,
is the motive of existence. We are lont
on idols and short on ideals Mayor San
mentioned Ruskin and William Morris, ad
ding all life can be made beautiful and
is to be made beautiful. The streets where
the people live may be made as beautiful
| as the fields where the cattle live Lane
and the instruments of production, of course
should be the common property of all the
people. The mayor said the commonalty
OF people are ready for municipal own
ership, but the people who represent them
are not. He told of Toledo's council
men proposing to divide it into five districts
for competition in lighting. 1t was not
necessarily beause the officials were venal
1t was the spirit of save yourself. People
! must be got to look to the ideal of what
| a city should be.
The work should begin with children, cit
! les should own play grounds. Public own
ership is not coming by forcing things, said
| Mayor Jones. 1t is coming by intellectual
| conviction, by head and heart demanding
| it. 1t will not come by an appeal to
| the selfish motives that inspire life to-
| day. Patriotic motives will bring it, The
mayor said, amid applause, that he did
not see why 1t was not patriotic for
man to offer his services to his city as
to go down to Santiago to be shot. He
told OF 20 citizens OF Springfield arranging
for the city to own it's own lighting plant.
ynin Of fhn
fury OF commerce into the century of edu-
cation, but not across lots. The present
plan Is painless. purposeless, hopeless. I
hail with delight the tendency to collectiv-
ism, call it socialism if you wish. The
cry for cities is boom and get big. Why?
What can you get in a city of 200, 900 peo-
pie that you can't get in a city of $4,000
The cry is get manufactures. Why?
To see hollow-eyed children marching in
and out of factories? What is the object
of the cry to boom things?
More rents and increase land values"
said singletaxer
Have useful work instead of useless
toll, said the mayor. II need not repeat
the old familiar arguments. Keep more
lofty and noble idea Of life generally and
of cities in particular. Cities are built
not for the good Of monopolies, but for
the people,
Prof. Bemis took up the municipal own
ership movement first to it's Importance
and second as to it's needs. Its Importance
he considered first as to it's growth and
second as to its meaning in value. AS to
its growth he said out of SO waterworks
plants In cities Al are public plants. He
turned to Great Britain, showing that one
third of the cities own the gas plants that
One-ffth of the cities own the street railways
He took UP the Detroit street railway plant
He was present during the recent negotia-
tons for the sale of the street railway plant
tn tho nifyy <ho
track, etc, could be duplicated for SIS, 900 900.
but the company had received from the peo-
pie franchises with II years more to run,
giving the real value of the road over s16-
900, SO if the people wanted to buy they
would have to pay $4,000, 900 to the street
car magnates for what they gave for moth
ing They would have to buy back what
they gave. AS to the meaning of it's mpor-
lance he pointed out it's effect on good gov
eminent. He touched stockholders in
franchises, who were strong citizens favor
ing weak government and crowding out
honest officers and servants. He told of
Detroit plumber who was an alderman and
was compelled by his rich patrons to re-
sign or lose his business. The prospects
are brighter to get rid of the spokesman nu-
der public ownership than of corruption I'M
der private ownership.
AS to how city ownership affects fran
chises he argued that the city borrows
money at a lower rate of interest than
private corporations, pays larger wages and
usually has shorter hours and provides an |
opportunity for an attack the rent of
the land. He said it was time to prepare
for the use of trusts, to begin with the |
cities and public ownership. AS to the
needs of municipal ownership he said infor- |
nation was needed above all else. He pro-
duced parliament pamphlet of all munich !
pal undertakings of the last year in England |
No such pamphlet is issued here. where
f1,op ,,r1@ ~
matte method Of collecting information, |
bureau Of research with one or two experts |
attached.
Representa- Gridley of Kansas, said the |
people now should take to themselves the |
liberties their fathers won 100 years ago |
and should press for the referendum and |
direct legislation. S. E. Moffatt, of the |
New York Journal, made one of the best |
speeches of the evening. He said proper
tional representation and direct legislation,
instead of being antagonistic, complemented !
each other. He took up Prof Bemis'
statement of the Detroit franchise worth
So, 900, 900, given free. Granted there was a
Paying each of the seven $500. 900 each, the
Of the franchise still would have
SO, 100000 profit. He said the reformers
would be surprised to know how cheap some
respectable citizens are He cited
information to prove it. Under direct leg
|
the respectable citizen would remain re-
spectacle. There is a great field for repre-
sentatives of the power to deliver the
goods
The following letter from William Dean
Howells was received:
eff l were to be with you and could
speak, 1 should like to say something for:
|. Initiative and Referendum 2 Public
Ownership of Railroads and Street Trans.
}. State Life and Fire Insurance and Pen
;ions for Superannuated Labor a. THE
ASSUMPTION BY THE STATE OF ALL
BUSINESSES WHICH BECOME MONOPO-
LIES. 5. State Ownership of All Mines
md Their Operation. 6. A Plebiscite Upon
Nj Questions Of War and Peace and for the
of Treaties.
"Our recent and present experience has
shown the desirability of some
such principle as the last: and I believe
here is no solution of the trust problem but
hat indicated in the fourth clause. The
act is, trust is as legitimate in principle
Is any other form of competition. 1t is
lothing but the ultimatum of competition.
which is essentially and necessarily the op-
PRESTON and destruction of the weaker COM .
'etitions. If we like competition, there we
lave it in its most adorable shape If we
10 not like 1t, there Is no escape from it ex-
ept through the public assumption Of the