El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-20
MUNICIPAL
OWNERSHIP
Pingree a Strong Advocate OF
the New Ideas.
IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE

IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE
State Operation Of Railroads Is Not
Successful According to Our Stand
ards -Phladelphia Experience
With Municipal Ownership of Pub
lie Utilities Not Encouraging While
In Buffalo the Scheme Is Eminent
Iy Successful.-The Best Plan For
Satisfactory Service From Street
Car Lines Is In Vogue In Glasgow,
Scotland.
Written for the Herald.
The Or inciple of public ownershid
for all pu bile utilities Is fast gaining
ground. A great change of this nature
cannot either be brought to the point
of actual trial or carried through It's
first years without some mistakes. IL
is not incidental incoveniences so mucn
as the que stion of comparative cheap
ness of mu nicipal and private plants,
and the feasibility of public manage
ment, that must be copsld cred. Inc
movement in the United States In COM
ing years, however, will be in the d.
rection of municipal ownership.
At the instance and under the d1rec-
ton of the resourceful Pingree the
municipality of Detroit Is about to try
an experiment whose progress will be
worth watching. Governor Pingree is
earnestly of the opinion that the street
railways wight TO be owned and operat-
ed by the city and he has secured the
creation of q commission which Is au-
thorized to negotiate with the passen-
ger railway companies for the pure ase
of their franchises and other property.
Should it be found practicable to come
to terms the price agreed upon will be
reported to the city council, which Will
presumably arrange for its payment,
and then much discussed question.
as to which there is at present room
for wide difference of judgment, will
be in the way of practical solution.
In continental Europe generally,
and notably in Russia. Germany and
France, the railroads are owned and
operated by the government, and no
one who has travelled over them will
say that the service was either as
cheap or ae satisfactory as that OF Great
Britain or the United States. 1t ls
generally characterized by regulations
80 harassing in their effect and so ar
bitrary in their enforcement as to be
between the traveller and the officials,
tbs convenience of the latter is almost
invariably preferred.
TIE truth is that the management
of q railroad and of street passenger
railway also is a business like any
other, and more than many others It
dlm-4ds, as the condition of success, q
spe;:iel ability and an appropriate
training. There are people who think
that any one could operate q re 1lroad,
Just as thev think that anyone could
run a hotel or edit newspaper. 1t is
q mistake, and if the Detroit expert
mens goes far enough along the in
dictated lines the gravity and extent OF
the mistake are likely to be made
plain.
Philadelphia's experience with
municipal ownership of public utilities
has not been very encouraging. The
gas plant was for years under munich
pal control, and gas was cold to con-
sumers at considerably higher rate
than was charged for it in other cities
of nearly equal size. Two-fifths of the
supply was purchased from a private
company at price which afforded the
city q good margin of profit. and yet
the city scored u net loss, and it's plant
was permitted to run down until it
became necessary either to issue bonds
in a large sum to provide for repairs or
to abandon municipal control entirely.
The latter alternative was resorted to
and the plant was re leased to private
company, which is making fair profit
out Of it's operation.
The alleged reason for the failure of
municipal ownership in Philadelphia is
the corruption of the machine which
controls municipal politics.; but ma
chimes of a similar character-perhaps
not go corrupt, but still political ma
chines-will be found in every city, and
there Is no escape from political favor
itism and certain amount of "bOss''
rule. Business enterprises cannot be
successfully managed on political
basis, and TO adopt political municipal
ownership under present conditions is
simply to make the taxpayers the vic
Tins of deficit.
The city of Buffalo on the
other hand owns and operates its wa
ter and light plants, both of which, af-
ter deducting all expenses of mainte-
nance and operation, yield handsome
surplus to the revenues OF the city.
Wafer rates are 81 % per quarter, and
lights are furnished at propO
low figures. On all franchises granted
the street railways percentage of the
gross earnings of the enterprise is eX-
acted on basis of two, two and one
half, and three per cent, according to
the amount of the receipts, the incre as
ed rate applying to the largest receipts.
Last year the percentage paid the city
by the street railway companies was
S46, asa, as against S45 ,051 IN 1897. And
so with the electric plant franchise.
Under a general ordinance, the compa-
MES are compelled to''pay to the treas
urer Of the city. of Buffalo q sum of
money equal to two and one half
per cent, of its gross receipts from all
electricity sold or furnished for light
ing, heating or power purposes. Such
payment shall be made within 30 days
after the expiration of each year from