Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1899-08-12

the People.
Apropos of the recent agitation for
municipal ownership 4 few facts con
cerning the much talked of Glasgow
will doubtless be of interest, says the
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Eighty years ago Glasgow was Il
filthy manufacturing city, situated on
a muddy ditch. Today she stands sec
ond in point of population and com
mercc In the British empire and in
matter of sanitation and municipal
government II century in advance of
her nearest rival. Till 1910 the cor
poration levied no taxes. The whole
Of its revenue was derived from duties
made on all articles of food brought
into the city. Every year this revenue
was in excess of the expenditure, and
the surplus was put aside, and in 1915
they invested this accumulated money
in the purchase of ground right in the
heart of the city, now known as the
common good" That purchase was
the foundation of Glasgow as she
stands today. At first the income from
the common good" was only a little
over $4,000 1t now brings in over
$4,000 yearly.
Glasgow Is owned by her popuia-
ton. They own the ground, the street
railways, the gas plants, the water
works, the parks and gardens and con
cert halls. And, although every one of
these institutions Is worked more
cheaply than in any other town, each
one Is made to bring in greater year
ly profit to the community, the total
profit per annum on municipal under
takings being 1914 800. The corporation
Of Glasgow has spent over S15OOOO,-
600 in making their mud ditch into
river up which the greatest ships
afloat can sail and in raising their
town to It's present position. And yet
It's public debt IS, taking into consid-
Grafton It's size, by far the smallest of
any city in the world. The key to its
prosperity Is that every common i'm
provement has been done by the cor
poration.
Take, for instance, the poorer dwell
ings. In 1874 n royal commission was
sent in reply to cry that the poorer
districts were unhealthily overcrowd
ed. The report of the commission was
that the death rate was over Al in ev-
cry 1000 of the population and that
typhus fever was as we'll known as the
face of the oldest inhabitant The cor
poration took up the matter, and today
Glasgow's model dwellings are the
very best of the kind. To build these.
of which there are now five, capable of
housing 1000 persons every night, the
foul rOokeries, which are still the curse
from every point Of view of nearly all
other large towns, We're swept away.
Any one, man or woman, can get n
thoroughly clean bed for the sum Of
Z cents. And, although over $450,000
Of the public money was spent in
erecting these houses, a good yearly
return Is paid on it-yearly per cent.
The death rate has been reduced to
100.
Instead Of the city being supplied
with those necessities Of life, water
and gas. by private companies the peo-
pie, through their own corporation, sup
ply themselves Mt the nominal rates of
in the first case 10 cents and in the sec
ond 81 as against II and GA when for
merly supplied by companies. And it
may be added that not only is the
charge for water the very lowest of
any town, but the water itself is ac-
knowledged by experts to be the very
purest supplied to any city or village.
Vo+ 20,
ply alone an annual profit of $210,00O.
At the same time that Glasgow pur-
chased the common good" property the
markets We're also bought. And al
though the lightest tolls are levied, so
that the sellers are able to dispose of
their goods to the inhabitants at less
price than in any other town, the city
garners yearly revenue of $16,5OO,
and S14T.500 is also gained from the
gas supply.
Working on the good results of their
former enterprise in these directions,
they have now taken over the electric
al lighting of the city at a yearly profit
Of $1,000. With this money the cor
poration has looked to procuring public
recreation parks, with the result that
In the matter of "lungs" Glasgow
stands first in the world. 1t has some
100 acres allotted to this purpose,
which works out at one acre of public
grass covered ground for every 800 of
the population. During the spring and
summer bands play in each of these
parks, and there is no collection. They
are paid by the corporation, which puts
aside $500 for this purpose.
In one matter Glasgow stands alone
All laundrieS are public property. By
this means the inhabitants are able to
have their clothes washed In the very
best manner at the very lowest price.
And one can feel, when indulging in an
extra clean shirt, that any profit made
on 1t goes to the public welfare.
There Is one great source of evil
which up to the present Glasgow has
not been able to cast off. Millions up-
on millions of tons of coal are con-
fumed yearly, and the black, suffocat-
ing smoke hangs continually over the
city like a death pail. But 1t is not
GlasgOw's fault that 1t has not been
removed. The corporations are willing
to pay any one $10,00O,OOO who will
dash it away.
BY running their own street rail
ways, gas plants and waterworks and
also being owners of their own CITY
they have been able to build Glasgow
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