The Topeka state journal., 1900-02-07

transportation, you will find that a re-
gard for their own pocketbooks will be
the most effective preventive OF corruD-
ton in city government.
Publicity has been prescribed by
nearly everybody as a remedy for some
of the evils of trusts. Publicity is one
of the chief reasons for the financial
success of public waterWorks and light
ing plants. The books and the opera
tions of public plants are open to the
scrutiny of all the stockholders, namely
the people, and corruption is practical
Iy impossible. The operations of private
companies are carried on in the dark.
Their books are not accessible to the
public. whose property they use.
third objection to municipal own
ership of street railways is that rail-
ways cannot be managed as ecOnomi-
cally as under private ownership, where
the incentive to economical manage
nent is so much grea ter, because of the
opportunity for private profit This OBJ
lection is absolutely without founda-
tion. The history of municipal water
works and lighting plants proves, be-
yond contradiction, that the cost to the
consumer is very much less under pub
lie ownership. I have already cited the
case of the Detroit lighting plant, where,
under public ownership, there is saw
ing Of over S100, 600 per year to the peO-
pie Reliable figures, ascertained by
persons who have no financial interest
in the subject, demonstrate that the
the United States average 43 per cent
more than the charges of public water
works for similar service.
One of the most striking illustrations
of this is the case of the Metropolitan
Street Railway lines in New York city
At the time the figures were produced,
the nominal capitalization per mile Of
track was S1,130.000. The market capi-
talization was 50, 225 900 per mile, while
the cost of duplicating the system did
not exceed $100 600 per mile. You will
thus see that there were q parts mar
ket value to one part actual value. In
other words, there were $2,125,000 iva
ter in the market value and $1,030,000
water in the capitalization for each
mile Of track. Is it any wonder that
the New York lines were obliged to
charge high rates of fare in order to
pay interest and dividends upon so
much water"
AS a member Of the commission ap-
pointed to negotiate with the street
railway owners for the purchase of the
property, I gained an intimate knoWl-
edge of the value and earning power of
the railways. AS a result of our negoti-
ations, we fixed upon the purchase price
at a little over Is million dollars ($15,-
10000 to be eXacD and submitted the
matter to the common council for ac-
ton. Our appraisals showed that the
value of the physical or tangible pro-
perty was IS, 900, 600. In order to make
municipal ownership and Scent fares
an immediate and accomplished fact.
we We're willing to advise that the city
purchase at a little over $15, ,000. 900. BY
so doing, the city would pay about ST.
600, 600 for the franchises. From the fig
ures in our possession it was dernuil-
strated clearly that the railways would
earn much more than SIS, ,000, ,000 within
the lives of the existing franchises.
In other words, the people are now
paying tribute to New York stock and
bond holders, under high fares, " hen
they might just as well, under 3-cenr
fares, have been paying the same mon
ey upon the purchase price Of the rail-
ways, and, when purchased, have Ell
jOyed 2-cent fares. We clearly proved
that under 2-cent fares the lines could
be operated successfully after the pur-
chase price had been paid.
While there have been no actual
railways in this country, there is a very
powerful and growing sentiment in ia
VOr of it. It has recently been the prin-
cipal issue in political campaigns in a
number of our larger and more pro-
gresSive cities. Whenever the people
have been given an opportunity to ex-
press their opinions upon the question,
they have voted overwhelming Cor
municipal ownership. This question Of
municipal ownership of street railways
is one which our cities must face and
settle within the next few years. It
should be fairly and honestly met. It
cannot be solved by attacking its advo-
Gates as anarchists, demagogues and
socialists