The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1900-08-10
JONES OF TOLEDO
AND HIS VIEWS.

AMI HlO Y ~ W..
Samuel Milton Jones, mayor of To-
ledo. o., an intimate friend of Governor
Pingree Of Michigan, whose views on
administrative subjects he shares, and
whom he has followed in a number Of
administrative reforms,was in St. Louis
enroute to Texas on personal business.
Mayor Jones was elected in Toledo on
April last, as an Independent, after
was Principle Before Party" In the
election he received 16,773 votes out of
total of 24,1S7, the republican and
democrat receiving 1896 and BIAS votes
respectively. Mayor Jones carried his
own precinct by single. vote, land
that vote" he explains, was cast by
myself"
Mayor Jones spent the day in the
company of N. o. Nelson, member of
the SingleTax League.
1.-THE gubernatorial campaign in Ohio
has already opened" he said. II am not
a candidate, unless there should be q
great public call for an Independent can
didate on platform in harmony with
my views. In that case, would serve
as a candidate, leaving out altogether
the question of success.
lie IepuUliCdH COuNGullOI III SluO
will be held in Columbus June l and 2,
and q mass meeting of laboring men
will be held in that city the evening of
June 1. The workingmen will ask the
republican convention to embody in it's
platform q plank embodying the mu-
nicipal ownership of public utilities. I
will address the meeting of laboring
men, and l think the occasion will be
an interesting one.
Ho oF v,Ynipiro1 punorChfn
of the public utilities is attracting
greater attention every day. The coun-
try is undoubtedly getting ready to
solve it. Detroit is now considering the
purchase of it's street car lines. A
value of $7,000,000 has been placed by
expert appraisers on the visible proper
ty Of the roads. The owners, however.
are asking $18,O00,000. This difference
between the value and the price asked
represents the value of the franchise,
which, in reality, is the property of the
people.
"Cities should own their street car
systems, their lighting plants, their
water works, and they should do all
public work, not by contract as now,
but with the city itself as contractor.
The city would thus save fully Is per
cent on the price of the work and
much more than that on its excellence.
with a contractor doing the work,
an army of inspectors Is needed to in
sure the work being done according to
the specifications, and even then the
contractors have an opportunity to
bEibe the officials If they are venal.
'St. Louis Is now struggling with
lighting problem, and st. Louis best
way Of solving the problem LIZ as
Springfield, ILL.,, solved similar prob
lem. Seventy of its citizens got togeth-
er, loaned the city their credit, built
a lighting plant, and inside of seven
years the revenue from this plant en-
abled the city to acquire the plant. st.
Louis, / understand, cannot issue addi-
tional bonds, as she Is now bonded to
the limit allowed by her charter, but
she can use this way out very easily,
If some Of her citizens show the requts-
lite patriotism. Patriotism may be
shown in other ways than shedding
your own or some one else's blood on
the field Of battle"
Mayor Jones works out the problem
of trusts in way which he considers
feasible and likely to prove the prac-
teal solution which will finally be
adopted.
Corporations combination in which
all the people are equally interested, is
the solution" he said. Competition all
ways results in waste of work. Much
work Is done in competition which does
not subserve a useful purpose, and does
not add to the wealth of the world.
Trusts lop off this unproductive labor.
They save much useless work, but IN
doing SO they usurp function of the
municipality. They take gain which
in reality should go to the municipality.
The solution of the problem is to estab-
lish cooperative trade system in
which the people get the benefit Of the
combination. To legislate against de-
partment stores Is foolish. You have
no right to tell a man what he can or
cannot sell. II you legislate in favor OF
the small stores you might as well go
a step farther and abolish the small
stores because they interfere with the
work Of the peddler or the itinerant
merchant.
1.-THE solution of the whole question
is to have all the people combine to
form big trust in which all the people
will do the work and will share in the
rewards
On the topic of expansion. Mayor
Jones holds peculiar views.
1T believe" he says. 'in United
States of the World, and I do not be-
lieve in the way used by the admin
istration at present to spread the do
minion Of the United States. do not
believe in shooting men full of holes in
order to make Christians or Ameri-
cans Of them. / think the administra-
ton would have met with every success
II 1t had used in the Philippines the
methods it used in Cuba.
''In Cincinnati, where spoke before
| the Convention Of Charities and Cor
rections, mentioned seeing young chill
| dren playing about the cannon in the
public squares there said that it was
an outrage that young children should
be made familiar with such instruments
Of murder. With advancing civilization
war will become less frequent. 1t II
only wealth that countS in q war. The
richest nation, which can buy the big
| gest guns and the heaviest protective
armor, usually wins. never regard q
uniform of soldier with pleasure, be.
cause I think the business Of killing
men 10 poor one"