Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-01-12
BRATTLEBORO LOCAL.
PURLIC UpILITI Bs-
Lawyer GlbsOn In His Professional Club
Paper, Argues In Behalf of Public
Ownership,

Lawyer GIbsOn In His Professional Club
Paper, Argues I'm Behalf of Public
Ownership.
The third paper before the Professional
club was delivered in the Brooks House
p4rlors Tuesday evening by Lawyer K, w.
Gibson, the subject being "Pubic Owner
ship of Public Utilities" The paper
showed careful preparation and Mr.. Glib
sons arguments met with genial approval
Rev. H. r. Miles of the Congregational
church led the discussion. The usual
banquet was served. Some of the main
points brought out in the paper are given
below
The people have individually and in
their social relations certain rights which
require the care and protection of the gov
eminent. The town is a practical gov
ernmenial unit, with the town meeting as
the legislative body, the selectmen as the
executive officers and the justices the judi
cial officers. The speaker then mentioned
the utilities controlled by the towns and
villages for the benefit Of the people, such
as the schools, libraries, liquor agencies,
the garbage and refuse collecting system,
etc, and also the many others which are
left to the control of peculiar creation of
the centuries, the corporation.
The state and the nation have assumed
the control of many public utilities. The
government owns all The Federal buildings
and operates the postal and signal service
systems and even goes to the socialistic
extent of paying a certain class of people,
including some of our best citizens, a
monthly income for life, and so it has ever
been the policy Of our governments, town,
state and national, to own, control and
operate certain utilities.
The present day is one Of great munich
pal problems and the question of owner
! ship and control is of much importance.
! AT the present time large majority of
our cities own their water works, and a
large number their electric light and gas
works. Corporations owning city utilities
are capitalized far beyond the real value of
their plants and millions Of dollars are d.
| verted from the pockets of the legitimate
stockholders by taxing the people in the
way Of extra charges in order 10 make the
watered stock pay dividends This state
Of affairs will exist as long as the system
remains a potent factor In our commercial
! life.
! The speaker then showed how several
! English cities have reduced the fares on
tramway lines TO a trifle over a penny by
/ taking the control of the lines away from
! the corporations, and how at the same
! time wages have been increased and the
hours Of labor reduced The same favor
able results are apparent in nearly all the
large cities on the continent. They have
also been obtained in America with re-
spect to many utilities. Municipal control
has been carried to a greater extent in
Boston than in any other American city,
with the result that the price of the utili-
ties has been greatly reduced and the peO-
pie are given better satisfaction. From
these experiences We may assume that
public Ownership will remove the corrupt
influence Of corporations, give better ser
vice, reduce the cost TO the consumer and
help the people TO bear the burdens Of
taxation.
We have the same evils growing out of
corporate control of telegraph and tele-
phone lines as from the same control Of
municipal utilities. Government control
would remedy all these evils. The govern
meDt control Of mail service is character
lied by its efficiency, a regard for the pub
lie needs and the good service of the peo-
Pile. This is not true of the Corporate con-
troll of the telegraph and telephone lines.
Under public control rates would be re-
duced from so to 100 per cent. We are
paying in Brattleboro nearly $4,000 for
telephone service, 0ne-half of which is an
unnecessary tax 10 pay dividends on
watered stock, the salaries of high-priced
officials and unnecessary expenses.