The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-12-08

suggest is maintained in the elevator
service. No one dreams of collecting
/ a toll or OF insisting that in the alb
sence of such a toll the person wishing
/ TO be carried to the upper floors use
the stairs The maintenance of the
{ elevator service falls upon the tenants
of the building, for il Is included when
I the rent schedules are fixed. The ten
I ants in turn pass il along 10 their Gus
! toners and clients Everyone who
| pays lawyers bill has the elevator
! service charged somewhere, though he
| may not find it set out in detail. The
( burden scattered among all the ten
/ ants and their clients is so minute and
/ the results in comfort are so decided
! that no one dreams of sbridging the
! service. even though by so doing the
rents might be somewhat lowered.
/ Our free streets and roads form an
/ other instructive precedent for free
street car service There was a time
when every road leading into and out
| OF our cities had a tollsate- Expert
| ence showed the restrictive influence
| of such institutions, and today il is
/ only the backward and unprogressiye
/ community that maintains toll-roads.
1 How recent has been the change ia
/ this direction has been made manifest
| by the fact that it is only few years
/ since the big bridge from New York
/ to Brooklyn was made free 20 foot pas
sengers.
I II may be asserted that a system of
! free street car service would involve
hardship on the taxpaying residents. in
that strangers coming to the city
| would be given privileges for which
/ they did not pay. In times of great
| public gatherings, such as conventions.
the strangers might even crowd OF
some of the taxpaying residents.
! This objection loses it's force when
| il is remembered that every stranger
must spend money for food and lodg-
: ing, and that great gathering invari-
/ ably means a considerable increase in
/ business for merchants, hotel keepers
/ and citizens generally. The money left
! in the city by strangers would more
/ than pay for the free street car rides.
( In the big Office buildings. where the
/ free elevator service exists, the ten
/ ants do not demand that the privilege
| of riding be restricted TO themselves.
/ They realize that persons who come
! into the building bring them business
and aid them in making money. It IS
TO their interest TO make the transpor-
tation of these people up and down as
easy and comfortable as possible. Out
of consideration for its best business
interests no progressive concern will
take offices in building where there
is no elevator service.
Street Cars Operated by the City.
In case. however, in spite of its
manifest advantages, the system of
free transportation should be deemed
too radical for immediate acceptance,
the next best plan would be the opera
ton of the roads by the city and the
imposition OF fare as low as is con-
sistent with the expense of manage
ment and maintenance. The lower the
fare the better for all concerned. Such
a system would have many advantages
over the system of private ownership
for profit, besides that of securing
lower fares. II would eliminate the
Most prolific source of official corTup-
ton in our municipal government
Take away the private control of pub
lie utilities and there would be an end
10 much tax-dodging and to much bEib-
cry of public servants This bribery
comes in various forms. Often it is in
the shape of direct payment of money
TO secure certain privileges and immu-
mites. Often il is in the shape of po-
litical prefeTment made possible in
the control OF the machine by corpora
tions. which always remain in close
and responsive touch with machine
workers. The gain in the direction Of
a higher moral tone would in itself be
sufficient compensation for adopting
municipal ownership, even if all other
advantages fell away
Pending municipal Ownership in one
form or another, every city should
henceforth be most careful, in award
ing franchises for public utilities. to
restrict the term OF years the fran
chise has TO live, and to provide very
definitely for the acquisition of the
rights by the city. All street car fran
chise rights should be based upon g.
cent fares, and it should be expressly
stipulated that the streets turned over
must remain free territory" By this
mean that no city government having
the rights and interests Of the citizens
at heart viii grant TO any street rail- /
way company. heneeforth. the privi- /
lCES Va NNEi SA-EEk ~
the exclusion OF any other line. The
ideal way fer the city. under the sys-
TEN OF private ownership, 10 grant the !
franchises, would be simply for the
operation Of the road, the city Itself
building and maintaining the tracks I
ana holding them in ownership II.
however, this cannot be done. then the /
corporation seeking franchise should /
be required to give the use OF its track /.
10 all corners. on the payment Of /
proper compensation for such use
Improved Taxation Scheme.
The most important feature in the |
administration OF the ideal city gov
eminent win be its system OF taxation /
II We could reach il. the most salts /,
factory system would be the single tax /
advocated by Henry George. Land val .
ues should be made to bear the entire 1
borden OF the cost OF government All I
improvements made by citizens should 4
be exempt in order 10 encourage their 4
extension In the absence Of the sin /
gle tax, the first thing TO be considered 1
In adopting q taxation system is the !
equalization of land values for pur- 1
poses Of assessment The conditions 4
existing in Cleveland today are IN /
doubtedly typical OF those IN every city I
in America. and may very properly be /