The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-09-12

band of music and to provide for seats
! on the roadside.
The electric tram cars at Coventry.
! Engla nd, are temporarily converted in
to postoftices at night Letter boxes are
attached to cars running into the town
from outlying districts, enabling the
public to post letters at the various
+ stoppages en- route. BY this means let
+ ters can be posted two hours later than
the dispatch from the pOstOfiice in the
+ locality. This is an idea that the Uni
i ted States might well adopt"
Low WATER RATES
/ Here is what Robert T. Ely. every
where quoted as authority says in re
| gard to municipal controls:
! I unhesitatingly advocate public
| ownership and management for gas
( works and 1 challenge anyone to in
i stance single American city. or for
4 that matter. any city, wheresDever sit
uated which has gone over to public
ownership ana which regrets it; which
/ indeed has not found that a corrupts
political influence was thereby removed
and political life purified. I have made
special investigation of water supply III
several towns and L have yet to find
one instance in which municipal self
help did not work better than the bene-
hcient paternalism OF private corpora
tons. 1 have looked into the experience
of whole group of towns in New
York state and they all tell one story
1 have before me I write complete
and trustworthy returns of two or three
of these procured with some labor by
the exertions of friends. The expert
ence Of RandOlphin Cattaraugus county,
New York, tells the story for all. A
private company wanted to put in wa
terworks and the lowest bid which they
could be induced to make was $4,000
and that was on condition that the
town should subscribe for stock The
charge for water was to be SO for
household with additional charges for
extra faucets, closets. etc, in proper
ton. Randolph finally built it's own
works for a total of $40, 29OS6, and with
a charge of 81 for each household in
stead of SO as making a profit. Ev-
erybody is delighted with the expert
ment.
HOW TO REDUCE TAXES.
TT is said that we must reduce taxes
Yes, We must reduce taxes; but how?
There is a very simple way, and the
American city which first enters upon
it and keeps to it persistently and sys-
tematically is going to have a tremend-
Gus advantage over its competitors 1t
is the full and complete utilization Of
all natural mOnopclies for the benefit Of
the public. This is the way and the on
ly way to reduce taxes.
when we come to the discussion OF
artificial mOnOpolies we in fact. touch
the only real dangerous socialism in the
United States. The results of years of
study, reflection and investigation have
convinced me that the only dangerous
socialism in America is monopoly con-
trolled by private greed"
Here is what Louis A. Risse, chief
topograp hical engineer and engineer of
concourse of Greater New York says:
The principle of selfishnesS which
cannot be eliminated from business ac-
tivlty makes 1t unavoidable for street
railroads to give advantages to the
people which they would receive under
municipal control, since, naturally,
where dividends command considera-
ton, public comfort is left in the back
ground.
There is a story of a very mean
farmer who lived down east or out
west, I forgot which who was noted
for his propensity to get all he could,
no matter whether he needed it or not.
A stranger drove up to his barnyard
one day and inquired for him.
you'll find him over there in the hog
pen, fixing it." the hired man replied.
and as the stranger moved over in the
direction of the hog pen, the hired man
called out Say, you can tell him be-
cause he's got a hat on"
That story illustrates the fact of
private mOnOpolies in the vast majority
Of cases. Public necessities have been
hoggishly captured by individuals and
the public has had to suffer for it, and
almost the only way to tell the differ
ence between these hogs and the other
kind is that one kind has hat on and
the other hasn't.
Tom Johnson, mayor of Cleveland,
writes me.
THE two great steps which are nee
essary now lead to public ownership of
municipal monOpolies and the equaliz-
alton of taxes.
The street railway OF Cleveland re-
fused a value Of S29 600, 600. They pay
taxes only on valuation of only 81
100000. The other street railways pay
taxes on about three per cent Of their
value. Tut small property owners have
to pay taxes on So 60, 80 and 80 per cent