Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-14
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS
One Thing in Which Great
Britain Lags Behind.
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP
AMERICANS FIND CONCESSIONS
ARE NOT EASY TO GET.
How Parliament Grants Them-A
Land Of Big Towns-Money
in Rapid Transit.
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP
Copyright, 1902, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

| Copyright, 1902, by Frank @. CarpenterD
| Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
| LONDON.
| have spent some time this week looking
| into the electrical possibilities Of this tight
| little island. I have already written Of
| London and the fortunes that Americans
| expect to make in carrying the people from
| one part of it to another. have described
| how, of the billion rides taken every year.
| two-thirds on vehicles or tram cars
hauled by horses, and how numerous
| schemes are under way to change this to
electricity.
| The same conditions prevail throughout
| the united kingdom Most of the large
| cities lack adequate electrical facilities, and
| there are a score or more towns OF nifty
| thousand and upward which have no cleo
| tric railroads whatever Many of the large
| cities are within a short distance of one an
| other and profitable roads be built can
| Meeting them. 1t is safe to say that a capt.
| tai as large that of steel trust could
| be used to advantage if concessions could
| be gotten on the same terms and with the
| same ease as in the United States
Big Towns of Great Britain.
This country is full of big towns which
| should have electric roads. 1t has scores
| of cities the names of which we hardly
know. and the size of the bigger cities is
constant surprise to me. Take the Greater
| London, for instance. 1t is more than twice
as big as the Greater New York. and 1t
| grows like weeds In the spring. Glasgow Is
| half as big Chicago. Manchester Is big
| ger than Baltimore and Birmingham is
nearly large as Boston. Leeds has more
| people than Cleveland, and Sheffield, Belfast
| and Buffalo are almost neck and neck.
| Edinburgh. Scotland, and Bristol. England
| and Cincinnati are in the same class while
| Dublin has only few thousand less than
| Pittsburg. Have you ever heard of West
| ham? 1t is as big as Washington. Hull
| ranks close to Milwaukee, Bradford is about
| the size of New Orleans and Nottingham is
as large as Newark. n. ]. Stafford Leices-
| ter and Newcastle-on-Tyne each have over
| 100000 hugging Minneapolis; and Ports
mouth and Bolton are each larger than
| Kansas City
Here some towns whose size is not APP
| precated in the United States: Brkenhead
| has 10000 Blackburn $4,000, Brighton
| 5000 Croydon 1t3,O00 and Derby 100, COO
people; Gateshead has 10000 Halifax 104.-
| 900, Norwich 111.0o0, Oldham $1,000 and
| Plymouth 100000; Preston has 10000;
| Rhondda $4,000. Sunderland 146 900 South
| ampton 104 900, Tottenham 102. 900 and Will
| lesden 10000. l could give four times as
many other towns which range between
| $1,000 and 100000, and the names of most of
| them would be unknown as any of the
above. These islands have changed of late
| years to lands of city dWeilerS rather than
| country dwelers Seventy-seven per cent
| of all the British live In towns, while "a
per cent are housed In municipalities of
| over quarter of million population each.
Cities That Do Their Own Business.
One of the chief troubles in getting con-
| cessions for railroads and other public
works is that the towns like to do their
| own business They want to operate the
| railroads, telephones and electric lights
| themselves, and furnish transportation and
| lights at the lowest possible rates to their
| people
The London county council made profit
| Of about $3JO,0O0 last year off of its tram
| ways and gave the lowest rates ever
known. 1t is estimated that the different
| cities who handled such things last year
| saved over $40 900 900, and that they have
! reduced their tax rates at least 10 per cent
by so doing. Leeds runs its own tramways,
| and its profits last year were over S1O0,UO
| Manchester controls its gas works, electric
| lights and markets and makes money Off of
| all of them. The same is true of Noting
| ham and Bolton the two towns making
profit Of something like half million dol
| lars year and giving good service and
| a low rate for gas, electric lights, street
cars and markets.
Millions Invested by Cities.
| At present the money invested in NUM-
cipal undertakings amounts to more than
| $40O,0OO,OOO, and the average annual income
| Of these Is more than $40, 0OO. 600. while as
! I have said, the profits approximate 80
| 100000 annually. The towns are adding to
| their holdings from month to month Glas-
| gov has now municipal farms and Col
! chester owns oyster fisheries. There are
cities which own mineral springs, Harrow
| gate. for instance making $4,000 year out
of it's baths. Chester has a race course,
| Sheffield" Liverpool Bournemouth, Leices-
ter and Glasgow are putting up crematories
for the benefit of their citizens. and num-
| Der of cities are discussing the buying of
| coal mines and furnishing their people coal
at cost. This question arose account Of
high price of coal. and it has only abated
on account of it's fall. The municipal tcIe-
phones are considerably cheaper than ours
Glasgow has a system which was opened
last August, and which already covers
about $50 square miles. The charges are
$27 year for an unlimited number of calls
or $3.50 per year and cents for each call
made.
Big Electrical Companies.
A profitable business is likely to spring up
In the building and furnishing of electrical
| machinery for these towns of Great Britain
Whether the railroads and other electrical
works are put in by private parties or by
the cities the demand for the machinery is
the same, and much American capital is
alreadysinvested to supply this. There is
British Westinghouse Company here which
has a large capital, and which has its
agents scattered over every part of the
united kingdom. 1t is the American West
inghouse Company with American and
British directors and with American and
British capital.
1t owns big office building just off the
Strand in the very heart Of business Lon
don, and it is putting up an enormous cleo
trfcal plant near Manchester.
The General Electric Company of New
York is largely interested in the British
Thomson-Houston Electric Company Gim-
ited), and is working with it. Its Offices in
London are on Cannon street, not far from
st. Pauls Cathedral, and it has it's agents
everywhere. 1t Is erecting a great factory
at Rugby which will cost something like a
million dollars. The building is already
completed. and within short time will
have 1,50O men working in It,
American Shops at Rugby.
I had a chat with Mr.. Howard c. Lewis,
the managing director Of the British Thorn