New-York tribune., 1902-10-06
BOROUGH SOCIALISM.
SOME OF THE RESULTS OF THE PARTI-
TIoN OF LONDON INTO CONGERIES
a or MUNICIPALITIES -COLLEC-
TIVISM WITHOUT STRENGTH
ENOUGH AT THE CENTRE
Oh AT THE CENTRE.
London. September "a

local EoAefFfltIl Ut l-fllANL le an lillNll-
eruous tumble of medisval privilege, parochial
youtine ana experimental coileotivisnl. Although
more than two hundred local bodies. with
,sr,tarship ~ over five thousand. were abol-
tsba5 lv the Local Government act Of lSg9 by
.bicb tveutv-eicht metropolitan boroughs were
g-eated the number of organized authorities
,-cDloved in governing London sun exceeds
.braa hundred A. the centre Is the ancient
CIV the only unreformed municipality IN the
r-~ita5 kingdom, exercising privileges i'm un-
--,pep continuity from the Middle Ages essen
,iauy sslf-goVe erning. and brought into touch
,jfb the administrative County 81 London for
certain restricted purposes. There is the London
county council win powers considerably larger
Than those OF the oldtime Metropolitan Board of
Works YET without the centralized authority
possessed hy the municipal corporations IN the
orovincss Their are Poor Law authorities. a
Metropolitan Asylums Board, the metropolitan
police. under the direct charge of the Home
once. School Board, tWenty-eight borough
councils the Thames Conservancy and other
agencies Of local government. Outside Of Lon
don There is unity m local government with
logical development of municipal activities and
O. uniform trend Of progressive tendencies. Lon
don stands hv itself, with diversity of admin
isration so anomalous that no TWO square miles
are governed alike, and with long series Of
special acts 6inereutiating IL from the cities
and great towns OF the provinces.
owing 10 this lack Of homogeneity and CEN
tralized authority, municipal socialism. although
in fun process Of development in the provinces,
Is In a state Of arrested development IN the
metropolis IT the London County Council had
possessed the supreme authority u the town
councils of Glasgow. Liverpool. Manchester.
birmingham Leeds, and other municipal cor
porations the wster companies would have been
either bought out or dispensed with long ago.
there would have heen municipal ownership II
the gas supply and The transit problem would
have been worked out underground. in Paris,
on comprehensive lines. such municipal work
as has been undertaken in the metropolis has
heen limited in scope Tramways have been
purchased as the leases fell in. and some 81
them have been operated as metropolitan un-
dertakinEs. and in the course Of time electric
traction viii he introduced on all the routes.
hut the results are meagre i'm comparison with
those secured I'm Glasgow. Liverpool and Man
chester Many housing and clearance schemes
have been carried out, and scores OF dwellings
and lodging houses have been constructed in the ]
metropolis. and other enterprises OF municipal !
reformers have been taken up. but collectivism. |
or municipal trading, as il has been worked out
on progressive lines, albeit in a conservative |
spirit by the provincial corporations has been /
inadeouatelv tested in the metropolis. The /
London County Council, instead Of dealing with /
water ana gas supply IN a large way. and un- |
dertaking underground electric transit and other 1
great works, has exhausted its energies in the /
pursuit Of fads. in the conduct of purity cam /
paigns and in futile experiments with municipal /
labor OF municipal socialism IN the sense of /
collective ownership ard operation Of public /
works and services there are few practical evil /
dences In London. What may be described with /
precision as borough socialism is taking its /
place. and is exciting the hostility OF conser-
vaive critics. like the writer Of the misnamed |
series OF articles in The Times" on Municipal /
Socialism
Bumbledom had not been without ambition 1
before It's translation to municipal dignity by /
the Local Government Act of 1899. Some Of /
the vestries had built expensive town halls. /
nearly an had opened public baths and laundries, /
many had established free Libraries and pa i
rochial cemeteries. and few OF them had ex-
perimented with dust destructors and electric /
lighting When a Conservative Government, \
shrinking from TIE responsibility Of arming the
London County Council with resources OF CEN
trslized power. magnihed the functions Of the
vestries and transformed them into congeries
OF municipalities with borough councils.
mayors, dignities and titles il quickened the
aspirations Of every parochial administrator
Barely three years have elapsed since the trans
hguration ~ Bundle municipal statesman,
and he has made fun use of his opportunity for
putting up expenditures and increasing local in
debtedness. The tramways were beyond his
reach and the gas supply could not be meddled
with, but electric lighting and power we're avail
eee az borough industries and investments
Seventeen out Of twenty-eight metropolitan bor-
oughs have either installed electric lighting and
power plants or have arranged 20 do 50 az an
early date. The richer boTouEhs, such a. West
Minister. Kensington and Chelsea. have hung
mack ana LETT private companies in possession
a. the business. but some OF the poorest bor-
oughs, such Poplar. with parishes along the
Millwsn and East and West India Docks have
introduced electric light and power under bor-
ough control Stepney has established electric
lighting ana supply IN the Whitechapel district
shoreoitch, Bermondsey and Battersea have
equipped power stations in conjunction with
Gust and refuse destrlctors, and Hackney. Is
.ns'on' CamberWell, Bethnal Green, Fulham,
hammeTsaith. Hampstead. MaTylebone St
.ahefas' Southwark and Stoke NeWington have
brought electric supply under borough manage
Heht The business in many instances has not
oeeh a source Of immediate profit. and taxpayers
~Ne neen frightened by the increase in local In
debiednesS
'Ae provincial municipalities. which are al
e@1y IN control Of the gas supply and Of the
ANNess are completing their investments by
uGooucton of electric light and power
pant Is expensive, but economies are prac-
49, sS oola IN the lighting and tramway ser
- me provincial cities heving control OF
- sllea Industries are enabled TO operate
n ~ the best advantage and 10 lower their
- Ior gas, electric light and power The
Spo'.lsn boroughs cannot control the tram
4, ana are placed az q serious disadvantage
IN. S-p4'lson with progressive municipalities