Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-02-20
PUBLIC OW NERSHIP.
From The Arena.


From The Arena.
In 1894, the department OF the interior in
Washington used the Bell telephone at a total
cost of $75 per phone. In 1895, the govern
ment put in it's own phones and the cost OF the
servce proved TO be but $40. 25-interest, de-
probation and all. After few years, the Bell
concluded to give the department reasonable
rates, down close to the cost as proved by the
government experiment Gall the way down, per
haps, considering the distance facilities of the
Bell service), and the department went back to
the Bell service to get the wider service.
When the French government took the tele
phone in 1880, rates were reduced, in round
numbers, from $40 to $50 in Paris, and from
$50 to $40 in other places, except Lyons, and
the charge in Paris has recently been reduced
to 500.
Public operation of tine telegraph in England
reduced rates at once 80 to SO per cent, and in
Switzerland, public ownership of railroads, ex-
press companies telegraphs and telephones is
said to have "reduced the freight rates, express
charges, and toll more than Is per cent below
the cost for like service under private CONTROL"
When Syracuse, N. V, changed from private
to public ownership of the water supply, the
family rate was reduced from $40 to IS. In
Auburn, the rate was reduced from IS to SO
when the plant was made public. In Randolph,
the rate proposed was $40, but the towl Iuilt
the works and made the charge $4 Taking
the whole United States, the charges of private
water companies are 43 per cent more per fam.
ily than the charges made by public plants,
cording to NJ. N. Baker, of New York, the ed
itor of the Manual of American Water Works
and the highest authority on the subject in the
country
When Hamilton, Ohio, entered upon public
operation of gas works, the price was reduced
from So to 81 per thousand feet Pittsburg
pays private company $1.2o and 81 net, while
in Wheeling, near by the public works supply
gas at IS cents thousand and Sc cents net (the
actual cost to the people, considering operation,
fixed charges, and profts)
Topeka, with public plant, gets her electric
lights at cost of $50 per arc-interest depre-
citation and all, while Fort Way ne, with about
the same number of lights and similar service,
paws $12o per arc to private company Little
Rock, Ark, makes her own light for ISL per
arc, while New Bedford Mass, under substan-
tally equivalent conditions, pays $13s per
to private company. Peabody, Mass, has re-
duced the cost of electric light from $IS5 to $73
per arc by public ownership; Elgin, ILL.,, from
$a28 to SOS; Detroit from $132 to $73 per stand
ard arc. And these are only a few out of many
cases that could be cited
Public ownership and operation of street rail
wavs in Glasgow reduced the hours of labor
about one-third, raised wages, lowered fares at
once about 80 per cent (the average fare is be-
low cents, and over IS per cent of the fares are
cent each), greatly improved the service,
doubled the traffic in about two years, brought
down the operating cost and fixed charges SO
that the city makes as much profit per passen-
Ger on an average fare of I.7S cents as the pri-
vate company said it made on an average fare of
a. cents, and turned several hundred thousand
dollars of profit into the public treasury. The
scent fare in our larger cities is much too high
RESPONSIBLE parties have offered to operate street
ra;lways in Chicago on 3-cent fare, with 40
.;ckets for 81, taking the whole railway system
of the city, and paying interest on the cost Of
its requirement.