Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-26
THE FUNNY SIDE
OF SOCIALISM,
pOv il Crops Out in Divers Forms
Inthe Queer Undertakings Of
British Cities.
ALL SORTS or ENTERPRISES.
ChscoNs Pawnshop Dog and Bird
Stores and Batterseas Baby Bot
les One Town Breeds Rabbits.
.,.clol correspondence.

les UllI INV D'NN'S
:pecal correspondence.
London Sept. l1--Pcrhaps an Ameri-
can who wanted to make a downright
,,.,ous study Of so-caled municipal
,,odingn as It is carried on In Europe
could do so best on the continent but
,ov one who Just feels like having
nok AT the funny side of this particular
om If Socialism couldn't possibly ma
halter Mace to do so than right mere
IN the British Isles
Funny" really Ia the only word you
can use to describe the lengths 10
Sbieh llty fathers have gone In DOING
tbe sort Of things generally done by
,ryate companies. II seemed as IL
he limit had about been reached when
,be HE London borough Of Battersea
,oemnly began supplying nursing bot
,Iee 10 the babies within its gates, but
when the town of Croiner began breed
Inc rabbits and Hun set up a municlpa
crematorium II became evident That
there stll were picturesque possibilities
IN this direction,
Glasgow which probably has carried
Socialism further than any other city
IN the world, lately has shown that this
belief was well founded. The Scotch
cts not only has n municipal golf links,
but several municipal pawnshops. Ii
also turns It's hand to such varied and
unlikely pursuits as running tulip
farm a laundry, dog and bird store
and old clothes market-the profits OF
the latter two. by the way, being used
to support the towns municipal art
studio and picture gallery. II owns and
manages It's street car lines and tele-
phone systems, turns pretty penny
by transforming its sewage into man
ure aud even stoops 10 collecting tin
cans, which It melts for the solder In
them.
QUEER OCCUPATIONS FOR TOWNS.
This. however, doesn't by any means
finish up the record OF the queer enter
prises which cities IN Great Britain
have undertaken IN the belief that they
could manage them with more adj
vantage to the community than the pri-
yate companies did. Just list of all OF
them would take up more space than
can be given, But II can be said that
Torquay, as a municipality, has gone
into the business OF raising oysters
that Cardiff runs a municipal fish shop,
and that Liverpool grows municipal
bets Belfast and Preston. as well as
other towns, have municipal slaughter
houses and meat markets.
Bradford is dreaming of municipal
tailor shop Battersea. which was re-
sponsible for the babies feeding bot
ties, gives organ recitals. holds flower
shows and runs sawmill Brighton
owns and manages it's own race track,
and both Tunbridge Wells and South
borough have municipal theaters. West
nam mas municipal stone quarries,
and Manchester is In the candle bust
ness Davenport Is planning to own
fnd manage every saloon within It's
limits and In Horley there is a munich
pal home for inebrlates.
In fact, the thing has gone so far
mat as writer in the Times neatly
put Il not long ago, THE British citi-
zen may be the constant subject of
corporation sollcitude from the time
When. as an infant. he is brought VI
OH municipal milk to the day when, as
defunct veteran. he IL reduced e
ashes IN municipal crematorium."
PAWNsHoPs THAT A CITY RUNS
Glasgow, OF course, municipalities
almost everything. The Scotch city
owns and runs Its own electric lighl
ana Us gas plants, and II speaks wei
l9r The managers that both gas anc
electrlcity are cheaper there than II
any other town In the United Kingdom
uiasgow's water supply, too, IL In tn,
ol'ys hands--as London's Is 10 be afte,
Whlle-and the water rates paid bN
1Gi,asgow folk are absurdly low. Tn,
ulasgoW city fathers seem To hav,
thought that electric light compan,
Wopfletors, water company owner,
ana pawnbrokers were all alike SO IA
as lhelr regard for the public was con
~rned, FOR, soon after the municIpalit,
ndu Obliged the two first to hand owe
helr monopoly, Il went for the third
flasgow now owns and runs tire,
pi"hsh0ps which were bought outrieh
rom the original owners. To look a
NV are Just like any other pawn
SHOPS with three balls over their door
uuu only Sign to tell people tina
Ivy oelong to the municipality. Sine
,le n municipal offices were opened, thre
eorS ago the Shylocks of Glasgo,
naNe had to face the necessity of com
,S Gown In their demands or losln
LEU business. At prcsont. tie rat
t"4lBed at the municipal pawn shop
"o cents a month for evory dolla
"IeWed whereas that obtained by IN
"'ue generally was Ave or six time
' U!uch' There IL no doubt that In
,sul"r pawnbrokers have been har
Ny the municipal offices" an
,uN Oh them have had to close. Prob
we only thing that saves the res
30, certain rule that the municlpalit
na,, Hlade with regard to article
pawned at their shops.
ne poor over here pledge" cloth
,ls more often than anything else, an
e r municipal Council OF Glasgow wi
NV the city's pawnshops to advanc
iSy on clean garments only--th
~ pelng 10 prevent infection. SO
h, n,pst likely because the other pawn
tuNers aren't fastldlous that the
i've managed To keep alive at al
easa1while. the municipal pawnshor
~ uoing roaring business and ii
Iont rom them is now large enoug
". Pay on n yearly lnstallment on N
ueot resulting from their purchase an
ieaVe q goodly sum over TO be use
llghtening the taxes. The only fau
pe found with the municipal loa
uces Is that since they were opene
ne amount OF pawning In Glasgow hf
increased enormously,
MUNICIPAL CADDrEso TOO.