New-York tribune., 1903-02-28
END OF CONVENTION.
DETROTTS EXPERIMENT.
W. II. Peckhom SAID HIGH Profits
Of Manhattan Disgraced Cifu.


Service Corporations Be Controued?" and Reg
ulation and Taxation of Public Service Corpora
tions." AT the afternoon session the subjects
were; The Referendum and the Initiative in
Relation TO Municipal Ownership" Taxation of
Franchise Values" and Labor Clauses IN Fran
chise Grants
c T Lewis, counsel for the Mutual Life IN
surance Company opened the discussion, and
took decided stand against public control of
corporations. He said in part:
NE have gone TO such an extent in making our
has lost its original grandeur The only depart
cay the judicial department. and that has been
kept out of al business.
Dr. Lewis was followed by David E Heine-
man, of Detroit member of the Board of Al
dernnen Of that city. who in forceful address,
which was listened to with close attention.
pointed TO his city where municipal
ership had been accomplished, where theories
were worthless because the facts spoke for
themselves. The fear that the voter would
abuse his power if he had q voice IN the man
aEement Of public conveniences was charac-
terized by Mr- Heineman s without foundation.
We are not afraid Of the voters in Detroit,
he said, because they have been educated, and
they know that proper administration OF the
commodities controlled by the city is TO their
advantage" He asserted that the city of De-
5rot had seen such good results from its own
e~ship of the lighting system that when the
charters expired. in seven years, the city would
probably operate the street railways.
FINANCIAL QUESTIONS AND THE PEo-
PIE.
In the course OF the discussion which fol-
lowed, DR.. Lewis denounced the practice Of
leaving TO thespeople the settlement Of financial
and business matters as pernicious, and in the
course Of his remarks paid his compliments to
the "demagogEes who travel about the country
and hatter the people" To show the trend of
The public mind IN relation to corporations. he
told story the point of which was that
Jury despite its knowledge that the plaintiff
had no case decided against the company
The juror in the story was made to say to the
counsel who won his case: Dear. no; 1 never
thought your side was right but could never
find against a wildly and for a company
That" continued Dr.. Lewis, is the feeInS OF
rine-tenths Of the people Of this country
This remark brought shouts OF No ah-
Never from many Of the delegates anu
caused 1l,e first sensation of the session
Pavrnond Y. Ingersoll spoke on LABOR
. clarses in Franchise Grants" His paper was
listened TO with much attention He salo III
p
The intense feeling among the New,York trades
3lrions al the omission OF wage and h9aI ea hat
rom ne ~ ,f3ecf is TO he one Of keenest con-
t-oversy careful adhough not e%h@%SIse e%biees in
5 country which have contained clauses Of the
raiiway grant containing ten hour Glam5e
Mayor Johnson was respenslbe, ,ad noI franchise
arbitration clause in similar ole'eIdiu =
LABOR CLAUSES IN EUROPE
IN Furope labor clauses in franchise grants have
TleZ have varied IN effectiveness all tle Nay a5
the tabshmsn5 M ar s5Gs sx 6H 3o the ei srEin roads
tAe elaborate provisions attacheq 10 'iie Il
T5a T-iTiJege u build the Paris subway was CO.. CO..
esoea only & o IceiI never less than $50 francs
Teronth or temporary york - oI LIS sboud 5 not
evree5 len Tira one fuIl days rest-tn seven tnat d
ca q ten days each ss year btr nGEa WAGES should
-, cease IN periods OF temporary illness or Wnle
while for The eomsanE o,,T5 4 S@S Ssye gTat-
;iz ID -5csI ~ and drug Service and that the com
PAM should insure the men agalnS. nose ~ must
be controlled By the worknen through thelr chose4
4re5es 1io- sts and other advocates of the labor
clause principle would probably act ~se!s - ~ a
80 Ne md hour prescriptions and turn thelrr T
e1orts the obtaining OF an mon fran
cfise grantees Such PROVISIONS would make the Sc
2g - % aSi cart You'd sustain them being rea-
ea-stle guarantees of the public convenience
Inst before the close of the morning session
Dr. Hale Of Brooklyn. gained the floor ana
0f
organizations. In closing he used language
which the chairman decided TO be too personal
and in order 10 avoid further discussion the
meeting was adjourned.
Al The afternoon session the referendum was
ably and interestingly discussed by George ID.
Shirley and Eltweed Pomeroy, and many IN
stances were quoted TO show that direct leg1s-
la1ion and the methods of the town meetlne
were productive of good results, and that jog leg
isla;ion and corrupt practices could be over
come by their operation. Mr.. Pomeroy was ap-
rlaudea when he said that the referendum tend
ed toward decentralization He called it the
growth Of civic conscience, the feeling OF CIVIC
life"
Professor z. r. A Seligman followed with a
learned discourse on The Taxation Of Fran
fbisa Values" in which he defined the term
franchise. and gave interesting points as 10 no"
20 arrive at their real value. In the course OF
his remarks he said:
s tTS0-1 oaly in the United States? When you ash
IN EneIishnan how much he IS worth ne "ouiT if
MS income: in this country wa, man lsna s6l
mention his capital IN piee1 nan t1ii, was worth he
was only worth what the income OF the lsao Wa Wa
difere-f means Of making q income and tht
franchise tax is one Of them ano u LIS Is ions
as we can il a franchise tax ii is all rlght
WHEELER II. PEcKHAMs SPEECH
Wheeler II. Peckharn, who followed Professor
Se!igrnan, said that no matter how the tax on Z
street railway might be levied, IL came out o.
the pocket Of TIE passenger II z lrahchlse
really nothing more than goodwill ne sal'
then we are all chock fun Of franchises In
speaker asserted that when the STOCK % 'H
Manhattan company went beyond I"o' "hei
the company was allowed TO make more 'na'
the ordinary profit on its investment the tac
NTr=rly