Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-01-31
BY FRANK PARSONS, IN THE ARENA.

BY FRANK PARSON
In 1894 the department of the inter-
ior in Washington used the Bell tele-
phone at q total cost of S75 per
phone. In 1895 the government put
in it's phones and the cost of the serv-
Ice proved to be but $40 25-interest,
depreciation and all. After a. few
years the Bell concluded to give the
department reasonable rates, down
close to the cost as proved by the
government experiment (all the way
down, perhaps, considering the dis
tance facilities of the Bell service),
and the department went back to the
Bell 'phones to get the wider service.
When the French government took
the telephone in 1889, rates were at
once reduced in round numbers from
Sl20 to $50 in Paris, and from $50 to
$40 in other places, except Lyons: and
the charge in Paris has recently been
reduced to $50.
Public operation of the telegraph in
England reduced rates at ouee 80 to
SO per cent, and in Switzerland public
ownership and control of railroads,
express companies, telegraphs, and
telephones is said to have "reduced
the freight rates, express charges, and
tolls more than 78 per cent below the
cost for like service under private
control.'
When Syracuse, N. Y, 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 S8 to Sc
when the plant was made public. In
Randolph the private rate proposed
was $40, but the town built the works
and made the charge 81. Taking the
whole United States, the charges OF
private water companies are 43 per
cent more per family than the charges
of public plants, according to M. N.
Baker, of New York, the editor of The
Manual of American Water Works
and the highest authority On the sub
ject in the country.
When Hamilton, O., entered upon
public operation of gas works the
price was reduced from S. to ST. per
thousand feet. Pittsburg pays a pri-
vate company s1.20 and 81 net, while
in Wheeling, near by, the public
works supply gas at Is cents thous-
and and 56 cents net (the actual cost
to the people considering operation,
fixed charges and profits
Topeka with a public plant gets her
electric light at a cost Of $50 per arc
interest, depreciation, and all; while
Fort Wayne. with about the same
number of lights and similar service,
pays Sl20 per arc to private com,
pany. Little Rock, Ark, makes her
own light for s5l per arc, while New
Bedford, Mass, under substantially
equivalent conditions, pays $l38 per
arc to private company. Peabody,
Mass, has reduced the cost of elec
trio light from S185 to $73 per arc by
public ownership; Elgin, ILL.,, from
1928 to S65; Detroit from $132 to $73
per standard arc. And these are
only few out of many cases that
could be cited.
Public ownership and operation of
street railways in Glasgow reduced
the hours of labor about one third,
raised wages, lowered fares at once
about 33 per cent (the average fare is
below 2 cents and over IS per cent of
the fares are l cent each), greatly i'm
proved the service, doubted the traffic
in about two years, brought down the
operating cost and fixed charges so
that the city makes as much profit per
passenger on an average fare of 1.78
cents, as the private company said it
made on an average fare of 3.84
cents, and turned several hundred
thousand dollars of profit into the
public treasury. The cent fare in
our larger cities is much too high.
Responsible parties have offered to
operate street railways in Chicago on
q 3 cent fare, and in Detroit on a 3
cent fare with 40 tickets for 81, taking
the whole railway system of the city
aud paying interest on the cost of it's
requirement.
One of the most striking examples
of the difference between public and
private ownership is to be found in a
comparison of the charges on the
bridge in st. Louis owned by the
Goulds and those on the bridge owned
by the cities of New York and Brook.
lyn: /. 9 -
CHARGES FOR CROSSING.
Private bridge a. s.
St. Louis bridge (cost sl3, ,00O, ,000,.
bought by Gould interests for s., ,OOO,-