Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-29

come more expensive to a municipal cor
p~oration than to a private corporation?
The cost of production may be divided
broadly under () capital investment and
(2) expenses of maintenance and operation.
Will any one contend that private cor
porations can borrow money as cheaply as
municipal corporations? When it comes
to raising the necessary funds for the
capital investment, the municipality can
sell it's bonds at better rates than the
private corporation. In the city OF Omaha,
where 1 live. municipal bonds bring q
premium hat reduces the interest rate
down to approximately 4 per cent, while
the public service corporations have to
float their securities on a 6 per cent basis
and often at a discount, and / have reason
to believe the same is true generally
throughout the country 1t is sometimes
commended that the municipal corporation
will have TO pay more for its building
sites and construction work and that it
cannot buy its machinery and IN
stallation materials as cheaply as
tho private corporation. There is nothing,
however, to support this assertion, nor is 1t
plausible unless we assume that the public
officers are recreant to their trust and that
private corporations are not as liable to
HuHtT IIOul ulbuOhChl u 6GhNHlAb6 NhPibNOo
as the municipal corporation. The manu-
facturers of electrical machinery certainly
stand as ready to sell to municipal corpora
tions as to private corporations without
discrimination as to prices.
OF the expense for maintenance and
operation. the principal items are those for
supplies and fuel, for wages and salaries,
for depreciation and repairs. What / have
said with reference to the purchase Of
machinery applies with reference to sup
plies. There is no good reason why the
municipality cannot buy as cheaply and
effectively as any one on the market These
purchases are usually made by contract
awarded on competitive bids whether they
AFFECT = municipality or a private corpora
tion-
Question of Comparative Salaries.
When II comes to the question Of CON-
parative salaries and wages, we can cite
testimony In the report of the COMMISSIONS
Of labor. already referred 10. which con-
tains a table covering these points within
the respective groups into which the plants
are classified. with this
So far as salaries are concerned the aver
age cost i'm municipal plants Is smaller in
every group presented, In some cases being
plants. AS regards wage costs, 1t Is seen
that in seven of the groups shown the
average cost In the municipal plant exceeds
that IN the private plants, while In eight OF
the groups this cost in the private plants
Is greater than In those municipality owned
and controlled,
From this we would be safe. certainly, in
assuming that municipal plants are at no
disadvantage.
AS to repairs, wear and tear, and depreci-
alton, the ownership Of the plant will make
no difference unless we take II for granted
that the men In control Of one class are
less enicient and less competent than those
in control Of the other. Accidents are no
more likely. nor the rate OF depreciation
more heavy on account Of the ownership
OF the plant.
Commercial Business.
In figuring on the financial saving ef-
fected by municipal ownership, VI must
remember that substantially all the private
plants engaged in supplying ~electris light
have a large commercial business In addi-
tion to their contracts for street illumina.
ton. In fact, for most Of them. the con-
tract for city street lighting IL simply {
nest egg. while the more profitable part Of
the business consists In selling electricity
to private consumers. In sOme cases pri-
vste ownership undertakes 10 furnish street
lamp at moderate. OF even losing prices. az
a consideration for the privilege OF ex-
plotting the commercial lighting hsld- o.