The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1903-09-28

We believe, however, that II all the money pro-
posed be paid into this enterprise is to be lost the
bonds still should be voted for"
This is a candid statement and informs the tax
payers of the real nature OF the for the &C
QUESTION by the city of public utilities namely, that
it is sociastic movement whereby socialism is to
enter into our form of government and in time drive
out that indviduaism that has made this country so
powerful and its people so prosperous In other
words the taxpayers asked to vote to burden
themselves with a mortgage of upward of a mil
lion dollars in order that the city may undertake an
enterprise that it is officially informed by its own
expert will cost it loss of about forty thousand
dollars year, and possibly loss of million in
ALL enterprise that private capital stands ready
to undertake and pay the city for the privilege
The advocates Of municipal ownership further
say that if the Geary-street road under municipal
management should prove to be losing venture
the road with its equipment can be sold in single
day for more than it can possibly cost
We would be very much obliged if any one can
show US how this solution OF the question can be
accomplished,
Under the charter the Board OF Supervisors are
authorized to sell at public auction personal prop
erty unfit or unnecessary for the OF the city and
county II the city should wish to sell any OF the
personal property connected with this road, such
as wires, machinery and cars, one is insane
enough to believe that any would Pur-
chase secondhand material for as much as its
original cost No one in even municipal govern
ment would be guilty of such absurdity.
After any one had purchased this equipment, such
person could not it in operating the road until ne
had obtained franchise under the charter. The
charter provisions provide compensation for
such franchise the payment of a certain percent
g.L,x No other Of11ue Att Ou
is authorized The same result would follow if the
city, instead Of selling the equipment, should lease
the road In either case it would not be able to
sell that which cost so much money TO acquire,
namely, the road itself.
We doubt the power of the Board of Supervisors
to lease the road The charter provides for leas
ing street railroad only when the road has re-
yered to the city upon the expiration of franchise
This would not be that case.
The city. therefore, could neither sell the road
lease it. The utmost it could do would be TO
grant franchise to private corporation to oper-
ate it. No private corporation would bid more than
is requisite under the charter, which would be not
to exceed eight nine thousand dollars year
This with taxes would not exceed $4,000 year
In the meantime the city would remain liable under
its bonds. 1t would have pay annually in interest
and sinking fund about double the it would
ceive The utmost benefit it could hope for would
be that its receipts would eventually pay the interest
on its bonds. The net result would be that it would
certainly have raise by taxation the entire OF
the road
In no event can the acquisition OF this public utility
be considered experiment. From any point of
view it is bound certainly cause the city loss
and therefore an additional burden upon the tax
payers.
What compensation is offered to counterbalance
this certain financial loss? The city does not promise
better road it has based its estimates the fact
that it can use the present road converting it from
a cable road to a conduit electric road This would
be done by any private owner under the franchise
1t does not promise cheaper fares and cannot do so
because upon the basis Of the present scent fare the
City Engineer has based all his estimates, and yet
upon such estimates there would be financial loss
1t cannot promise better service than a private
would furnish because such service is not fur
nished in any department OF municipal State or Fed
eral government
In asking the people to vote for the issue OF bonds
for public improvements such as parks, school
houses streets, sewers and hospitals the people are
asked to tax themselves for purposes of exclusively
governmental nature such be constructed
and furnished by the public generally or not at all
In asking the people to vote for bonds to construct
operate street railroad the people asked TO
tax themselves for the purpose of enabling the mu-
nicipal government to go into business that pri-
vate capital stands ready to undertake and which the
people have no business to undertake in view of the
universal incompetence of government to conduct
any business economically and efficiently. There is
no department OF government municipal, State or
Federal, that could not be more economically and eff
hcenty conducted by private enterprise and yet the
Government must conduct it. The same reason does
not exist for the Government conducting any enter
prise not governmental in its nature
If partisan reports be accepted as true both the
United States and Canada have already won decisive
victories in the arbitration proceedings over the
Alaskan boundary. Why not let the affair rest where