The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-03-28

with as perp1exing municipal problems
as any city in the country. We have
acquired our gas and water plant and
we are operating it at a minimum
cost, giving the people gas and water
at the very lowest price. The water is
purer and more wholesome under pub
lie ownership than it was under pri-
vate ownership, and every one seems
to be highly satisfied with the present
management of the light and water
plant. The public ownership of the gas
and water plant has given us some.
thing more than we appreciate to-day.
That we are getting cheaper electricity
than we have ever received before is
due to the fact that the local electric
light company is obliged to compete
with the city gas plant in furnishing
electricity for lighting purposes. If
the city owned the electric lighting
plant, the people would secure electric
light cheaper than they now do. and
they would receive gas for fuel pur-
poses cheaper than they ever expected.
There is not very much hope in this
session Of the legislature for the pas
sage Of a bill giving to the city of
Duluth the power to go into the elec-
trio lighting business. The members
of the legislature are not so democra-
tic as to believe that the people of
city are capable Of taking care of their
own affairs. Besides it seems that the
members Of the legislature feel more
like killing time than they do about
passing bills. The legislature has been
in session for nearly three months.
Almost 100 bills have been introduced
and only so has been disposed Of. The
farmer members are led to believe that
the large cities are poisoned against
the farming communities, and they
hesitate to pass any bills offering re-
lief to the big cities.
The Warren Bros. Paving Company
wishes to solve the paving question
for the city Of Duluth. It will be re-
membered that Mayor Hugo recon-
mended that the city go into the paving
business in his annual message. The
Mayor wants our home rock utilized
for paving purposes. Following this
recommendation, the Warren Brothers
Paving Company have sent lengthy
communication to the City Council Of
fering to install for the city NUM-
cipal paving plant, and of course 1t
must use in return Warren Bros. Pat
ent Bituminois Paving Material. 1t is
not likely that the city will bite on the
proposition, as we have some local ideas
about paving. Mayor Hugo calls it
the common sense idea that we intend
to experiment on.
The city council is after auctioneers.
We have been in the habit of granting
licenses to auctioneers for so long that
we have began to think that it is
legitimate business, when it is known
full well that many men engage in the
business for the mere purpose of plumb
ering innocent lumbermen coming from
the woods with their wages. The coun-
Gil refused to grant a license last Mon
day, and it is expected that a few
more will be refused when they all ex-
pire in May.
Cheaper tax is the cry in every To-
ca'i+v. Tn Duluth the tax rate is about
2.4 mills. In New York it is las mills
Some people here get off too easy, and
others pay too much. One move in the
right direction is to get higher rate
on lumber. It is said that the same
rate is levied for lumber now, as was
levied when it sold for one half the
present price. The city will make a
strong effort to get the valuation in
creased.
City Attorney Mitchell went on the
range with the members of the Legis-
lature, and he lost no opportunity in
springing the question of the city get
ting the right to issue bonds for the
Mr.. Mitchell believes that there will be
no trouble in getting the necessary au-
thority.
Some interesting figures concerning
the relative cost of operating horse
drawn and automobile engines are con-
tanned in recent issue Of the Motor
World. The estimates given, in so far
as they refer to engines of the former
sort, are based on the reports Of ten
Ire departments in the United States.
The type of motor-driven engine sell
cted for the comparison is combina-
I'LL CI1c"1Cd1 clSl1lG d1lu llOS0 wagon
lade in New York State. It's power is
applied by two separate double cylin-
err steam engines, controlled by lev
" at the drivers feet and furnishing
over to each Of the rear wheels in
ependently. On either side of the APP
aratus is a chemical tank holding
1irty-fve gallons. The length of the
hemical hose carried is $50 feet, and
he space is provided for 1000 feet of
ordinary 2h inch hose. The gasoline
tank and the water tank have capa-
| city Of fifteen gallons to thirty gallons
respectively. The speed Of the engine
| is twenty miles per hour.
| The garbage crematory, recently in
| stalled in Salt Lake City, has not
| proved a success. During the test OF
| the plant it was found that it cost
$13.45 to consume twenty-eight tons OF
garbage within twenty-four hours. 1t
required two and one half tons of coal
besides 2,700 pounds of coke during the
| tWenty-fOur hours. It should not cost