Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-17
EXPRESSES HIS VIEWS FREELY
Believes osmooraty viii stoutIy Ad-
voeate Municipal Control All
Over Country In the
Next Campaign

to but FEW men.
That caldron Of political boilings
wherein corporations and labor unions
are always struggling for the mas
terry, and where the plain citizen pays
the cost of the fighting for the two,
does not make It's chief executive an
idealist or a dreamer.
Carter Harrison was neither one nor
the other when he took the oath of Of
flee for the first time In 1897. He is not
now. His features are heavy, straight
cut and firm-those of man who If he
does have day dreams keeps them
carefully to himself.
Municipal government Is not a
dream with Mr.. Harrison, nor is gov
ernment operation Of public utilities.
The principles Of the former he has
seen grow luxuriantly under his four
administrations; he has had to COM
bat the Vaccinations and intrigues of
private corporations, and he knows
whereof he speaks.
He has talked and fought for pub
lie ownership since the day he under
took his duties as mayor eight years
ago. but the subject has lost not whit
of it's interest to him, and yesterday
while his two children waited impa-
tiently for him to accompany them on
promised walk along the beach at
Redondo he sat down to discuss own
ership by the people
Coming, papa?' he was asked
he would launch off into another phase
of the subject.
"No; l am not smoking now" he
said. II swore off from the use of to-
bacco twelve weeks ago. 1 do that
every now and then to convince myself
that l can stop when I wish"
What do you think of the PROPOSE
tion for Los Angeles to own its own
lighting system" he was asked.
Approves Municipal Ownership
ANY municipality decently managed
can handle it's lighting service with
success" he replied.
What about its railways, Mr.. Har-
rison?'
nat 10 d queStlUH WHICH IN
new phases of public ownership, but
If taken hold of in the right manner
the solution will be as satisfactory as
that of public lighting. In owning the
railways within a city a much larger
number of men come under the direc-
tion of its administration than do IN
its public lighting. By the control of
these men at elections, the administra-
tien in power might be prone to pre-
petuate itself.
which hangs over the heads of the
people. should the government attempt
the ownership of the railroads, I'm
less the vast number of railroad men
and also those at the head of that de-
partment were under rigid civil SER
vice. the political dominion of the rul-
ing party would be immense. Those
men who had in hand the railroads of
the country, saying the government
took possession and was operating them,
for the movement to be success
would have to be not politicians put
in high places because they controlled
votes, but because they thoroughly
understood their work. With this and
the army of railroad men under rigid
civil service rules / believe such
movement would be successful.
Incompetent Officials Appointed
"In some government enterprises
houever we have mt bad tbasa con
ditions. While the rank and file have
been placed under civil service rules,
their superiors, those upon whom the
real responsibility rests, have been
appointlve. The result has been that
men have held office who have had
no understanding of their duties. hut
who have gained their places simply
by the number of votes they were able
to command. In railroad ownership
the men at the head should not be
placed there by influence, but for
knowledge and integrity; let them have
absolute control; require them neither
to give nor to ask favors; the legisla-
tive bodies not excepted. 1 have as
sumed that the government is owning
and operating the enterprise. There is
another kind of ownership; that
where the government owns. but gives
the operating power over to an in
dividual or individuals under contract
for a fixed time"
do you think government ownership
is liable to become tenet of the
Democratic party in the next campaign
and would you favor II as a plank in
the party PLATFORM" he was asked.
At this question Mr.. Harrison lost
the preoccupation he had shown at the
beginning of the conversation and
started in TO handle the question like a
man wearing pair of white kid gloves
which he was afraid of soiling.
"Yes. think IT will probably become
an important ISSUE" he said slowly,
but / trust the Democrats will not
make 1t the foremost one. There are
too many other big things. There is