New-York tribune., 1905-08-07
YORKSHIRE HOME RULE.
Municipal O1rHership Not Alrcays
Highly Proftable-In Bradford.
Pra6fOrd univ p

under which the water, gas, electricity and
tramway services have been acquired IL the
town corporations have started from the bottom
and constructed the plant required for municipal
trading. there is a large margin for net profits
after the interest charges on the capital have
been met and allowances have been set aside for
sinking funds and depreciation, and generous
contributions are available for the reduction Of
local taxation. II IL has been necessary to pur-
| chase the rights and plants Of existing eonpa-
/ MES or TO lease properties for term Of years.
the gross profits may be large. but the margin
fs narrowed until the remnant for the relief Of
| rate pavers disappears altogether. There are
| rnanv towns and communities in which from 30
to 40 per cent of the capital outlay represents
| the purchase Of the rights. property and good
| will of private companies. The town corpora
| tions. after introducing municipal ownership
| have improved enlarged and cheapened the ser
VICES in the interest Of the public, Dut when
the interest charges are paid and the allow
ances are written off for depreciation and re-
4 eAr,,e no contribution for the reduction OF local
/ taxation can be made. There may be promise
of larger net profits in the course Of ten TWEEN
| tv years with the lowering of interest charges
rnder the operation Of sinking funds, but
m the interval rate payers must be content
| with improved public services. penny fares on
| +rsrov,ovs and reduced charges for gas and cleo
| ,rie lighting If municipal ownership on Eng
| Hsh lines we're TO be introduced IN American
| cities it would be necessary 10 purchase the
| plant business and good Will Of streetcar, gas
and electric lighting companies; and II would be
| long time certainly twenty years. before the
/ municipal industries could be sufficiently re-
/ munerative 10 bring about material reductions
of taxation. On these terms municipal owner
ship becomes an investment for another genera
| tion.
bradford. with population OF $4,000 and an
/ area of nearly 23G00 acres. is one OF the best
governed and most progressive towns in Eng
| land 1t has municipalized water, gas, electric
ity, tramways slaughter houses, baths. markets
and cemeteries and it has even gone SO far as
| 10 experiment with municipal public houses and
/ to introduce a sterilized milk suppy. The man
agement of all these enterprises is excellent yet
when the accounts are analyzed il is not praeti-
| cable 10 find remuneTative retuEns for municipal
| trading There is nothing for the relief OF the
rates in the net profits OF water, gas, electricity
| and tramways. although these amount 70 S1o5.-
/ 600 in the course Of year. The margin in cleo
trfcity Is covered by allowances for depreciation
| and reserve; the profits from gas and water are
| carried forward TO the reserve, and the surplus
| from the tramway service is not turned into the
| treasury. The town profits in a general way
/
but the burdens of the rate payers are not light
ened by municipal trading. There is an aggre-
/ gate rate of IS. Tod ratable valuation OF
/ 81. .521 no and the actual relief from municipal
| ownership is only a third of a penny from the
| surplus receipts of the markets. These are
not the results which might reasonably be
| looked for from the operation of so extensive a
system Of municipal ownership. but there is gen
eraI contentment with them in Bradford Where
| the conditions OF purchase are understood The
| town corporation. for example, began by In
| vesting S4J0.OOO in the construction OF twenty
| two miles of tramways and leasing the privi-
| leges of operating them TO private companies
| for about $1,000 mile; and not only were the
returns inadequate, but the service By horse
| power and steam was expensive and abomina-
| BILE Municipal ownership became the only
| pedient for getting rid of noisy engines and
| clumsy double deckers and for introducing elec-
trio tramways; and it was brought about on the
best terms possible, but less economically than
| in Manchester. Preston and other cities. On the
other hand. the electricity supply. which IS
| hardly self-sustaining in other towns has been
| managed so shrewdly in Bradford that IL prom
ises to yield a good surplus for the rates in the
| course of few years.
| The pre-eminence of Bradford among English
| towns is not due so much 10 the successful
|
| as it is TO the provision made for the develop
ment of the business resources Of the conanU-
nifty and for the physical and intellectual growth
/ of the population. 1t has a unique feature N
the conditioning house established FOR the bene-
| fit of the staple industry and fitted up with The
most approved mechanism for testing wool
/ yarns and wCOllen goods. As Bradford IS one
| of the largest wool markets and greatest cen
tres of wOollen and worsted manufactures in the
| world the need OF tests and weights which
would pass unchaIlenged was felt. and thess
| have been supplied under local supervision. In
the course of a single year nearly $4,000 tests
are made in the conditioning house for bulk
weight of more than 81. 100000 pounds. These
| are tests of wool. tops and nOils FOR moisture,
| grease and samples of yarns for counts. twists
and strength and analysis Of cloths and yarns
These tests are made in the most scientiac way
and the Bradford weights and analyses are ac-
| cepted wherever the goods are sent into marke'.
| The conditioning house is now conducted VIII
| out expense TO the town. since the fees exceed
| the expenses. and the system is of the greatest
utility in simplifying business methods and N
! providing official guarantees of accuracy II
| weights and qualities OF wool. yarns and goods
| There is also a municipal technical college
| which provides instruction in the art Of design
and in all branches of handicraft connected with
the woollen industry. The municipality main
tains complete library system. with ample IA
ciIities for the lending of books and a spee!a.
stock of technical works, which be con-
suited by students and artisans \ municipal
museum and art gallery is always open 10 the
public The galleries and libraries represent
{.iv, tlax- Of riy-