The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-04-14
Dinner Resolves Itself Into JOI- IifcatiOn Over Mayor Dunne
SPEAKERS ARE APPLAUDED
Municipal owenrship Was the Theme of Most of the Actresses, Mr. Bryan Responding to
 "Thomas Jefferson"


 discussed by prominent orators of the party at the Jefferson club banquet, held at the Sherman house tonight in com memoration of the birthday of Thomas Jefferson The dinner, however, In a measure, resolved itself into publication over Mayor Edward F. Dunne, who is a director of the club, and was among the speakers who responded to toasts.
 William J. Bryan and George Frederick Williams of Massachusetts were the principal speakers. MT. Bryan chose for his subject, Thomas Jefferson" and his remarks were greeted with unstinted ap- plause. r. Bryan took advantage of the asion to congratulate Mayor Dunne on his recent election as chief executive of the city of Chicago.
 Mir. Bryan Speaks.
 ''In the city of Chicago has been one of the most notable victories achieved thus far in the United States for the cause of municipal ownership and Judge Dunne' who led the democratic forces to victory on this platform, was one of the or ganizers of the Jefferson club. under whose auspices this banquet Is given. Can any one be so ignorant of the aims, ar gulnents and principles of Jefferson as to quote him in support of corporation which monopolizes the highways of this great city? Can any one believe that he , would subordinate his objections to mo- nopoly in order to defend the right of a few monopolists to reap an enormous profit from the use of streets made valu- able not by the capitalists. but by the people of Chicago? If Jefferson was loath to endorse a patent which gave man a limited monopoly of a thing which he
 1~.I.~ favor the giving of permanent monopoly to men who invent nothing except new methods of evading taxation or of corrupt- ing councils? Nothing is more consistent with the support of Jeffersonian prin- ciales than the ownership and operation by, the public of every industry which Is i4i ia nature monopoly.
 "Where competition Is impossible the benefit of monopoly must accrue to the whole people, not to a few I am glad that in the city of Chicago the demo- cratic platform was broad enough to in- clude not only the public ownership Of the street car lines, but the public own ershtip of lighting plants and telephone systems-the Chicago water works, be- lieve. has for many years been owned by the city. The natural results of pri- vate monopoly are, first, extortion as to the price of the product: second, oppres- sion as to the labor employed in produc- tion; third deterioration in the quality of the products and fourth, the corrup- tion of the power which attempts to regu- late monopoly in the interest of the pub lie. When the English parliament grants a franchise for a private water plant or lighting plant, it generally fixes a maxi mum income, and requires a reduction of rates when the maximum is reached; but in this country the advocates or monopoly are bold enough to resist all md to nd for those who are in control of the quasi public corporations. In the matter of water plants the cities have made great rrogress but a small percentage of the water plants being now owned by private corporations. The taking over of the lighting plants has not gone so far but the movement is now well under way But few of the cities have undertaken to es- tablish telephone exchanges, but this is necessary step, and unless 1t is taken soon we shall have the same struggle that we have gone through In regard to water plants and lighting plants. The sooner the cities begin to establish their own telephone exchanges the less they will have to pay for watered stock and in compensation for so-called vested rights.
 Argument Is Misinterpreted.
 "The third Jeffersonian doctrine that is now being misinterpreted and misapplied is his argument against longtime debts. He took the position that the earth be- longs in succession to each generation, and that a. preceding generation had no right to mortgage the earth beyond its occu- pancy of 1t. If his doctrine had been adopted 1t would be much easier to deal with the problems of today but 1t is man ifestly unfair to permit railroads and mus nicipal corporations to mortgage the public for generations, and then to quote Jefferson against the issue of bonds when a city attempts to rid itself of private monopoly.
 ''It is better for city to issue bonds at a low rate of interest and for actual improvements than for a city to permit private corporations to issue bonds, based not upon investment, but upon the power of monopoly to extort an income from succeeding generations Then, too, there is very clear distinction between debt incurred in the establishment of mu- nicipal plan which will yield an income to the city, and the mourning of a debt which brings no specific return. MT Bird S Coler. late controller of the city of New York has brought out this distnc- tion and 1t is one that is useful to the dis cussion of municipal ownership A father who leaves to his child an incumbered plant which yields an income in excess of the interest upon the lncumbrance, leaves him a richer inheritance than he would If he left him unimproved land.
 Debt Is Justified.
 And so a city can justify large in- debtedness if the money borrowed is ex- pended on a plant which not only pays an interest upon the investment, but creates a sinking fund sufficient to dis charge the debt in reasonable length O; time. A generation would thus be- queath to the succeeding generation not ar incumbrance. but annuity. And SD the teachings of Jefferson. when stud fed in the light of his controlling purposes furnish guidance for us now, and will furnish guidance for ages to come. He built not for a day or for century, but for all time, because he built upon the solid rock. Inspired by the love of his fellows. he turned the training of mas ter mind and the energies of a still greater heart to the service of mankind. And although his contemporaries show cred upon him the highest honors than