The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-12-31

street car tine, ard the land between
them has been divided up into town lots.
although for farming purposes 1t would
hardly be worth 10 cents an acre.
Municipal Ownership.
poth 15ort Arthur and Fort William
helIeve n municipal ownership. They
manage thnirs owr electric lights, tele-
phones and water works. Port Arthur
owns the street car line which supplies
the Transportation facilities of both cities,
and the fare from one to the other
distance OF four miles. Is only s cents.
The car line was put In when Mr.. van
Horne moved the shops to Fort William,
IN order to keep the employees who lived
at Port Arthur there. and tho electric
light system was Instituted by the city
because the town wanted lights, and no
one else wolild supply the money.
LAS It lis, Port Arthur has now about
$500 900 Invested In municipal enterprises,
and 1t Is making s per cent on all sho
has spent The actual profits last year
were almost S25,O00. The total cost Of
running the town was 500, 900, 80 that the
telephones, street cars, electric lights
and water works paid altogether Just,
one.fourth OF the taxes.
II talked with a councilman. He said:
sour assessment this year will be about
20 mills. but this includes the rate we pay
on q bonus OF 1925, 900, which we gave
for the establishment Of the blast fur
naces here. We are cutting down our
taxes. and we believe that these institu-
lions Will eventually pay all the ex-
pense OF running the municipality We
own power plant, In addition and we
can furnish power at low rates.
Cheap Lights and Telephones.
..But does 1t not cost the consumers
moro to have the lights and telephones
managed by the town ~
mo. Our street car fare Tor q nine
mile ride Is five cents. ] use twenty-one
lights all day and all night for 1910 q
month. Our telephones are 80 low that
we are crowding the Bell Company out
"a 4 find tho same conditions as to munt-
,cipal ownership prevail at Fort William
Mr.. Trautmar, the editor of the Times
journal, tells me that that city has
Invested less than half u million dollars
Sin its light water: works and telephone
8plants and that 1t could to-day sell it's
franchise for q million.
said he: I'VE have now coo phones and
are practically crowding the private tele-
phone company out OF existence. We;
charge dollar q month per phone IN
residences and two dollars q month in
business houses. At this rate wo made
"a DrOlltS OF "a ll1OubdIlu uOiit1l o idSt Col
after paying our interest and sinking
fund. 'Wo expect to lower the rates in
the future, and in two years from nov 10 I
we shall be furnishing residence p homes mes
at fifty cent sa month and business
houses at one dollar q month We are
paying our hello girls twi ce as much as
& paid BY the Bell company for the
same service (. e
The Worlds Biggest Elevate ri
During my stay here Y I v have gone
through the wheat elevators. they are
among the largest q the world. and an
that of3 the Canadian. Norther at ;3 Port
Arthur Is II equaled by no elevate on
earth This levat or Is built rlgh Z out.
IN the lake. It consists OF two mighty
Sbarn-like sky-scrapers, with 81 great
forest Of herculean grain tanks between
them, The sky-scrapers contain ma
schinery and some storage tanks . The;
forest is mad e up Of might cylinders Of