The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-11


per year for each telephone. In Switzerland the
charge. is So per year plus cent for each
call. In many Of the cities of Sweden the
charge Is only $40 per year per telephone.
Private gas companies in england charge 90
cents per thousand cubic feet for gas. while
the publicly owned companies charge from 81
cents to 80 cents per thousand cubic feet. Tho
same is true Of publicly owned gas companies
thruout the United States. Gas is sold much
cheaper in this country by the public COM
panies than 1t is by the private companies
The same is true OF electric light Private
companies In Chicago were charging, before the
/ installation Of the municipal system, from $1O5
| to 1925 per arc lamp per year. The city Of
Chicago is now operating it's own electric light
recently established plant for $65 per year The
city of Chicago charges from cents to 10
cents. per thousand gallons for water Private
| companies in Chicago charge from 20 cents to
| 80 cents per thousand gallons.
The same 1s also true Of waterworks in other
cities. The general average Of nine Illinois
cities where water is sold by private COM
panies was s1O.54 per year per family, while
| the general average for nine cities where the
| waterworks were operated by the public was
! SAILS per year per family.
Efficiency Increased.
second-While the price Of the utility to
the public under public management has been
reduced, the efficiency of the service to the
! public has<been increased. The public streetcar
| companies invariably furnish more cars bet
ment. They are more carefully managed with
| reference to the security of the public, and
but few accidents and fatalities occur under
! public management. In the city of Chicago
, within fifty days prior to June 1, 1905, twenty
one lives were lost in streetcar accidents
The report of the bureau of labor of January
1905, published by the department. Of commerce
| and labor, Washington D. c., on page 46 de.
clares: ',-, r.r.'. s~'@-r -, -
I'm Great Britain (under municipal ownership
every accident must be reported, and any serious
complaint results in an inquiry. Accidents are
| much less frequent than in American cities For
| instance in Liverpool there was in eighteen
months but fatal tramway accident from
persons getting under the trucks and this was
| due to suicidal attempt or gross carelessness In
| the year 1904 there was total of but six fatal
accidents in that city, with a population Of
| no, 000."
Wages Increased.
| Third-The next result from public ownership
is that the wages of the employees operating
| these public utilities have been Invariably in
creased In the month OF January, 1905, I
wrote to twenty of the large cities of Great
! Britain, including Liverpool, Glasgow, Leeds,
Sheffield Hull, Stafford, Aberdeen, Cardir, Dun.
! dee, Sunderland and others. From all of these
cities received information from the traction
managers that the fares charged had been re-
duced, that the efficiency of the service had
been increased and that the wages Of the men
had been increased and the hours Of labor re-
| duced. ''- e. -~
! 11Ou0 VI 4lbUUGs
| Fourth-The next result that has invariably
followed the municipalization of street railways
| has been the decrease in the hours Of labor Of
| the men employed in. working these utilities
| Not only have their wages been increased, but
| their hours have been materially decreased. This
results from the fact that the object and aim
| of the publicly owned company is to treat It's
men considerably and humanely. Public senti
ment is in favor of humane hours and decent
wage, the object being not to make money, but
employees operating these utilities shall be treat
| ed like human beings bearing the impress OF
| their maker upon their brows and shall not be
| treated. it frequently happens in the case
| Of corporations, beasts of burden.
49, Peace in Labor Circles.
Fifth-Another result of public operation is,
| as would be inferred from the preceding, the
| total abolition Of strikes and labor difficulties
| Did you ever hear Of strike among policemen
In your city, or in any city Of the United States
! or among aremen or school teachers, or amone
| any Of the public employees of a city? The
reason 1s manifest. Public servants, If they
have grievance, present their grievance to theil
chosen representatives,, the mayors and city coun
| clls.= If their grievance is we'll founded such
| grievance Is removed byTans appeal to public
justice. If, however, the grievance is Ill found
ed, the men who are making unreasonable de-
mands are sent back to their work. > In all my
Investigation know of strike that has oc
| Cured upon a municipality owned streetcar sys
tenn. In view Of the frightfuly expensive sp1
annoying strikes which have occurred within the
recollection Of all Of us, ought not any system
which will abolish these lamentable conflicts
between labor and capital be welcomed by thu
community?
Abolishes Graft.
sixth-rhe last and probably tho most impor
4 tant result which follows from municipalisa
ton or naturalization of public utilities is tn
abolition of graft, corruption and Doodle. Whel
a municipality or nation takes over and operate
la utility, the incentive for bribery and publ
debauchery ceases to exist. There is no one t.
furnish corruption fund to persuade weak O
corrupt public officials not to do their duty, b,
the public. At the bottom of every shamefu
and scandalous example Of public bribery II
America, from the days Of the credit mobile
down to the days Of Yerkes and the boodl
aldermen Of st. Louis, will be found privat
utility corporation and Its yellow-dog fund TIL
money for every scandalous piece Of Legislation
, that has been damned thru legislatures 'ha
been furnished by privately-owned public utilit
corporations, the financial agents Of thes
companies, in the endeavor to obtain from til
public extensions Of their grants and specia
, privileges upon the public property Of tn
community. - ct. ~