The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-18

III Tic NAY AI1O VI Ia Joh1 d "a
Political Economy there is an articl q
by Everett W. Burdett, of Boston. on
Municipal Ownership in Great gr;-
tain" He discusses the subject under
the sub-heads of Has Munich al Own
ership and Operation of Pub r. Service
Utilities in Great Britain B .en Success
ful?" IF SO, to What Extent?' ~If
Not, in What Respect has If Failed >.
The writer discusses the causes which
have led up TO, and are responsible for,
exlstlng cohdl'ioT IS, whatever they are,
and inquiries Whether it would be de-
slraoie' II pre .cticable, tt reproduce the
same conol ions in the United States
AFTER f,oing extensively into details
ms con illusions can be summed up in
the q .%eclaration that, ON the whole, he
oc not find the system a success
@hen considered in reference to the
whole public. He says that "the oper-
alton by British municipalities of pub
lie utilities of the kind under consider
alton has been successful, if at all, in
the single particular of furnishing the
service or supply at a fair price to a
comparatively few persons; that
aside from gas supply, it has not re-
suited in any considerable profit TO the
municipalities, the losses in electric
lighting, traction and telephone enter
prises being frequent, while the profits,
when realized, are generally not more
than two or three per cent on the in
vestment-the result to date being an
| average loss"
Some of the other results Mr.. Bur-
dett sees and his general conclusions
on his study of the system in Great
Britain are: The accommodation of
the few-the consumers-at the ex-
pense Of the many-the a payers; the
encouragement Of private enterprise
and the creation of a large and increas-
ing body of office holding voters; a
most serious enlargement Of municipal
Indebtedness (Which has to be borne by
nonusers as we'll as users) and the crea-
ton of a class of voters who can be re-
lied on to support ~extravagant expendi-
lures.
Mr.. Burdett argues that should it be
assumed that the results of municipal
ownership in Great Britain are, on
the whole, favorable to the consumer
and the public at large and it would be
deemed advisable, if practicable, to
duplicate the financial and technical
results of British ownership in the
United States it would be impossible to
do so because of the totally different
"political'' conditions obtaining in the
municipalities of the two countries.
Mr.. Burdett's article is a very inter-
esting n on this subject which is now
attracting so much attention in this
country. So worthy of the greatest
consideration are the opening para
| graphs, which touch upon the rapid
| growth of socialism in this country,
that we will give space to reproduce
them here:
The subject of municipal ownership
has of late assumed a new importance
in this country. In view of recent
events, no n interested in either the
safety Of private capital or the eff
cheney of municipal administration
can close his eyes to the fact hat a
great socialistic agitation is upon us,
which may result in far-reaching eco
homie changes. A spirit of unrest and
largely a spirit Of destructiveness is
abroad in the land. The money power
and the bosses power are alike OBJ
| jects Of popular aversion and attack.
Capital looks aghast at the possibilities
Of destruction which lie in it's path,
while the professional manipulation Of
| votes and of parties trembles lest his
occupation be gone. Socialistic doc
trines are finding new adherets and the
professional agitator is winning new
recruits. Witness, in this connection,
the growth of the combined socialistic
and socialistic-labor votes in the three
last presidential elections: in:1S96 it
was 36,274-a negligible quantity; in
1900 it was 127,553-an increase Of
over ESQ per cent. in four years.; in
1904 it was 426,376-an increase Of
234 per cent. in four years, and Of over
1000 per cent. in eight years-an av-
rag increase of more than 1873 per
cent. a year.
To these forces, professedly and
violently socialistic, have now been
added vast numbers of other persons,
many well-intentioned, who, without
consciously adopting the doctrines of
socialism, are giving public affairs a
decided impetus in that direction.