The bee., 1906-07-19
OWNERSHIP OF
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Question of Comparative Wages
to Labor in Public Own
ership.

SsStbfs
MANY LETTERS LOST IN MAILS
L LAST YEAR CONTAINED MONEY.
Washington, July 16.-The
plan of the Panama canal hav-
ing been definitely decided, it'll
seems to be largely question of
whether Congress, having taken
one step in the betterment of
transportation, will follow Presi-
dent Roosevelt's recommends
ton and take a still larger one
by improving inland waterways,
both for the achievement of low
er internal freight rates, and to
enable those great producing
States lying along the Ohio and
Mississippi to profit by the con-
struction of the canal in the
struggle for the supremacy in
the Southern hemisphere. What
an improved system of water
transportation would mean to
Kentucky Is evidenced by the
Importance of her products, and
the facilities lying at her door
which only walt development.
With a difference in favor of
water rates so large as to be al
most incredible, the fact remains
that at present it is not thor
oughlv recognized that unless
the efforts of the National Riv-
ers and Harbors Congress for
larger annual appropriations for
the bringing about of cheap
water freights are supported,
Europe, and not this country, is
almost certain to monopolize
South American trade and to fill
with foreign vessels the big ditch
dug by the United States. On
the other hand, system of water
transportion, saving to the farm
er and shipper many hundred
percent of his present freight,
would forever assure to Ken
lucky and her neighboring States
market equal to the largest
ambition.
Down on Chesapeake Bay,
where midsummer broods torrid-
! ly over the oyster shocking
plants, preparations are being
made which betoken a change in
the way the householder wants
his oysters. A tremendous amount
of energy In cleaning is accom-
panied by symptoms that the
time honored, uncovered oyster
pail will no more, or not so often,
be part of the familiar odds and
ends on the floors of grocery and
meat shops. One effect, per-
haps, of the packing house report
and the uprising in the name of
cleanliness which followed it, is
this sudden preparation to put
the oyster into shining tin cans
safe from dust or contamination,
the cans to 60 into ice and stay
there until opened in kitchens in
New York, Illinois or Nebraska.
"The Invest and liveliest polit-
ical issue in the country today is
| public ownership" says III. T.
Newcomb, the Washington econ
omist and statistician. $50 a
great extent, it is at present
local issue, taking the form of
movement for city ownership of
gas and electric light plants and
street cars, but it is bound to
grow from this to a demand for
national ownership and opera
tion of all sorts of industrial en-
terprises. The propaganda for
government Intervention is being
actively presented in all parts of
the country as remedy for all
our business evils, real or alleg
ed" Mr.. Newcomb delivered an
address before the American As
ISOLATION for the Advancement
of Science a few days ago, taking
up the question of municipal
ownership from the point of view
of the employee. His conclusion
was that for the laboring man
the government is less desira-
BILE employer than the indy idual
or corporation. An examination
of wage statistics made by Mr..
! Newcomb shows that in the past
ten years the wages Of privately
employed labor advanced over II
percent, while there was no adj
vance in the pay for public en-
lployment. Furthermore, the
government has the power to
compel service, and finds it nee
essary to exercise this power
| when it becomes an employer on
a large scale-in other words, il