New-York tribune., 1906-04-08
YARMOUTH SANDS.
mitch Thrift in old East AngIian
port. nth Little Municipal Socialism
Great Yarmouth. Nfarch -

Great Yarmouth, March %.
-A.r. Is more Of Dutch thrift than OF munich
-.,sl,sr, in this ancient port OF East AnglIo
~ !, keeping with an environment suggestive
L.-,.IIans-the long stretch OF sand dunes. dot
o -.,+, boats and hanked with summer hotels
:, scheveningen; the broad Quays frinred
.-.ss as at Rotterdam; the maze OF crooIre5
80 and narrow rows, as at Amsterdam, and
az. .-sg, parish church looming up behind the
--abopses. as at Dordrecht- Even II harmo-
- rIsnss Of color and artistic qualities are
ny-s No. the Dutch habits Of close calculation
i@'''-- s.4,csI intelligence are IN the strain Of
sA' after generations OF conflict with storm
" IL 49, On low. unprotected sandbanIs. Yar-
~ - hes received two gifts from the sea-
- s.-rinr fisheries and the unrivalled sands
ue - ,+b rr,,dent forecast the Town Council
anu ,.srted each into a source OF wealth. II
"a ..,5ed s32l 600. on a broad fsh wharf 900
- 1onq with a special tramway service, and,
=. .bis large measure Of accommodation for
va. -. industry. the deliveries have steadily
-.asea 70 nearly 5S2.OO0OOO herrings in a
-,-o,s season Apart from the general bene-
@-,,, the expansion Of the fishing industry
"a enlarged occupation for workers anoat and
- the municipal investment has been made
-.,s-sustaining. From rents and fish dues there
: :, income more than sufficient for interest
.rte and the cost of maintenance. The cor
...+,on owns other property and derives from
-. and various tolls a net profit Of $4,000
-,.uv This IS not a bad record for fishing
,o-n with a population Of $1,000
The second source Of wealth has been devel-
= nth as much energy as thrift. The broad
-srs.c, of beach behind the town has been con-
80 N, municipal enterprise into summer
- Cor the entertainment of 100000 visitors
- che course OF a season. The Marine Parade
= driveway and promenade four miles IN
,.,gtb on the edge Of Yarmouth Roads, and
srtt,ng out from IT are two long piers ano
s-osd iettv It is bordered with lawns and
GARDENS and hanked by long line OF hotels
ss..,r.s restaurants, arcades. museums and
-nusie halls. There are Oriental pavilions where
.-ro thousands spectators can be seated; there
-. winter gardens, hippodrOmes. revolving
.,-o-s assembly rooms dancing halls and band
.,.ras. and in warm weather. when the
-,,ss are fIronged with bathers and the prone
,.sss and piers are filed with visitors there
:. -opnicinal regulation by which hawking and
unrosr are suppressed and pleasure craft are
managed by licensed beachmen. The corpora
,ou has made a large investment OF public
,,one,, IN these improvements and advertises the
sttrac-ious Of the East Anglican Brighton on
large scale II hires large bands for open air
concerts. establishes rife ranges for military
corpettions supplies electric light and tram
v-av service and year after year increases and
varies the stock of public entertainment. Costly
ss these extensive sea front improvements have
been. the works are gradually paying for them
,slves in tolls and taxable valuations, and are
steadily promoting the prosperity Of the old fsh-
ing town The entire stretch Of barren sand
dunes back Of the Yare has been built UP and
transformed into a pleasure resort since Mr..
,,is1,r fs t-eera nh a
doned boat near one Of the crumbling Black
frisrs towers and converted II into the home Of
Mr Peggotty Mrs. Gummidge and Little Emily.
All these policies have involved close calcula-
tion and full measure Of genuine Dutch thrift,
and municipal socialism has come in Incl
dentally. A large supply of electric light was
needed iI order TO make Yarmouth Sands an
effective rival Of Brighton in the south, Black
pool in the west and Scarborough in the north,
and the corporation was unwilling to have
private company declare dividends at the eX-
pense Of the town. It opened works OF its own
twelve years ago. and has enlarged them until
there IS a standard voltage of over one hundred
thousand with the direct and alternating gys-
ten. The outlay is represented by a capital Of
s575e30 and the number Of consumers does not
exceed nine hundred; but the financial results
have been satisfactory since a reserve fund
accumulated and there is a balance Of $500 for
the relief OF local taxation after the interest
and sinking fund charges have been paid. II
the prices Of light and power are high for con-
suulers, 4.94d per unit. the cost of public light
ing comes down TO 202d. and that is economical
when the marine parade and the piers need to
be brilliantly Illuminated. Electric power is also
supplied at 2.50d per unit for the tramway SER
vice. and this also is low. AS the corporation is
50 large consumer Of light and power, It prob
ably effects a considerable saving by controlling
the supply OF electricity instead of being de-
pendent upon private company. Yet this uu-
nicipal industry can never be highly remunera-
tive, even when the capital outlay is fully re-
paid and the margin Of profit is widened. The
number OF consumers must always be limited In
fishing town with a short season as a pleasure
resort Municipal gas would be more profitable
but this service is controlled by private COM
pany whose plant is overvalued.
The tramways were undertaken by the mu-
hicpal government only four years ago, and
Consequently there has been little progress in
debt paying. The outlay for the electric system
Is now about S22O,745. and the net receipts. with
expenditures averaging rs per cent Of the gross
receipts. DO not yet leave a margin suhicient
Tor providing fully for the interest and sink
hg fund payments. Consequently there is q
Iaal balance on the wrong side OF the account
This viii disappear with an Increase Of traffic,
Out the tramway debt must be paid before the
service can be fairly remunerative and this can
hardly be done before the expiration Of thirty
I'VE years. The corporation has perceived the
eapantage OF combining electric lighting and
Hecuon so as 70 secure a more economical oper-
@loh OF the plant; and the two industries to-
ssher are already self-sustaining, with an in
'estment Of nearly 100000 in electric plant