Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-06-09
MUNICH AL
OWNERSHIP
DISCUSSED.
W. Burdett Talks to EIeC.
trio Light Convention Being
Held at Atlantic City.

convention here of the National Elec-
trio Association listened last night to
an exposition of the present day pha-
SEES of the municipal ownership prob
lem as presented by Everett w. Bur-
dett, of Boston. Mr.. Burdett Is a
lawyer who has devoted a to the
problem of municipal ownership. He
spent much time last year In studying
the questions in Great Britain and
Europe.
Mr.. Burdett devoted much of his
time to showing that municipal own
ership,' where it had had a fair trial,
especially in Europe, had not been
a success. He declared that except
as a choice of necessary evils, munich
pal ownership has no standing in the
court of economics" and he pleaded
for a Campaign of education" of the
people, so that they should not be
carried away with the ideas of the
irresponsible politician, or the sell
fish agitator."
Mr.. Burdett ascribed the agitation
for municipal ownership to the re-
cent exposures of the misuse of cor
porate powers and said that the pub
lie has forgotten many things, m of
which was "that it has been only by
the uniting of the funds of the rich
and the savings of the poor in corpo-
rate organizations that the country
has been developed" Then Mr.. Bur-
dett gave some statistics OIL electri-
cal development in this country,
which he summed up as follows:
I'm electric enterprises the central
station electric lighting investment
alone already aggregates $7OO,OOO,-
900, involving an annual operating
expense of nearly or quite 100000.
900, distributed among all classes of
workmen and through every artery
of trade. The census reports SHOW
that in the single year of 1904 there
was an output of new electrical appa-
ratus of the value of more than $780,
900, 900. There are nearly 5000 cen
trail electric lighting stations. There
are $4,000 miles of electric railways,
carrying each year over 100000
900 passengers. A network OF near
ly 5000 miles of steam railroads
gridirons the country, transporting
upward of $50, 900, 900 passengers
annually. Spoken words are trans
mitted through more than 5000, 600
miles of wire, but the use of more
than 3,OOO,O 900 telephones, by which
more than 5000, 900, 900 messages
are transmitted yearly"
Mr.. Burdett the laid down the
proposition that "it is unquestiona-
bly, the fact that the public at large
have, upon the whole, obtained vastly
greater benefits from corporate enter
prises than have those whose money
has made them possible" He told
of the ninety-six electric railroads of
Massachusetts, carrying more than
500, 100000 passengers a year, and
said that only one-third of them paid
a dividend in 1905. Out of the fifty
eight electric lighting companies in
the state only one-third paid any divi-
dends whatever.
Mr.. Burdett i~nyeighed against the
yellow journals which foster hatred
of established order, and the politi-
clan seeking votes, who "shouts for
the municipal ownership and opera
ton of anything and everything with
which the people are not fully salts
fed" He declared that municipal
ownership was tried first in Glasgow
and other British cities because
health conditions, and these alone,
demanded 1t, and said that the pub
lie ownership of lighting facilities,
of workmen's dwellings, of public
laundries, wash houses, etc., was the
result of necessities of which we hap
PLY have no personal knowledge In
this country"
Mr.. Burdett asserted that a higher
type OF civil service existed abroad
than in American cities and thai
graft was absent because high mind
ed and public spirited men thought II
an honor to sit in town councils
Then he had this to say of the fnan'
cial profit OF the plan abroad:
"Oficial returns for electric light
ing undertakings of the kingdom
(Great Brittany to December 81
1904, show that less than So per cent
of the 1872 municipal undertakings
showed a profit, which averaged on
ly about $4,000 for each undertake
ing, while 92 per cent. Of the sixty
six private enterprises showed a pro
. fit amounting to more than $4,000
a plant" He added:
1.-THE excess of private telephones
over municipal telephones in Glas
gov is 50 per cent; in Hull. 225 PEE
cent: in Brighton, 81 per cent; il
Portsmouth, 33 per cent. and IL
Swansea, 95 per cent. On Deem
Der 81, 1905, the number of munich
pal telephones in the five cities wa
less than 10000, while the number o
private telephones in the same arei
was more than 40, 000-an excess o
; 1872 per cent. During the year 1905
the increase in municipal telephones
was 1912 per cent, and in private
telephones, so per cent.
"The five cities, Glasgow, Edin