The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-09
Wnnle,psi own.,.Nap Edues,loa.

Tho advprntSa NJ municipal owhefphlp
In ihis country afe oithef Theorists WIN
have not Investigated The operation ~
municipal trading In Great Britain NJ
,hcy nrr drmagoaiep who want onRce,
Nv his address io thu National Electric
Lighting Association M Atlantic CITY
Mr. EvrRerf W Rrnpfrr pleaded for n
campaign N education" Nv saw Amer
lean municipalities from The 'irrnepUn-
siblo politician aud the srlnsh aRiiator
"A presented by the" who have not
made u practical study n the subject,
~ Mr. BrRpErT has done, municipal
ownership Ia attractive bccatsc u prom.
isca the heat service NJ rates lower than
private enterprise would charge. But
tho iirst desideratum Ia efficiency Of
service. The cost Ia lrsa important.
provided 10 Ia reasonable and there Ia
no graft In II. Greater economy In
operation would necessarily follow II
the political system were favorable 10
the trial Of municipal ownership The
service given by private corporations
with long term franchises has not always
been efficient, and the %provocation TO
turn public utilities over TO the municipal
government without full consideration
Of the consequences was natural under
the cir cumstances.
BY this time the American people
ought to be convinced that political
conditions in our municipalities are not
favorable to a trial Of the experiment
generally-certainly they are not favor
able to it in such cities az New York,
Chicago and Philadelphia, or In eny city
Of the first class. A Tammany leader
after a visit to England, where he made
a survey of the civic system and calcu-
lated what there was in 1t for a profess
sional politician like himself, declared
that If New York were to adopt munich
pal ownership his organization would be
able to keep in power for a hundred
years or more.
But the idealist will say that these
conditions can be reformed and that
we should be able to fit ourselves for
municipal ownership. Even SO, there
remains the effect Of the operation Of
public utilities by elective governments
upon enterprise and invention. Mr..
BURDETT in a recent article in the Jour
nal OF Political Economy has said that,
with regard to electric lighting, munich
pal ownership in Great Britain has
checked the development of the cleo
trical industry and prevented "the estab-
lishment of the manufacturing plants
and facilities which would otherwise
have grown up" The tendency Of mu-
nicipal management is to get into a rut,
since the fear of the taxpayer smothers
extensions, and the employees. who hold
their places by favor or under a civil
service system, have no incentive to
work any harder than they are COM
PEELED to.
Mr.. BURDETT's statistics Of munici-
pal operation in Great Britain show
that not only does it discourage in
vention, retard progress and confne
efficiency within narrow limits, by con-
trast with the results attained by private
enterprise in the United States, but that
it is usually conducted at a loss and the
system is becoming a grievous burden
on the taxpayer.
If municipal ownership Is not efficient,
profitable and progressive in Great
Britain, what is there in it for the United
States, where, it is admitted. the polit-
ical conditions are not favorable?