The Cairo bulletin., 1907-07-15
OFFICIAL REPORT
CONTRADICTORY
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP AP-
PROVED AND DIScREDITED
BY EXPERT coMMIs-
SIONERS.
ELECTRICITY AND GAS
Receive Chief Attenton--lnvestiga
tions Extended to Principal
Cities OF WorId--Views OF
Both Sides Presented.

New York, July LITTLE experts TO-
the National Civic Federation Muni
cipal Ownership commission have
completed their reports, and crit
ical renew of the results CT their eX
aminatlons in the United States wa
made public today by the commission
This review is by committee Of four
appointed by the commission. TAO OF
the writer's Walton Clark, vice prcsi-
dent of the United Gas Improvement
company. OF Philadelphia, and Charles
l.. Edgal president OF the Edison f &c
tric and Illuminating company. of Bos
ION, criticise severely the municipal
plants examined while two other writ
ers Pro- Frank Parsons o., Boston
president OF the National Public Own,
ership League. and Edward A. Bemia,
superintendent ot the Cleveland, Ohio
water works finds mucn to favog d
municipal plants which were investi
Gated. Separate reviews III British
NATURALIZATION viii be made public
later.
Mcssrs. Clark and Edgar concur N
teh statement that he inquiry Of the
committee both from the standpoint
Of British and American experience
more especially the latter, has shown
'Nnere lnlclpal ownership has
been removed from the realm of philo-
sophie discussion and put TO the test
=. .ttnaI experience IL has Ialled IN
by these gentlemen that the few en-
1husiasts' who still advocate muni
oipal ownership will soon be con
vinced by the logic of events, and
talning tAeir energies to other things
will through hem realize their am
flitions Of usefulness 10 their fellows"
Professor Parsons and Mr.. Bemls, on
the ether hand take a most hopeful
view as to municipalization, declaring |
that the failures OF municipal owner
ship, either in number or import |
ance. IT is not public, but private |
ownership" Professor Parsons says |
-'thaJ is responsible TO rour periodic |
cries and the ruin of our industries
AS to the fitness of American cities |
TO manage business affairs. many II
them, he says have clearly proved |
their fitness and the rest can be made |
fit. 1T is not impossible" he adds,
"that the elimination of the public |
service corporations through public |
ownership is one of the things that |
would do more to help along the pro-
cess of making our cities fit" Mr..
Bemis believes that the greatest rea
son for the strength of the municipal
ownership movement lies in the rela-
tions fthe public service corporations
win the state and local governments,
which relations he declares are de-
structive of political purity democ-
Tacy and free institutions. In this
same connection Mr. Edgar and Mr..
Clark take the view that the evil OF
building up political machines with
city employees as a basis exists now
to a degree in American municipal
ties and that the disastrous effects
would be much greater if the many
gas electrical and street railway EN-
ployes were added to the present num-
ber of city offlceholders. Professor
Parsons expresses the conviction that
municipal ownership would develop a
higher class of municipal administra-
tors. He denies that public ownership
would destroy Individual Initiative,
and says that Z" a Gladstone or
Roosevelt can find as much room for
individual initiative in the service Of
the people as the president of street
railway or lighting system can find
in the service of his company"
Electric Lighting.
To what extent and on what
gro unds, the investigators differ in
thefl. conclusions may be judged from
their reports upon the same subjects
Hinder the head Of American Electric
ity." for instance, Messrs. Edgar and
Clark report as follows:
Four of the best known American
electric plants. those Of Chi
cago. Detroit, South Norwalk. Conn.
and Allegheny. Pa. were examined by /
the commission and the experts. OF \
these South Norwalk is the only one G
that does commercial lighting. As to
the cost of operation of these plants. 5
the Chicago plant is cited to show a
that including items for depreciation. 8
interest. taxes, proportion Of salary o
insurance and waier. there is loss !
to the city. based on simple interest .
on the amount paid. Of 500 per lamp =
per year OF total Of s29s,2e2 annu- Z
ally. compared with what he cost
would be if service we're taken from u
a private company. Computed with
interest on the amount I
paid. the loss is S1l-17 per lamp, or ?
ste9.217 per year. These figures are
hased on sfafemefs sHbmItted By the Q