The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-07-15

New York, July 15.-The experts
acting for the National Civic Fedora
alton Municipal Ownership Commis-
sion have completed their reports, and
a critical review of the results of their
examinations in the United States was
made public to-day by the Commfs-
sion. This review is by a committee
of four appointed by the Commission.
Two of the writer's, Walton Clark, vice
president of the United Gas Improve
melt Company, of Philadelphia, and
Charles L. Edgar, president of the
Edison Electric and Illuminating Com
pany, of Boston, criticise severaly the
municipal plants examined, while two
other writer's, Prof. Frank Parsons.
of Boston, president of the National
Public Ownership League, and Edward
w. BemiS, superintendent of the Cleve
land, Ohio, water works, find much to
favor in municipal plants which were
investigated. Separate reviews of
British municipalization will be made
public later.
MeSsrs. Edgar and Clark concur in
the statement that the inquiry of the
committee, both from the standpoint
of British and American experience,
more especially the latter, has shown
that where municipal ownership has
been removed from the realm Of phil
osopnic discussion and put to the test
of actual experience it has failed in
gloriously." The belief is expressed
by these gentlemen that the "few en-
thusiasts" who still advocate munich
pal ownership will soon be convinced
by the logic of events, and turning
their energies to other things will
through them realize their ambitions
of usefulness to their fellows" Pro
fessor Parsons and Mr.. Bemis, on the
other hand, take a most hopeful view
as to municipalization, declaring that
the failures of municipal ownership
are Insignificant compared to the fail
ures of private ownership, either in
number or Importance. ''It is not pub
lie ownership, but private ownership"
Professor Parsons says, that is re-
sponsfble for our periodic crises and
the ruin of our industries" AS to the
fitness of American cities to manage
business affairs, many of them, he
says, have clearly proved their fitness
and the rest can be made fit. ut is
not impossible he adds, "bhat the eli
minatioa of the public service corpora
tions through public ownership is one
of the things that would do more to
help along the process of making our
cities fit Mr.. Bemis believes that
the greatest reason for the strength of
the municipal ownership movement
lies in the relations of the public ser
vice corporations with the State and
local governments, which relations he
declares are destructive of political
purity, democracy and free institu-
tions. In this same connection Mr..
Edgar and Mr.. Clark take the view
that the evil of building UP political
machines with city employees as ba-
sis exists now to a degree in 9Ameri-
can municipalities and tnat the dis
astrous effects would be much greater
If the many gas, electrical and street
railway employees were added to the
present number of city Office holders
Professor Parsons expresses the con-
viction that municipal ownership
would develop higher class of muni-
cipal administrators He denies that
public ownership would destroy indi-
vidnal initiative, and says that "a
Gladstone or a Roosevelt can find as
much room for individual initiative in
the service of the people as the pres
ident of a street railway or lighting
system can find in the service of his
company"
Expert Investigation.
The reports reviewed by Messrs.
Clark and Edgar, on the one side, and
Messrs. Parsons and Bemis, on the
other. aggregate almost one million
words and were made to the Public
Ownership Commission of the Nation
al Civic Federation by technical ex-
perts, engineers, accountants and sta
tisticians, who visited and thoroughly
inquired into prevailing conditions IN
d large number of public and private
enterprises In the United States and