The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-07-20
Washington, July 10.

General interest attends the pub
llcation Of the report of the com
mission appointed by the National
Civic Federation to investigate the
subject of municipal ownership.
The commission has spent nearly
two years in exhaustive study of
this question. The method pursued
IN treating the extensive mass of
information collected by the com
mission experts is novel and inter-
esting. A subcommittee composed
ct two members of the commission
who are known TO favor mnnicipal
ownership has digested this material
and summarized results in com
palatiyely brief report; another
Subcommittee of two members
known to be opposed to municipal
ownership has prepared report
based on the same facts,
The inquiry covered the three
public services of gas, electrical and
water supplies. In each of these
fields certain cities where the SER
vice was operated by the municipal
ity, and certain Others, where it
was maintained by II private COM
pany, were investigated ami the
conditions aud rcstlts compared. 1.
This comparative method, while at
tended by some drawbacks is per-
haps the best for the determination
of this important question 1t has
not before been pursued with ary-
thing TO approach the degree of
thoroughness that characterizes the
investigation new under discpssipn
The pro-municipal report is large
~ historical and statistical II Is n
brilliantly written argument fnr
municipal ownership, in which ali
the points, historical, politicaI, So
cial, statistical, favorable 10 the
writer's contention are marsla!led
with great skill. The anti-mnnici
ral report confines itself almost
exclusively TO the facts collected by
experts; it considers The detrt,h,n-
ing factors quality of product,
quality of service, coalition of
plant, etc. comparing one class
with another and drawing cmcin-
sicns based on first hand knowi-
edge. 1t thus speaks with an au-
thority and forces u convection
which The pro-municipal report
with all its blilliancy and skill fails
10 command. The question of The
adoption, or rejection, By Amer
lean communities Of the manicipa,
ownership and operation Of their
public utilities will be answered by
considerations of another character
than the alleged poor 'crrl"c given
by private water or gus companies
generation ago. To revive old
scandals and charges Of corruption
in connection with this inquiry Is
TO avoid the present question. Mu-
nicipal ownership must stand or fal'
on present day results and coAdi-
tions. The real question is that be
tween ihe results to The consumer
and the people Of municipal opera
tion cn the one hand and of private
operation on the other.
In the gas field the municipal
plant of Wheeling, w Va, Is
compared with the gas companies at
Atlanta, Ga, and Norfolk, va,
/ There is also a comparison drawn
between the conditions in Philadel-
phia, under the municipal gas bu-
reau, and under the present lease
to private company. The anti
municipal report reveals conditions
| in the gas situation at Wheeling
about las bad as can be, and draws
damaging contrast between them
and those existing at Atlanta and
Norfork. The pro-municipal does
not deny that the service and the
condition of the plant are bad, but
laws stress on the cheap price OF
the gss and on the fact that the