Bridgeton pioneer., 1907-02-07
REVERSED BY THE PEOPLE.
English Voters Call Halt as to Mu-
nicipal Ownership.

English Voters Call Halt as to Mu-
nicipal Ownership.
The most dramatic incident in the
history of municipal government oc-
Cured on Nov l. when the greatest
city in the world reversed its policy
in regard to municipal ownership by
au overwhelming vote. For several
years the ''Progressives." as the munic-
ipal ownership party called itself. have
controlled the London county coun-
Gil, which has charge of most matters
affecting the city as whole, and of
seventeen of the twenty-eight borough
councils. which deal with local matters,
one borough being nonpartisan. After
the borough council election on Nov /
this party was left in control of but
two boroughs. having elected with their
allies, the so called "Laborites." only
292 councilmen out of 1862. That it
was a popular and not class victory
is shown by the fact that the PRO
gressives" were beaten worst in the
boroughs where the heaviest vote was
cast.
Such a political upheaval must have
an adequate cause. and the cause in
the case was the rapid increase in
taxes. and consequently rents, which
resulted from the taking over by the
city or its boroughs of tramways, elec
tric lighting waterworks, etc, the
building of luxurious public baths and
other expenditures of public money out
of all proportion to the results attain
ed. This lavishness had raised the bor-
ough tax rate in the boroughs control
led by the "Progressives" 40 per cent
above the rate in the other boroughs.
A few examples of the losses incurred
may be of interest.
In Islington the street lighting costs
nearly three times as much per mile
as in the boroughs lighted by private
companies In St. Paneras the cost is
nearly as high. while in Woolwich. in
spite of the high cost the loss for the
current year is expected to reach $50.
900. In Bermondsey and Southwark
the councils have refused an offer from
a private company to light the streets
at half the cost under municipal man
agement The same condition exists
in commercial lighting, for the Aerated
Bread company found that the bills for
its depots in municipality lighted bor-
oughs were 116 per cent higher than
the rate paid to private companies.
In Shoreditch the palatial public
baths, built within a stones throw of
baths erected by local philanthropist.
are now closed for lack of custom,
though interest must still be paid on
the investment and the borough has
lost the taxes previously paid by the
property. And in Poplar each bath
taken in the public baths costs the tax
payers 20 cents in addition to what
the bather pays for his ticket.
In this borough cases were proved
in which outdoor relief was given to
families earning $500 a year, equiva-
lent to $3.50 in this country, while the
fare in the workhouse was better than
could be afforded by the average indie
pendent wage Garner.
Examples of this sort could be multi
piled indefinitely, and the same condi-
tions exist in the work carried on by
the London county council, which, for
example, is paying At per cent more
for inferior brickwork than the stand
ard contract price for the best work.
The failure of it's municipal ferry is
typical of its waste of public money.
and the county council election to be
held next spring is expected to result
similarly to the borough council elec-
ton.
The Pail Mall Gazette sums the sit
uation up by saying:
"You may confiscate capital, but you
cannot confscate that mighty force of
self interest which belongs to the great
generating station of all human ac-
tivity. Municipal trading, conducted
by amateurs and financed out of an
open and bottomless pocket, can never
be more than weak and false imita-
ton of real commerce and industry.
If the city council collected its capital
by the issue of prospectuses to the
public, who would invest a sovereign
on the faith of its promises or the rep
utation of its directing committees?
And if the ratepayer is wise he will
take care that his money does not find
its way by compulsion into specula-
tions where he most assuredly would
never place it by choice"