The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1907-09-27

va ohciSscS ociuS "rttecu W LII
Joseph H. Spearing and pub
lished in the Shreveport Times,
on Municipal Ownership" the
following excerpts are taken:
wherever municipal owner
ship has been a failure, the
failure has been due, not to any
defect in the principle of munic-
ipal ownership, but to put it
mildly, to the lack of co-opera-
ton of moneyed men, not to
refer again to the active and cor
rupting opposition of many of
them when seeking public
franchises.
There are many good citizens
who will admit as correct the
principle of municipal ownership,
but who claim that with the
present ignorance and venality of
a large proportion of voters, a
capable and honest administra-
ton of public franchises can not
be obtained; that politics aud
political methods are sure to
finally overcome all efforts at a
business-Iike administration, un-
til 1.-THE last state of that city is
worse than the first" This OBJ
lection to municipal ownership
might be met, first, with fiat
and emphatic denial. Such is
not the truth. The history of
municipal ownership proves that
the opposite is the truth. There
have been some failures of
municipal ownership in q single |
instance where the conditions
on which the utility was to be
operated, were laid down by the
politicians or capitalists for the
very purpose of controlling the
management and operation In
their own inteeest. We challenge
the world to show the failure of
municipal ownership in a single
instance where the conditions
upon which the utility was to be
operated were such as any sue
cessful business man would con-
sent to were he owner of the
utility. Of course if We turn over
our public utilities TO politicians
they will, generally speaking, OPP
crate them to their own advan-
tage. But no student of munic-
ipal ownership is so unwise as
to make any such proposal. The
of the advocates of
ownership is that the
public utilities which produce u
revenue should be managed as any
clear headed capable business
man would manage the business ,
in his own interest. How this
has been done and Is being done
throughout the United States will
BIZ shown in q future article.
1.-The most frequently urged
objection to municipal ownership
IS that it is impossible to keep
out politics from the manage
nent and that the increased
of public officials
increases their political power.
This is the stock argument of
hose who, because of interest or
alliance favor private ownership
IF public utilities. They are like I
he necromancer who attracts the
of the public to one
hing, in order to divert their 1
minds from the thing he is doing. 1
Ind the unsuspecting are fooled
again. The truth is that the con-
iition they represent as inevitable
IAN only arise where municipal
ownership is operated under the !
sspoils system. If the utilities
ire to be turned over bodily .
o the politician and chronic
,fiice-seeker to be exploited by {
hem. then the people had per-
laps better let the private cor r
,orations own and operate them $
ccordlng to their own sweet will q
nd to their profit and at the !
Expense of the city and to the "
of the citizens. If c
be citizens of municipality are Q
ot willing to take their business 8
8 citizens practically out of pol q
lies and apply something APP q
roaching business principles and 1
usiness methods in the conduct
{ their municipal affairs, then
It the capitalist and the private
conduct their mu- O
icipsl business for them. If the r,
eopIe are unwilling or are in {,
to conduct the munic- Fix
pality on recognized business d
principles then it were better for q
hem not tn have anything to do Ii,
nth it ct eli. Let them pay and lis
- khnu. -. 4Eo~ -. Al~s-l-~l I'll,