The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-07-29

PUBLIC uIllltleS, WneIner IN puDut
or private hands are best conducted
under a system of legalized and regu
lated monopoly.
Public utilities in which sanitary
motive largely enters should be op
Grated by the public.
1.-THE success of municipal operation
Of public utilities depends upon the
existence in the city of a high capa-
city for municipal government.
Franchise grants to private corp
orations should be terminable afte- a
fixed period and meanwhile subject to
purchase at a fair value.
municipalities should have the pow
er to enter the field of municipal own
ership upon popular vote under reas-
enable regulation.
Private companies operating public
utilities should be subject to public
regulation and examination under a
system of uniform records and ac-
counts and of full publicity"
On the general broad subject of mu
nicipalization, the Committee reports
that the general expediency of either
private or public ownership is a ques
ton that must be determined by each
municipality in the light of local con-
ditions. What may be possible in
one locality may no be in another.
In some cities the companies may
so serve the public as to create no
dissatisfaction and nothing might be
gained by experimenting with NUM-
cipal ownership. Again, the govern
ment of n city may be good and Ca
pable of taking charge of these pub
lie utilities, while in another it may
people must remember that it requires
a large class of able men as city Off
Gals to look after these matters. They
must also remember that municipal
ownership will create a large class of
employees who may have more or less
political influence"
Exceptions.
Messrs. Charles L. Edgar and Will
liam J. Clark present the following
exceptions to the Committees report:
we IhS SASAS uISSShl
the report of the Investigating Com
mittee as follows:
'First-The report says:
""There are no particular reasons
why the financial results from private
or public operation should be different
if the conditions are the same. In
each case it is a question of the pro-
per man in charge of the business and
of local conditions
w dissent from the implication
in this paragraph that the conditions
are, or are likely to be the same.
"Second-The report says:
eve are of the opinion that a pub
lie utility which concerns the health
of the citizens should not be left to
individuals, where the temptation of
| profit might produce disastrous re-
suits, and therefore it is our judgment
that undertakings in which the SAM
tary motive largely enters should be
operated by the public
I'VE dissent from this conclusion
as having been proved by our investi-
cation. In our opinion, privately op-
Grated water systems were, especially
as regards their consideration for the
public health, as properly and success
fully managed as the publicly operat-
ed water systems.
"Third-The report says:
eve have come to the conclusions
that municipal ownership of public
utilities should not be extended to
revenue producing industries which
no not involve the public health, the
public safety, public transportation,
or the permanent occupation of public
streets or grounds, and that munich
pal operation should not be solely for
profit
This sentence is so drawn that to
a casual reader it implies that the
opposite is advisable. From this we
strongly dissent.
"Fourth-The report says:
"To carry out these recommends
lions effectively and to protect the
rights of the people, we recommend
that the various states should give to
their municipalities the authority, up
on popular vote under reasonable reg
ulations, etc.
"The words under reasonable regu
~lations' were put into the report al
the suggestion of Charles l.. Edgar
and were intended by him to mean
such regulations as would compel de
liberate consideration not only by the
people, but by their representatives
and would consequently prevent the
superficial attractiveness of the
scheme from overriding the sober SEE
ond thought of the people. We strong
~ dissent from any definition or re
gulations' which oes not cover these