The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-07-08
CIVIC Fedora
TION ON PUB
Lie OWNERSHIP
AFTER a TWO YEARS INVESTI-
CATION THE COMMISSION HAS
COMPLETED IT'S DUTIES.
REPORTS ON LABOR SUBJECT
influence of Wage. .Earncrs Upon
Conditions Municipal Owner
ship Complicated.

| NEW YORK, July 6.-After an in
Vestigation extending over nearly two
years ana embracing many of the
prlnclpal cities both of the United
states and Great Britain, the Nation
| al CIVIC Federation Commission on
| fubllc ownership and Operation has
| completed its duties. The important
ana interesting reports on labor con
| ultlonS are the first to be made pub
| TIC. Inere are two reports on this
SUBJECT, one by Prof. John r. Com
mons, or Wisconsin university. and
tne other by j. w. Sullivan. editor of
the Clothing Trades Bulletin" of
New YORK. The report of Professor
commons, under the title of Labor
ana Politics., is more favorable TO
municipal ownership of public util-
tiles than is that of Mr.. Sullivan
made under the general heading,
The Labor Report" Mr.. Sullivan
| makes caustic reference to political
rottenneSs, evidence as to which he
declares was conclusive in Syracuse
Allegheny and Wheeling. Professor
commons, on the other hand, holds
that corruption under municipal
control was no greater than nnder
private ownership.
The committee of investigation of
the commission is composed of TWEEN
ty-one members, as follows: W.
ID. Mahon, president of Amalgamated
Association of Street and Electric
Railways of America Prof. John r.
Commons, of the University of Wis
consin; j. w. Sullivan, editor OF the
weekly Bulletin" of the clothing
trades. and prominent labor lead
er; Walton Clark, vice president of
the United Gas Improvement com
pany, Philadelphia; Daniel J. Keefe,
president of the International Long
shoremen, Marine and Transport
Workers association; Walter l..
Fisher, president of the Municipal
Voters League of Chicago; Melville
e. ingalls, (chairman), chairman of
the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago
and ST. Louis Railroad company;
Prof. Frank j. Goodnow, of Colum-
bia university Dr. Albert Shaw
(vice chairman), editor of the Am
erican Monthly Review of Reviews"
Edward A. Moffett (secretary), ed-
tor of the "Bricklayer and Mason
Edward w. Bemis, superintendent OF
waterworks, Cleveland. o.; Milo II
Maltbie, formerly editor of "Muni-
l.. Edgar, president of the Edison
Electric and Illuminating company of
Boston; H. b. +. mcfarland, com
missioner of the District of Column
bia; w. j. Clark, foreign manager
for the General Electric company,
New York city; Timothy Heay.
president International brotherhood
of Stationary Firemen; Dr. Talcott
Williams, journalist; +. J. McNulty.
president International brotherhood
of Electrical Workers. Prof. John
II. Gray, of Northwestern university;
Prof. Frank Parsons, president of the
National Public Ownership league.
and Albert e. Winchester, general
superintendent of the electric works
of the City of South Norwalk, Conn.
The Committees Investigation.
The commission has made a most
exhaustive Investigation of public
and private operation of the four
leading public utilities, gas, water.
electric lighting and power, and
street railways, in all the cities Wis
tied, both in America and Great Brit
ain. Fifteen members of the inves-
tigating committee sailed for Europe
on May %, last year, and returned
to the United States in August.
Among the cities visited abroad were
Glasgow, Newcastle-on-Tyne, London
Liverpool, Norwich, Manchester, Bir-
mingham, Dublin, Leicester and
Sheffield. Investigations in the Unit
ed States We're made in Cleveland,
Chicago, Philadelphia, Wheeling, De-
troit, indianapolis, Richmond, Allan
ia, South Norwalk, Syracuse, Allie
gheny, New Haven and Hartford. A
staff of engineers, accountants and
statisticians, numbering over twenty,
of national reputation, were EN-
plOyed to examine thoroughly every
undertaking visited by the commit
tee.
These experts were so chosen that
in each examination made, both sides
of the municipal ownership question
were represented. Thus, one engin-
eer, accountant or statiStician APP
preached the subject under consider
alton, favorably disposed toward mu-
nicipalization, while his colleague be-
gan his task holding views in opposi-
tion to that principle.
Municipal Ownership Abroad.
Certain effects of the municipal
ownership movement in Great Brit
ain on the private companies are evi-
dent, says Professor Commons. The
| Sheffield company, under the far
seeing management of Sir Frederick
Mappin, has directed its policy for
many years with the distinct purpose
of meeting the arguments for muni-
cipal ownership. To avoid agita
tion it has refrained from going to
parliament for permission to increase
| its capital stock. Consequently II
has distributed its large surplus
profits in the form of reduced prices
| for gas and betterments to its plant.
Most instructive of all is the attitude
of the companies toward their en-
ployees. With the sentiment of mu
nicipal ownership ready to explode.
the companies canot afford to risk a
strike. The Newcastle gas company
has met this situation by willing
recognition of the gas workers un-
ion and by a resort 10 arbitration
through which wages have been ma
terially raised. The South Metro