The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-11

New Orleans, August 10.-(Special)- )-The little city of Monroe, La, has at last awakened from dream to the discovery that municipal ownership Is far more serious problem than it thought when 1t accidentally stumbled into it few years ago. At first everything was lovely The praise and advertising Monroe got were pleasant and it was very proud of its municipal street railroad, light and water works and it's other municipally owned plants, and of the great distinction of being the first city in Louisiana to lead the way on the new politico-economic path. All these improvements were ap- plauded to the skies, and the most bril- liant stories of their success were sent broadcast over the country.
 The machinery has been long enough in operation, two to four years, to test it. It is now frankly admitted that 1t Is not working as well or as smoothly as 1t did originally, and the taxpayers ana public generally are complaining of the increased taxation the heavy and great ly increased city debt, the poor municipal service rendered, the excessive cost for such service, which havo come with mu- nicipal ownership.
 In the municipal ownership propaganda and panegyrics with which the country has been flooded lately, Monroe (whicn is one of the stock cases cited), is given
  fact, it had o.-o at the time of the last census, 1900; majority of them were negroes; and as it Is an old and steadily growing city, not boom town, II may have between iooO and 5000 today. It has always been an enterprising, energetic and prosperous town, with citizenship or a high order, and was advancing rapidly before municipal ownership struck IL.
 Six years ago Monroe came suddenly into very large income, which nearly doubled the revenues. It had been dry or prohibition town, but prohibition nad been a mockery. VI hisky was drunk by the hundreds of gallons but the town got no revenue from the sale. This policy was abandoned for high license. and in stead the license was fixed at 5000 for each saloon. As there were twenty-two saloons the tax yielded -$22,0 600 a year-a large amount for town of 5500 people, and with an assessed evaluation of only Sl,- S0O000 at that time.
 The high license come suddenly enabled Monroe to make number of improve menets. and these whetted its appetite for more. Four years ago the town bought out the water works for $60,0O0 bonds being issued for that purpose, of which s53,000 are outstanding. The voters were induced to vote an extra tax Tor im- provements, and again to authorize an issue of $l53,OGO or DoHos, Hedliy pe- cent of the assessed value of property also for improvements. There was tenn porary rain of gold, during which the sal aries of the mayor aldermen and other city officials were raised electric plants were purchased. municipal street rail ways installed and Monroe gradually drifted into an advanced policy or mu- nicipal ownership. Its people are now be- ginning to count the loss.
 The late Louisiana legislature announced A programme of tax reduction for the state. parishes and towns, rendered possi- ble by the recent great advance in val ues. The state tax was cut and so were the town taxes, the town councils pro- hbited from levying more than cer- tain maximum rate. Against this relief Monroe was compelled to protest on the ground that it had spent so much on im- provements, and had issued so many bonds, that it could not come down to the standard tax fixed for the other Louisiana towns; and 1t had to be excepted from this reduction.