Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-15

prices to ordinary consumers than pri-
vate plants in the same country work.
Ing under similar conditions, and they
do not grant electric rebates or other
favors by secret agreement with large
users, as is not infrequently the case
with the larger companies. In the COM
paratively few cases where municipal
systems do not make low charges the
public still gets the benefits that under
private operations go to the stockhold-
ers, for the profits of the public plants
are used to improve the service, pay off
the capital, relieve taxation or accom-
plish some other public purpose. NUM-
cipal plants are found as a rule to have
lower capitalization than private
plants, both in relation to output and in
relation to assets"
Parsons on Philadelphia Gas
Discussing so-called failures of munich
pal ownership Professor Parsons claims
that some of such cases are really fall
ures of private ownership. Take Phil
adelphia gas, for, example" he says. 1T
does not appear that Philadelphia ever
had real public ownership of the gas
works She had government ownership
of gas works But government owner
ship is not public ownership unless the
people own the government. Philadel-
phia had the paper title to the gas
works, but the people did not own or
control them because they did not own
the city government. The councils were
full of the agents and allies of the pri-
vate street railway telephone, gas and
electric light interests and they purpose
ly mismaanged the gas works, allowed
them to be filed with supernumeraries
and let them get out of repair by re-
fusing year after year to appropriate,
even out of the receipts of the plant IT.
self, the money necessary to keep it in
or5a bat thaty might have n
parently good excuse for executing a
lease of the works to themselves. Phil
adelphia did not have real public own
ership of gas, but one of the worst forms
of private wnership-ownership by po-
litical grafters, in the pay of corpora
tions but masquerading as public serv-
ants"
Gas Works
Richmond, Va, is cited by Mr.. Bemis
as city where a municipal gas plant
has not only reduced prices, but has also
turned q profit into the city treasury.
The city authorities declined, however,
to permit full investigation to be made,
saying that a recent investigation had
been very unfair. Enough was learned
to show that the Richmond plant was
free from ,the spoils system and from
graft, and that the workmen were white
men who were paid nearly twice as high
wages as were the negro laborers in the
privately owned works at Atlanta
'By reason of municipal ownership,
Philadelphia was able to lease to the
United Gas Improvement company most
valuable street mains, land and holders,
to say nothing of such portions of It's
other plant as with moderate repairs
could be put in good shape. By asking
for no rental or taxes on this plant which
had been paid for out of the profits Of
city ownership, Philadelphia was able to
secure a lease under which it received
10 cents per 1000 feet for all gas sold to
private consumers during the first ten
years of the lease, Is cents during the
next five years beginning next January,
20 cents from January l, 1913, to January
1, 1918, and 25 cents for the remaining ten
years. The city also receives free of
charge 7O00OO,OO0 feet of gas yearly for
street lamps and public buildings and
the maintenance of those street lamps of
the company.
"On the other hand in New York city
during the past ten years, barring two
years of the so-called gas war, 1899. 1900,
the people have not only paid 81 as in
Philadelphia, but they have also paid
both for the gas used by the city and for
the care and maintenance of the street
lamps, while the taxes received by the
city and state have notbeen as much per
1000 feet as the payment of 10 cents in
Philadelphia"
Wheeling w. Va, is given by Mr. Bemis
as an example of what may be accom-
plished by a municipality. even under un-
favorable political conditions. Despite
its admitted defects, he says, the Wheel
ing experiment has been a financial sue
cess. and has been the pioneer through
out the United States in low charges"
'The gas sold in Wheeling during the
sixteen months ending with May l. 1906
was 1852 200 feet The difference be-
tween the price charged at Wheeling, 70
cents, and at Norfolk and Atlanta, 81, or
% cents multiplied by these sales, would
be $40, 62SS0. In other words. the saving
to the consumer in the price of gas in less
than one year will cover all the difference
between the free services and the meter
setting from the curb to the house in
Atlanta and Norfolk and the cost of the
same at Wheeling
Electric Lighting
''That the municipal electric light un-
dertaking at South Norwolk, Conn, is one
of the most successful plants. either pub
lie or private. in the United States or
Europe, is the opinion expressed by Mr..
Bemis. The operation of the Chicago
plant, also, is commended, the expert
quoted by Mr.. Bemis estimating the profit
to the city on the plant up to the close of
1905 at S71O,49S.
cessful municipal electric lighting plant
has been that of Detroit. If it had been
allowed TO do a commercial business, it's
success would have been even greater
than has been possible with only the
lighting of streets and public buildings"
Labor Conditions
Mr.. Bems closes with a reference to
political and labor conditions. which he
finds. generally speaking, more favorable
under the municipal undertakings. On
this subject he sums up as follows:
'In electric light as well as in water
the municipal employees usually get as
good wages as are paid elsewhere in
their respective cities for similar work
and also usually work but eight hours,
while the emoloyes of the private plants
except in the highest paid positions
never get more, and often receive less
per day than the municipal employees and
sometimes work nine and ten hours in
stead of eight, that is practically uni
versal today in public employment"
RAILROAD AGENT IS
DROWNED AT MENDOZA