The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1907-09-20

argument tor munical ownership.
The lack of space prevents our
publishing it in full. but we quote
a portion of the article:
ut is a fundamental principle
Of all business that the business
should be managed in the interest
OF the owner. The true owner Of
all public utilities is the
municipality; and if the munich
pality. with all its advantages
over private corporations, is left
to manage its own business on
anything like business principles.
it will manage it at less cost to
the citizens and at more profit to
the municipality than any private
concern can DO even i'm its own
interest. This must be a self
evident proposition to any I'M
biased mind. Of course. it will
be objected that this would be
the case If politics did not inter-
fere with the proper management
of public utilities by the munich
pality. This is the old cry of
wolf, wolf" BY the wolf him.
self. 1t will be shown further on
that nine-tenths of the corruption
in politics in reference to public
utilities and municipal franchises.
is fathered. mothered and born of
private ownership of public
utilities. and that. where municI-
pal ownership has been tried. the
corruption in politics has
amazingly been decreased, except
in a few instances where capital
lists and officers OF private COR
porations have, by bribery and
Misrepresentation done all in
their power to defeat and discredit
municipal ownership. The power
of money is something fearful to
contemplate. but it never shows so
much power to corrupt and mis-
represent as when an attempt is
made to clean the Augean stables
of municipal politics of the filth
and corruption that have accumu-
lated under the administration of
public utilities by private owners.
But once let the twin streams of
an enlighted public conscience
and an aroused public sentiment
b. directed toward municipal
affairs. and more stencil and cor
ruption will be swept away than
when Hercules turned the Altheus
and Peneus into the stables of
King Augeas. fthe people would
look after their business as cit
liens Of the municipality with the
same interest as they do their
own private affairs, the question
of municipal ownership would be
at once settled with the result
that large profits would accrue
to the municipal Treasury and a
corresponding reduction Of cost
made to the citizens for the SER
vice rendered them. Is not this
worth striving forS The answer
is: men have always accomplished
this as soon as they were edu-
Gated in the benefits of municipal
ownership. The spectacle of a
community handing over the
management of its valuable util-
tiles to private corporations for
their sole profit. is the spectacle
of lot of men calling themselves
citizens either incapacitated to
manage their own business or
ignorant of the principles and
advantages of municipal owner
ship"
The Monroe News Of May a7th,
says: THAT predatory private
corporations thriving on public
utilities are organized to create
sentiment and prejudice against
munical ownership we have long
been convinced but not until the
past two or three days have we
had evidence of it." i
That evidence was letters
marked confidential from The
aR--.-.- N--l:- DID,