Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-22

Prof. Parsons calls attention to the rapid
progress in municipal operation Of street
railways in Great Britain. From 1894 to
| 1908 the number of municipal systems rose
| from to 1913. The marked success of
municipalization in Leeds and Glasgow he
momentum. and in 1908 all the principal
cities Of the United Kingdom had municipal
| operation of their tramways except Dub
| lin, Bristol. Norwich and Edinburgh. The
principal reasons for the municipaligation
| Of British tramways have been poor service
| by the companies; their ill-treatment OF
| employees; their refusal to assent to the
| adoption Of electric traction. extension to
proponents: the constant difficulty ex-
perienced by the cities. amounting to prac-
| tfcal impossibiiity of securing a reasona BILE
regard to the public interest, or even the
| fulhllment of actual contracts; the growing
belief on the part of the public that the
! streets and all monopoly uses of them are
| public property which should not be handed
over to private parties, and the desire that
! the profits Of the undertaking should inurs
| to the benefit of the public.
Unsightly Advertisements.
The British companies opposed extern
| tensions. plastered their cars with unsightly
advertisements and refused to reduce fares,
| saying they could not afford It. But the
municipalities took the lines, adopted cleo
trio traction and sent the old horse-car
systems to the scrap-heap, extended the
lines, reduced the advertisements to due
| subordination, lowered the fares, shortened
the hours OF labor. and. after all. realized
not the losses the companies predicted, but
comfortable profits for the people. Except
| In the case of Leeds, the rate of reduction
OF fares Is 3 to 80 times as great for the
municipal period as for the company period
and 50 times as great for the muntcipaI
systems as group compared with the
companies In a group. The companies
worked the men II to IA hours a day for
seven days. while the cities have made
the hours of labor from Q to 10 per day,
with one days rest in seven. Increases in
wages were made also, amounting to 80
per cent In Liverpool. from 43 to 63 per
cent in Manchester and to AZ per cent in
London. Notwithstanding these benefits
to labor the reductions in fares were con-
siderable. and the total savings from re-
duced rates for the twelve years under
municipal management at Glasgow are
estimated at $23OO0.OOO. as compared with
the old company basis. The benefits to
labor under city management at Glasgow
are computed at $4,000. There has also
been rapid extension Of the lines into
Glasgow's suburbs. fifty miles being the
total OF new line during the period OF
city operation. Another very important
result Of public ownership, Prof Parsons
finds. was the rapid substitution of electric
system for horse-car lines, and in this con.
nection he points out that in New York
city In 1905 there still remained forty
miles OF horse-car line.
Dublin and Glasgow.
A comparison of Dublin, private owner
ship. and Glasgow. public ownership, shows.
according to Prof Parsons. that the Dublin
charges. with the rates on which substan-
TALLY all the traffic moves, are from 50 to
100 per cent above the Glasgow rates for
the same distance. For the municipalities
as group the average distance for cents
Is about % miles, against 16 miles for
the COMPANIES a IT iS sfollDd al so
that the people like the graded plan of
charging fares according to the distance
travelled.
In various respects the equipment of the
municipal lines is superior to that of the
companies. Advertisements not al
lowed on the cars in Glasgow or Manches-
ter. for eSthetic reasons, each city forego-
ing $4,000 year revenue which it could
obtain in a lump sum for the advertising
privilege. In Dublin however, the private
company's cars are covered with advertise
ments in giant letters, and the sign giving
the destination Of the cars is almost COM
pletely obscured by these advertising signs.
The cars and plants of all the systems
under consideration were found to be ade-
quate, modern and efficient. Repairs are
well kept up. the plants are clean and neat,
the works are properly ventilated and COM
plants are properly attended to- The Glas-
gov cars and buildings (public) are es-
pecially attractive.
Analysing the financial conditions of the
public and private traction systems In Great
municipal system at Glasgow has about
1900 600 more assets than liabilities, but
that the London United, a private company,
has Sic. $50. 900 OF capitalization and S., s2O,-
600 81 tangible assets. The Dublin United,
also a private company. has $45O0.O00 Of
capital in excess of tangible assets The
three municipalities together have 81. 500 OO0
Of more physical assets than liabilities
while the companies have SIS, $4,000 more
liabilities than assets. In addition to the
payment of regular taxes. just as If they
plants-Glassow. Manchester. Liverpool and
the London county counciEhave paid
nearly 100000 in relief of general tax
alton. The benefits Of the profits Of the
persons. while the profits Of the private
companies are divided between stockholders
who number less than 5000.
The Political Results.
Discussing the political results of munich
pal ownership In Great Britain, Prof. Par
sons says: l..
There has been an increase of political
and social efficiency as we'll as of economic
efficiency. Under the company's regimen
democracy was at a discount: popular SOW
ereignty was below par. The people found
they could not control their own streets,
or secure fair treatment OF labor in public
service industries or obtain rapid tran
sit and other vital improvements on
sonable terms. The tramway owners, with
the power Of private monopoly In their
hands. overruled the will Of the people. The
companies behave much better now. Not
only has the fear of speedy municipaliza-
ton in case they did not satisfy the new
standards and the educated public senti-
ment developed by municipal operation
made strong impression on the remaining
companies. but they have also been stimu-
lated by municipal example to do their best
to rival the advancement made by public
arrangements. They give more considera-
ton to public opinion and pay more regard
to the public interest in the conduct Of
their business. But the dominance OF pub
lie interest so far 1t has been secured
either in public or private systems, Is in
large measure the result Of the develop
ment of municipal operation"