Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-04-07
BRYCE ON CITY PROBLEMS
Ambassador from Great Britain Addresses
the 0hicaso Commercial Club.
CITIES SHOULD CONTROL PUBLIC SERVICE
Profits from All Municipal MOnopOlIes
Like Water, Gas and TranSpOr-
tAtiOn BELONG to the
People.

CHICAGO, April 6.-James Bryce, am
bassador from Great Britain to the United
States was one of the busiest men in
Chicago today. He attended a luncheon,
a dinner and visited a score OF large COM
mercial and Industrial establishments, and
tonight was the guest Of honor at a ban
Quet given by the Commercial club at the
Auditorium hotel There were ITS prOmi-
nent business and professional men about
the board and the red, white and blue in
the form of St. Andrews cross faced from
one end Of the hall the red. white and blue
OF the stars and stripes at the other end.
Ambassador Bryce was the only speaker.
His topic was, THE Modern City in Re
lation TO the State" ana what he had to
say was Of much interest to Chieagoans.
Mr., Bryce said in part:
Municipal work seems to fall into three
classes. There are certain functions which
are vital and Indispensable, because the
individual citizen living in q large COM
munity cannot do them for himself or
herself. They must be done by an organi-
zation which covers the whole city. One
OF these is the maintenance Of public
safety. Among other functions are drain
age, street paving and cleaning, the care
OF public health and the making OF sani-
tary regulations and general building regu-
latlons and protection from fire.
Much depends on whether the particu-
lar work to be done IL In the nature Of a
monopoly, For instance. the supply of
water is almost of necessity a monopoly.
You cannot have a number OF water COM
panieE undertaking to supply each citizen
by their own pipes Stifl less can you have
rival street railway companies laying down
their rails In the same streets, because
there would not be room. This must be a
matter either taken over by the city OF
handed over to one corporation. which
would become a monopoliat, at least for
one particular part OF the city, and the
same thing Is true OF lighting. 1t Is
strongly urged In England that the prOfts
! which monopoly may earn and the in
| creased value which the growth of q city
| gives TO such a monopoly as that Of street
| transportation ought to belong to the pub
I lie
The financial results of some branches
| Of municipal work are much disputed,
and to present general conclusions on the
subject would be premature. This much,
| however, may be said: II is a pre-oon-
| dition- to the giving to a municipal au-
| thority OF any control over public work
and public utilities which are not neces-
sarily involved in the varying existence OF
/ that municipal authority, that the au-
/ thority itself should be honest and capa-
! BILE; that 10 to say that the administrator
! should be upright men and Intelligent
! men. Whether they are will depend on
| the public spirit or the citizens and the
| sense Of civic duty which animates them
! II there is a lively sense of public duty
| and Of the responsibility OF each indl-
| vidual citizen II will obviously be safe "a
/ intrust 20 the municipality functions which
otherwise might be desirable to withhold