The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-01-13
BR|TA|N'S AWAKENING
Opinions Of Eminent EngIishmen
on Municipal Ownership.

decreasing Debt and Taxes, Failure to
Provide For the Future, Reckless Ex-
pendture and Difficulty In Keeping
Good Mon as Officials Are Some of
the Results They Note-The Open
Door For Socialism.
The Yorkshire Observer quotes the
mayor of Bradford as saying in pub
lie meeting that on account of the great
demands upon the time of members of
the council it was difficult to get good
men to enter or remain in that body.
Yet the corporation had FL, 100000 in
vested in its undertakings, which must
"be managed in some way or other,
good. bad or Indifferent"
According to DR.. Ingram, chairman
Of the finance committee Of Woolwich,
that borough reached the verge of
bankruptcy under the management of
the NJ. o. party, which tried to show
that the electric plant was profitable
ny tut SiAnplC CADtultnt VI AOt DdyiHS
bills The new administration was
faced with floating Indebtedness of
$4,000, which has TO be provided for
by taxation.
The Yorkshire Observer states that
at a meeting Of the Rotterdam bor-
ough council Alderman GUNNER OBJ
jected to the amount which the gas
undertaking contributed to the rates
on the ground that 1t had been made
possible only by raising the price Of
gas and thus making its consumers
bear an unfair proportion Of the rates.
This bore especially upon the poor,
who use gas instead Of electricity.
ke
II a city is well governed munich
pal ownership is the most dangerous
thing imaginable and should be care
danger that the public utilities the city
is supposed to own will become moth
ing more or less than the private prop
erty Of the people at the head of the
own advantage and the enhancement
of their private wealth.-William I.
Stead, Editor Review of Reviews.
At the fifth annual conference of the
Municipal Tramways association G.
W. Holford, general manager of the
Stafford corporation tramways, stated
that the probable average life of rails
was twelve years. Commenting upon
the fact that in many cities no depre-
citation or renewals fund was being
set aside, he earnestly warned the
gentlemen responsible that serious re-
suits would follow In ten or twelve
years time. when heavy calls would
have to be made upon the ratepayers
for the purpose of renewals"
Four years ago London took over its
waterworks. with the result that wa
ter rates have increased rather than
diminished. Referring to the operat-
ing expenses. Sir Melvill Beachcroft,
chairman of the water board, recently
said:
80 far II must be admitted that no
saving has been effected. | do not
think that 1t was ever anticipated that
there would be any saving in the ex-
penses of administration. as the man.
agement of a trading concern by
municipal body must always involve
expenditure quite outside that which
falls on a private company"
In my opinion, the root Of the evil Is
to be found in the too great facilities
afforded by parliament for crazy mu-
nicipal traders to borrow money upon
periods Of repayment out Of all pro-
portion to the lifetime of the work
upon which the money Is expended.
In Huddersfeld we are wearing out
our third set of tram rails, and yet
payment for the first set will not be
completed until 1867. In our capital Of
f414,OO0 for some thirty miles of tram
ways there is at least 100000 for
which we cannot produce any asset
whatever."-T. ii. Moore, Esq, Alder
man and Chairman, Huddersfeld Cor
poration Tramways.
An English correspondent writes:
'The tram cars In Liverpool until
late years were owned by private
company. whereas now they are own
ed by the corporation. In the time Of
private ownership overcrowding was
unknown; now 1t is the rule. On In
Quirlng the reason of the change
was told that 1t was this: The regula-
lions as to numbers remain the same,
but they are never enforced. The pO-
lice dare not enforce 1t because they
are servants of the corporation; the
corporation will not enforce it because
its enforcement would mean reduc-
ton In the receipts, and the borough
bench so largely consists Of justices
either members of the corporation or
under its influence that no conviction
If sought for by private person
would be obtained"