The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1908-11-27
THE CITY'S DEBT
And Municipal Ownership

motion Of science and cndeayor. AMI the
various other benehcent uses for which
corporations have been established and
maintained. II j. easy 10 forget that by
the uniting OF the funds OF the rich and
the savings Of the poor into corporation,
that the country has been deyelopci hy
the establishment and advancement ii
numberless forms OF industrial enter.
prises giving employment TO labor. An
| Of these We owe 20 our corporatinns
They have gwen free play to the enter.
prises and the individual energy OF our
people.
Benefits to Those of Limited Means
They have enabled the man OF small
means to do part Of the worlds work
by uniting his savings with that Of his
more wealthy neighbor. One has but 10
look about him to appreciate the great
benefits that the public in general have
derived from this uniting Of capital.
While on the other hand take for exam.
ple our neighborng state, Massachusetts,
Only short time ago Il contained fifty.
eight strictly electric lighting companies,
only about one.third OF which paid any
dividends whatever. These dividend. Of
this one-third ranged from per cent TO
10 per cent and they paid into the public
III tIf lbf III vi AtAt- HtuIlF NNf's-
900 per annum. Ii thus appears that the
tax eatherers employed by the public
have each and all reaped rewards vastly
greater than have been realized by the
stockholders Of these enterprises.
Profits.
While on the other hand. we have but
to look about us up and down our Main
street and can we deny the fact that il
is hard to find one, just one, OF our com.
mercial business men who in the pursuit
Of his selected undertakings with his 81
to $1,000 invested has not been able 10
earn as net saving at the end of each
year his per cent or 10 per cent over
and above all expenses. Look at the in.
iustries in our immediate vicinity and
follow their annual growth throughout
their comparatively short life. Do they
an annual saving OF per cent
pr 10 per cent, or is il not more likely to
be 40 per cent or 60 per cent? Why then
is this agitation against for example an
Electric Lighting Co.? Simply because it
5 sole servant to the public while our
merchant is only one of four or five sery.
ng the public in his particular branch of
rade. But few of us are not aware or
his successful business 1t is question
which will bear deep thought and consid-
ration. We are naturally of a dissats
led, restless disposition when we see the
Quantities of money gathered together by
Individuals and are anxious to be of their
elect few. But let it be known now that
he reports of our National Civic Fedora
ion of the United States put the stamp Of
ntruth upon the unreasonableness and
vtortions of the public service corpora
ions and their profits.
The Slogan of Selfish Politicians.
The politician in cases where municipal
citations have been heralded has discov-
red an easy road to Office through cater
1g to and increasing as much as possible
he popular dissatisfaction with this estab-
shed order. He sees for himself votes in
nc, far reaching slogan of municipal own
Politicians whatever their faults can at
asst lay claim to the knowledge of human
allure and are therefore quick to seize
pom the inevitable deficiencies in public
,rvice as an object of their so-caled dis.
lterested criticism and make the most OF
lem for their selfish purposes.
I GENERATION THAT MAY AT
'URES OF OUR CITY WERE YOU
KNOWING WHAT YOU DO OF
APPROPRIATIONS FOR
ANIMATION BECAUSE TT IS A
TER OF YOUR NETGHBORS?
Y AND THE ORPHAN WHO HAS
ORDER TO GET A LITTLE MORE
HANDS?
AND INDUSTRY IN OUR NEIGH,
/?
BY SOME TO CREATE 4
FOR THEMSELVES AT YOUR En-