The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-09-06
.LABOR|NC MEN OF
CITY CELEBRATED
DAY At THE PARK
CONTINUED From Page One.)

Rents are high and more extensive
building operations should be encour-
aged. The lot buying mania Is in the
air, people buy lots on every side Of
town, and just this side of Centerville.
What We need are houses on these lots
instead Of weeds. High rents and in
sufficient rentable properties are
drawbacks to out of town people COM
ing here to live. Labor must be at
tracted here If we are to have a
Greater Richmond. AS is sometimes
overlooked, plentiful supply of Ia
Dor draws new factories to as great or
greater extent, than the manufact3-
ries draw the laborers.
Cheaper Public Utilities.
Cheaper public utilities are Of vital
Importance to every one, but to none
quite so much SO as the laborer These
are the necessities, the fixed charges,
as it were. And consideration OF
these things are not vague and mean
ingless, they are something at our
very door. The public must have
light, heat and water, yet the same
es gives to public service corporations
the right to make a good return on
their investment, so this same public
then can rightly demand that it be
fairly treated. Public service corpora
tions must remain subservient to the
people, and we must always be atten-
tive, so that they will do so.
"At the present time, we in Rich
mond are paying excessive rates for
artificial gas, the water works compa-
ny wants us to pay unfairly increased
raes for water, while electric light
alone is to be reduced. and that only
because the plant is under municipal
control. The railroads, too. other
public service corporations. seem to
have arranged working agreement
whereby the public pays higher
freight rate than is just. To add to
this. our city though it has honest Of
ficials in control. is not economically
governed because of the defective
system. The returns are not in pro-
portion to the expenditures. and con-
sequently the tax rate is too high. A
high tax rate not only directly affects
every property owner. but indirectly
makes the cost of living higher to ev-
cry citizen. no matter il he does not
own an inch of ground. The tenant
pays the landlords tax. and the con-
sumer pays the tax of every producer
or retail dealer from whom he buys
Thus It is essential that the tax be
lowered.
Water Works Franchise.
"All OF you doubtless well know that
the Water Works company is asking
for a new franchise, and although the
company has made good return on
its investment at the present rates
the proposed rates will be much high.
er II its contract is granted. The
splendid success Richmond has had
with Municipal ownership OF the light
plant leads us to think that we should
own the water works. The city is
! within about $4,000 OF its bonded In
debtedness and the buying OF the
plant looks impossible at this time. but
Mr.. Leeds has suggested a plan
whereby the plant will become the
property OF the city within twenty
years II his figures On the earnings
OF the Water Works are correct
enough money can be set aside each
year, after paying the present stock
holders a fair dividend, to purchase al
the stock Of the company, and then
the plant will be city property. The
plan has been endorsed BY successful