The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-08-17
LET CITIES OWN THEIR
UTILITIES SAYS HENEY
Graft Fighter One of the Fa-
vorites on Chautauqua Cir
cult This Season.

Garnett, Kan, dispatch to Kansas
CITY Sar: Francis j.. Heney is
the topliner on the Kansas Chautauqua
Circuit this summer. Mr.. Heney mas
something to say. A large crowd at
the c~hautauqua here yesterday was
held through more than two hours of
his discussion of municipal ownership
of public utilities as a remedy for cor.
rupt politics in municipal affairs, and
after the speaking they remained to
shake hands with the San Francisco
graft prosecutor. unmindful of the fact
that the big whistle at DeWolf's fur
niture factory Ia sounded supper
time" far Garnett. And when Garnett
people do not drop everything and
start for home When the factory whistle
blows 1t is certain that they are inter-
ested.
Five years ago his summer Senator
La Toilette pun the Kansas Chautau-
qua circuit into the limelight and made
It a factor In state and national poll
tics. With the message Of ogr
sive republicanism n the Senate roll
calls the Wisconsin man sowed the
seed that took Kansas out, broke the
power of the old machine, sent Bristow
to the Senate and elected six ogr
sives out of eight congressman last
year.
Then came Bristow with his rubber
speech. The Chautauuua circuit was
used to enlighten Kansas n the rest
of the country about the ~Aldrich-Gug-
genheim Rubber trust and how the
tariff Dill was jockeyed to fix the rub
Der schedule.
The Mar With the Message.
Heney is the man with the message
this year. Mr.. Bryan spoke in Garnett
to a large crowd, drawn from curiosity
RI GOO nrH fn hnor r,vo D,A "a -
ture is seven or eight years old. A dis
course from Bryan on THE Prince Of
Peace" Is entertaining, but nearly
everybody in the United States has
heard 1t.
Mr.. Heney Is advertised on the as
sembly programs for a speech telling
the people how he broke up the cor
rupt municipal ring of San Francisco.
That draws the crowd. But he tells
the people more than is indicated in
the subject of his lecture. He shows
them that the grating in San Fran
cisco was done chiefly by and for the
big public service corporations. Con-
ditions are must the same, Mr.. Heney
shows. in every big city. Corruption
is intrenched behind the privately
owned public utilities.
Getting at ~corruption's Source.
Big cities SEND big delegations to
state legislatures. They go INTO state
AI6 o3StIAolA W PkoICSI llC Glly llilSIeSlS
that sent them. Every bad thing tina
seeks to ''put something over" on the
people of the state seldom fails to get
the organized support Of the legislators
sent from the cities by the big corpora
tions. For that reason, Mr.. Heney
points out, the people of the country
districts should have an interest In do
ing ava with the source of corrupt
politics-the privately owned public
service corporations.
Municipal ownership, MI. Heney be-
lieves. is the remedy. With the public
condition will prevail for both the city
and the state. A higher standard will
be fixed by the people in the selection
Of representatives in city councils and
state legislatures.
Wherein Lie the Remedies.
Commission government for large
cities is to be desired, Mr.. Heney de-
clares, because 1t establishes RESPONSE
bility and gives the cities business rule
instead of political rule. With q bust
ness government and the recall, the in
itiative and the referendum, there will
be no chance to operate municipal
owned utilities for political purposes.
sI am Surprised said Mr.. Heney at
Garnett last night, 'at the response to
these suggestions from my audience in
Kansas. 1t shows that the people of
this state are tremendously interested
In progressive IDEAS"
What party do you belong tor"
someone asked the San Francisco man
yesterday.
"It depends on who Is on the ticket"
replied Mr.. Heney. These questions
must be solved by men who believe in
them because they are on the side Of
the people. The corporations want
nothing better than che man who al
ways stands for his party, and they
are not particular which party he
stands for.
THE people ought to have as good
political sense as the corporations and
select men who always stand for them
without regard to party"