The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-04-11
WINNIPEG OWNS
 PUBLIC UTILITIES
Town Successful in Manag- ing Ventures-Thought to be Greatest Exponent of Public Ownership.

be Greatest Exponent of Public Ownership. Winnipeg, Canada, April 11-Before the the close of 1911 Winnipeg will be looked upon as the greatest expon- ent of public, ownership on the Am erlcan continent. It will have by that time an investment of over $30,- | 100000
 It is nearly a quarter of century ago since the City Council laid the Loundations of this programme by buying out the Winnipeg Water Works Company, and from that day the citizens of this city have been SUD- piled with civic water and civic rates. So successful did the venture prove that when the city decided to lay as- phalt pavements some years later it was decided to install a municipal as- phalt plant and the many miles of pavement in this city have been laid from the products of this plant. Whenever new street Is to be paw ed with asphalt the city calls for bids for the work. At first several firms compare with the estimates of the City Engineer, SO the city did the work by day labor. Once, however, a pri- vate firm secured the contract for as- phalting street. but the work was so poorly done that it had to be pull ter despite the fact that 1t had been little used.
 To-day all the streets in the busi- ness districts and many of those in outlying sections are paved with as- phalt which has proved eminently satisfactory despite the excessive cold during the winter months and the summer heat.
 From the small steam pumping plant which supplied Winnipeg with water from the Assiniboin River the water works system has grown into seven artesian wells and ten pumping engines. The average daily con- gallons against the daily capacity of 10 100000 gallons. In ten years the population of Winnipeg has grown from 5O,503 to 170.00O. and the city fath- CTS. looking for @ corresponding if not greater increase during the next ten years, are now arranging for sinking two more artesian wells.
 For fire purposes the city has a high-pressure plant which pumps wa ter from the Red River in specially constructed mains. It has a capacity of 5000 gallons a minute, and cost slightly more than s1,Ooo,ooo, includ- ing mains hydrants, machinery, sc. In all, Winnipeg's water works sys- tenn has stood the city barely s5,25O,- GOO
 Troubles with the Winnipeg Electric Company, which controls the street railway, gas, electric light and power franchises here, resulted in the city voting $3,O0o,0OO for a municipal pow CT plant to be erected on the Winnipeg River sixty miles from here. The plant has taken two years to build and will be ready for operation by July 1 of this year.
 With the near completion of this plant and the prospects of the city building its own street railway sys- tenn Sir William Mackenzie, president of the Winnipeg Electric who with Sir Donald Mann is owner of the Canadian Northern railroad system, made an offer to the city Both par icent for some days over the terms of the offer, but it has been announce ed that the company offered to turn over all the bonds of the company at 250, making the purchase price some 5000, 900.
 At the last meeting of the City Council w. Sanford Evans, Mayor, announced that application will be made at once to the Manitoba Parlia- ment permitting the city to buy out the Winnipeg Electric Company with all it's plants, works, holdings and
 
 made net profit of over $1 000 900, after paying the city per cent. of it's gross earnings and taxes, so by purchasing the holdings of the com pany at S1S.000,000 the city will make profit of more than Il per cent. un- der present conditions.
 Winnipeg's telephone system is also conducted under public ownership for it is a portion of the system extending all over the province and owned by the Manitoba government. In this city there are more than 1700O tele- phones, the rates being $24 year for residences and s4S for office tele- phones.
 Winnipeg owns it's stone quarries in the vicinity of the city, and there un- der staff of civic employees mines the products for paving the macadam streets and crushed stone for many purposes.
 A force of city employees also collect the garbage and refuse and take it to the civic incinerators for destruction, and when a Winnipegger dies he can be buried if he so wills in the muni- cipal cemetery.
 The success of municipal ownership in Winnipeg, for every utility has shown a profit under civic manage ment. has urged other Western cities to action along the same lines and many of the public utilities in Edmon- ton, Calgary. Regina, Saskatoon, Med icine Hat and a dozen smaller places are owned by the people.
 There is now but little more for Winnipeg to own in the way of pub- lie conveniences. It already has sev- eral large parks and some two dozen smaller ones, but now that the open ing Of St. Andrews Rapids has made navigation on the Red River possible the city has let a contract for large wharf within the city limits, and sev- eral of the city fathers have been in quiring the cost of barges with a view to bringing down wood from the Far North for the municipal wood yards
 POINTS OF INTEREST.
 Wednesday, April t2.