The Washington times., 1911-05-02

FLINT, Mich, May John A. e.
Mention. the recently elected Socialist
mayor of Flint, considered one Of the
best informed men in the country on
Socialism. because he has travelled
among Socialists throughout the United
States and Europe. sees a reason for
the sentiments toward municipal owner
ship and government control Of public
utilities expressed by Theodore n. Vail,
president of the American Telephone
and Telegraph Company and the West
ern Union Telegraph Company, in his
annual report to the stockholders of the
two great concerns.
He thinks the big corporations of the
country are awakening to the fact that
they have squeezed the public about as
hong as they can, and now. with their
stock watered TO the limit, are ready to
unload on the Government at face value.
pocket the cash. and let the people,
through the Government. bear the bur-
den Of the losses to follow.
Because of this view of il, he is op-
posed to municipal. State or Govern
ment ownership of anything now owned
by corporations. He says the Socialist
party as a whole is opposed to it on the
same grounds.
His Education Limited.
Mayor Mention Is a Cigarmaker, not
the proprietor Of factory, but an en-
ploye. working, on the ordinary union
scale wage. He has been a cigarmaker
since he was sixteen years old. So his
education is not extensive. But he Is
bright and has learned much in his
travels that is not taught in schools.
He is forty-four years old. The iden-
tical union card he carries now was is
sued to him twenty-eight years ago. He
was born in Saginaw, but received his
school education in Flint, to which city
his parents moved when he was very
young. In his campaign for the mayor
atty this spring he worked to such good
advantage that he carried his entire
ticket through with him except city
treasurer, which Office was lost by the
narrow margin of sixty-one votes. But
in the campaign he did not spend a
single cent, not even for cards.
His wife was elected, too. She was
chosen a member of the school board
The Socialist administration came in
to office April 10, but will not obtain
complete control until May ], on which
date the mayor is empowered to ap-
point new police commissioner,
boards.
On these boards, the Socialists never
have been recognized. Though the
boards are supposed to be non-parti-
san. 1t is believed that Mr.. Mention
will even up for past political starva-
ton.
Teddy tried to control the trusts"
he said today "The Democrats want
to bust the trusts. I believe in the
people, as distinguished from the city
or State, owning the trusts, including
the telegraph and telephone companies
and the railroads.
To Lose Foreign Market.
"The big corporations. aided by the
tariff, have glutted the foreign mar
kets until they are about to lose
them. They have sold American i'm
proved machinery abroad in such
quantities that, the workingmen of
other countries now are able to make
the same goods that are made in the
United States and do 1t cheaper. So
in a little while Americans will not
be able to sell manufactured goods
abroad any more. Their world mar
ket will be lost. With this world mar
ket gone, there will be, of course,
much less transportation and much
less telegraphic and cable communi-
cation regarding shipments.
so the value of railroads and tele-
graph companies and their stocks will
drop. 1 think that these corporations
will be only too glad to dump their
properties on the country at inflated
values, getting dollar for dollar for
their watered stock. They see the
on the wall and are will
ing to place the nation in debt for
generations to come.
'The people should own these cor
porations themselves, not the State
or nation. The States and nation are
controlled by political parties, there
fore the parties would control the
railroads and telegraph companies.
Then where would the people come
in?
why should the people want to own
them when the corporations are ready
to dump them because of prospective
loss? Because public utilities should be
used FOR the benefit of the. whole peo-
pie, not for the private gain of few
individuals. The people would not have
to make profit on them; they would
simply, use them, just as they do the
sidewalks, pavements, and streets Of
city. The streets are avenues OF trans.