Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-09-16
Public Ownership of Utilities.

IF. g. r. Gordon in The Protectionist)
France presents a slaring example
of state socialism. Let US examine
it. The government match monopoly
is made to pay large dividends by
charging three or four times what
matches ought to sell Tor and by MAX
ing them of as poor a quality as pos
sible. Generally you have to strike
one from four to seven times before il
will light. France makes a profit OF
30,000,0o0 francs (s5,000,g00 on a
sale of only 10000. 0op francs tSS.000,-
0o1) worth. Under private ownership
matches were good AMI large quaint
ties were exported. Now the expor
business is dead The same is tru'
of the tobacco monopoly \ promi
nent official said of state Management
OF military posts and arsenals: tina
yond Imagination"
The state telephone is another III
stance In Paris it costs 400 francs
tSS0) year for service and the ser
vice IN intoiefable. The telephone
employees are incapable. the apparatus
Is out of date. the service is slow. ii
requires three times a long To get .
message as In New York. and the sys-
tenn barely pays expenses and inter
est on cost
The state printing IS now a public
scandal. a recent investigation shows
that with 1900 printers employed there
were IL officials and superintendents
or one for each eight workmen. Tnis
Is four times as many officials as
would be employed by private enter
prise.
Worst OF all. perhaps. is the STATE
railroad In 1875 France first tool
up government ownership of railroads
This was the acquiring Of a private
line that ran from Paris TO Bordeaux
The service has always been poor, the
operation of the road very expensive
and the system is able to earn only
per cent on the cost OF the road. Ir
1908 the state took over the net wori
of railways known as the Westeir
Railway Company. This is lars'
system running through Brittany
| Normandy and also from Paris Il
| Havre, Cherbourgh, Brcst and Nantes
The system embraces cc00 kilometer
or two thirds Of the total state rail
roads Of France. When the agitation
was on to take over this Western Rail
way system. nearly every chamber o
| commerce in France passed resolu
| lions against the scheme But I'll
Radical party was in power and as
sisted by the socialists succeeded ia
hi h.,
of parliament.
Leaders of the Radical party as
sured the senators and deputies tina
the taking over of this system woul'
cost the French treasury nothing. TIL
state began operating this system il
January 1909, and has had four year
of operation. All this time it has bee
a financial failure. Trains are hard
| Is ever on time. The worst accident
in the. history of the system have tax
en- place since 1909 and in some c
these accidents both passengers an
| workmen have lost their lives. TIL
private company operated the sam
system for ten years without the los
of single passenger
The losses under STATE OWNERSHIP
and operation have been growing.
1909, the first year of operation. tn
loss was 3S,50o.OOo francs ($7,700.00O)
in 1910 the loss was $4,000, 900 franc
ll6o0000), in 1911 It amounted t
ll250,000 francs ($14, 250, 000); 1872 {
: | Sf,50o,0O0 francs tSl6900, 000). Th
estimated loss for 1913 is placed 8
90rOOo,000 francs GS,600000).
The utter inability cf the state t
manage a great enterprise success
fully has had one good result, name
": 1t has influenced the municip;
!. council Of Paris to refuse to operai
the gas, electrics and even the waite
service of the capital. The gas CON
pany belongs to the city but is lease
to Il private company. In 1905 thel
was a strong fight on the part of tt
Radicals and the socialists to have IL
municipality take over the operate
of the gas works, hut the council d,