The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1914-06-04
Talks of Work In
City Of Milwaukee
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source of soreness, he said. Others
he summed up as follows:
/ The street car company was re-
quired to pave and keep in repair the
streets between the tracks and n foot
on each side. They had repaired this
space, but the city had done the paw
( ing. The Socialists went to court and
forced the company to obey It's fran
chise requirements, costing the cor
/ poration thousands of dollars saved to
I taxpayers,
/ The same company WAS required by
/ franchise to sprinkle its right-of-way
/ The city had done 1t, The Socialists,
after court fight, set the company
right
The administration appointed an
assessor who began elevating assess
ments on corporations. The appoint
ment was attacked in the courts, but
the administration won. The Social
list idea, said the speaker, was that
the corporations raised the problems
and that the corporations should foot
the bills.
The gas company was furnishing
two kinds OF gas Through the same
pipe) at so cents and 81, for cooking
and lighting, respectively. Milwaukee
legislators, declared the speaker, in
stituted bill in the state assembly
fixing so cents as the gas rate, lead
ing to compromise at 70 cents and
promise to further reduce rates
when the corporation could afford it,
Seidel asked what was the Everett
gas rate, and when told it Is S1.35,
remarked; We'll, go ahead and pay
It; you are rich. You can afford it,"
Corporations Were Brought to Time
and Their Graft Eliminated.
The city owned its fire and police
alarm systems-everythin except the
transmitters and receivers at either
end These We're rented from the
telephone company at SO annually for
each instrument. 1t was learned the
instruments could be bought outright
for $1,73. This was done and the tele-
phone company notified to remove it's
boxes.
Investigations OF street paving, de-
clared Seidel, revealed that graft to
the extent of 81 a square yard had
been paid by the taxpayers. Milwau-
kee had been paying s1.35 to $3.50 per
square yard, to private contractors,
who worked men 10 to II hours a day
and paid $3.50 daily wages. The city
bought plant and materials, EN-
ployed men at SO q day for hours,
and proved that streets could be paved
for less than 81 square yard. "Of
course" he added, "the contractors
were sore. l don't blame them"
The Socialists stopped the sale of
liquor in the redlight district. This re-
nally abolished the district. This re-
suited in the elimination OF rental in
comes from property owned by peo-
pie so respectable they wouldn't col
lect the rents themselves, and some
Of them prominent church members,
and they didn't like it, said Seidel
The Bosses Did Not Like the Social
ist Officials.
Women were appointed factory in
spectors. They made 1000 inspec-
tions in one year. Factory owners
were forced to install sanitary condi-
tions, blowers, windows and doors,
ventilators, suction fans, and other
things benefiting the health OF oper-
atives and the factory owners didn't
like it, said Seidel.
The gamblers were attacked and
forced to quit; the advertising prac-
tees Of Milwaukee newspapers were
attacked and they were forced to
purge their columns.
The result of it all was, declared
Sedel, that in the lection OF 1912 the
Socialists found arrayed against them
the "pie-hunters," the street paving
contractors, the loan sharks, the brew
cry interests, the women OF the red
light district and their hangers-on, the
respectable and church-member own
ers OF the redlight district property,
the factory proprietors, the gamblers,
and nine OF the ten Milwaukee news
papers-the Socialists having estab-
lished a daily paper, and all these
forces lined up under the banner of
the non-partisan party. The Social
lists were beaten, he declared, in 1911
by a majority OF 10000; in 1912 by
10000; in 1913 by 10000 and just
few weeks ago by 5000; and Seidel
predicted that another year would see
the Socialists restored to power in
Milwaukee
"The lineup in the campaign a few
weeks ago was 'Americanism against
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