Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-07-27
CONCERNING MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP"

CONCERNING MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP"
press copy of number seven, volume nine of a
magazine entitled Concerning Municipal Ownership"
found it's way the Capital Journal office few days ago.
and it is supposed to most of the other newspaper offices
of this country. 1t is published by the Municipal Owner
ship Publishing Company, OF New York Its name is
fraud and the same might be said Of everything else
about it. published for the purpose of creating pub
lie sentiment against municipal ownership, and presum
ably backed by the contributions of that class who fat
ten on public utility business
1t no doubt succeeds to certain extent in its object
for the thoughtess may believe its plausby told stories
Some of its tales doubt true for municipal business
like every other fails sometimes to be carried out as 1t
should be.
AS matter Of fact municipal business is generally
managed more loosely than any other This is the fault
of the people themselves and not of municipal ownership
Tt is not municipal ownership that wrong but municipal
misnnanagement We place men in charge of public bust
ness that would not hire to run private dog pound
because has pull enough to get them the place.
Municipal business can be- and is often carried on as
scientifically, and managed well as any private
business.
The magazine referred to calls attention to every fail
ure of municipal ownership that comes under It's notice.
but never audes to any that successful 1t is one
sided affair deliberately calculated to deceive and mis-
represent and it does in that it selects the fearful eX
ampes of mismanagement, and displays them 1t does
not mention the hundreds OF cases where CRIMINAL mis-
management wrecked private corporations or companies
The history of rairoadng is filled with such cases, and
yet would presume to hold that private business
should be done away with.
Most of the big cities have their water works and
they are well and cheap managed as any private con-
cem could do it.
Municipal ownership is the correct thing for many
public utilities among these water and lighting systems
When square business are selected to manage
municipality owned utilities which is the rule rather than
the exception, the results will bear comparison with
private management OF similar affairs.
The Public Service commission issues timely warning
as to possible shortage and suggests cooperation
with the railroads in doing all possible to prevent it. At
tenton called the shortage of carriers and the
consequent necessity of getting Oregon crops to markets
over the railroads. 1t is pointed out that there is more
cars needed to load for the East than come West loaded
and hence shippers requested to load cars to capacity
which ten per cent above the marked capacity Ship
pers are also requested not to order cars than are
needed thus holding idle and to notify the railroad
company at when are ready to be moved. 1t
is also urged that freight cars are not warehouses, and
should not be used for that purpose Above all Is urged
hearty cooperation between shippers and railroads so
that the inconvenience may be made small possible
Shippers who have trouble concerning requested
to inform the commission at 1t is indeed timely
warning and that should be Needed for shortage
seems inevitable
Delegates to the convention of Illinois Shoe Dealers at
Chicago predict that in years wooden shoes will be
common in America. This may be- and if so, let us all
hope they will prove satisfactory than the paper
kind these same fellows have been selling these many
years.
Wooden shoes may come and CO. but it is dead sure
shot the American women will their ootsies in
anything so ungainy.