Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1921-03-09
ATTEMPT To ExPLOT>
TAX.PAyING PUBLIC
Facts of Vital Interest to
Everybody in Georgia
Trying to Repeat Seattle
Fiasco at the Expense
of Tax Payers

O1 i DIX L ID CHS
Just about one year ago the City Of
Seattle bought the Electric Street
Railway operating on it's streets, be-
pause the Street Railway Company
could not continue operating it's cars
at cent fares, and were prevented
from increasing fares to meet in
creased expenses, and because the adj
yocates of Municipal Ownership as
sured the public that the Comuany
was making enormous profit and
We're exaggerating the expep- of
operation. The City chose TIM ac-
countants that the advocates of vauni-
cipal Ownership selected to spp"aise
the value of the property.
$15.GO0, coo for Car Lines
Their accountants found that the
street car lines in the City of Seattle
had cost in money, actually cost
SIS, 000,000.G0
The City paid for the Street Rail-
way by an issue Of bonds amounting
to $15,000,0 100000, bearing $50 per an
nun interest.
The City commenced operating the
Street Railway without any taxes to
pay; with no legal expenses to pay,
because the City Attorneys Office
handled the legal business; with
practically no damage suits to pay,
as nobody could successfully collect
damages from the City.
Car Fares Advanced
After snort experience in operat-
ing the street cars at 5 cents the
fare was ,...vanced to Zoe cash with
tickets at LNc, but still the dedci
continued to pile up, and the service
continued to become worse.
The Mayor and Council are now
considering an advance in the street
car 1are to 10 cents cash with
tickets at 1-3c. This increase is
pending and probably will be adopted,
but even it will only postpone the
final complete breaking of the system,
because Of incompetent political man.
agement. The Municipal Street Rail
ways are now $500,000.00 behind, and
after December 10th, 1920, their EN-
.ployees are to be paid by the issuance
of City warrants; there will be an
additional deceit January LIST, 1922,
of SLIGO, 452.00.
Sick OF Their Bargain
I The City of Seattle. represented by
its Mayor and Council, have recently
been trying to get the original owners
to take back the street railway sys-
tenn and return the bonds which the
City paid them. Suggestions that
! legal proceedings be instituted to
force the original owners to do so are
discouraged by the City Attorney,
only because such an effort is in his
opinion illegal.
In the meantime the street car SER
vice : is curtailed, and the public is
Inconvenience.
| The irresponsible agitators who adj
vocated the purchase Of the street
railway by the City of Seattle have
lost nothing, and they cannot be
prosecuted or punished, or sued for
damages, for misleading the public
by their false statements as to the
results of Municipal operation, but
the citizens of Seattle have before
them years of heavy taxation to take
care of interest and the constantly
increasing deficit caused by giving
| street car service at less than cost,
and it will each day, each month and
each year, continue to cost more and
the service will continue to get worse.
Experiment a Failure
Seattle's experiment in Municipal
Ownership is a miserable failure.
The people were first efnbitterea
] against the Street Car Company by
| falsehoods and then the advocates Of
Municipal Ownership were able to &C.
complish their design which was ane
always will be to, %Exploit the Pub
lic". Tho ultimate and secret creed
of these people lis to destroy The
American System, of Government and
substitute Socialism, and in Seattle
they aoere cunning enough to induce
the people to furnish them the money
to Eork auth.
@pend States Money Instead
of Their Own
TIE same brand of cunning so
cialists are preaching the same doc.
trine in Georgia, and they are plan.
ming to get ten times as much Of thu
public money as their brethren got in
Seattle. They call 1t State and Mani.
cipGL Ownership. They tell you Of
the water power development they
would undertake with the Seate'i
money, but they don't tell you of an9
aoGter poaoer that they are going Il
develop with their osUn momey.
Their maps show many thousand
OF horse power in Georgia yet unde
veloped. Why do they come begin,
the State to allow them to raid thI
Treasury and use the money Of thi
tax payers for their experiment Il
socialism?