The Alaska daily empire., 1921-12-07
Cities That Own TrOlleys.
New York Post. ]

Detroit last week overwhelmingly reelected Mayor Couzens the Moses whom it relies to lead it from the traction wilderness. It also approved ordi requiring the Detroit United Railway to remove from Woodward Avenue and Fort Street. Woodward Avenue is the Broadway of the automobile metropolis while Fort Street carries workers of the chief steel plants Thus Detroit takes another step towards the complete elimination of the private traction lines
 Pngree's old city is moving rapidly. So recently 1919 it voted down Mayor Couzens' proposal to purchase the whole D. U. k. system for $31 ,50000G But year later it accepted his plan of a municipal street railway and rejected alternative plan of the D. U R. Couzens' scheme to issue $15 900 900 in bonds and the money to build independent lines which in general would parallel the existing pri- vatey owned facilities. Construction begun. The D. U. R. has fought the city by pro- curing court injunction while Couzens has reaated by ordering the police to the D. U. R. from building extensions of its lines As the fight has en, he has not concealed the fact that he to use the municipal lines to force the D. U R. to sell Iout flair price" When the D. U k. resist the city is able to order it to take it's tracks off the streets for since nearly all the franchises have pired the company has operated it's main lines agreement which the city terminate upon short notice.
 Whatever may think of Mayor Couzens dras- tic methods, it hardly be doubted that two peting lines, one private owned municpally owned is not good permanent plan Unifcation-- New Yorks Transit Commission has just impressed on us-is desirable anywhere. It becomes almost i'm perative when surface lines partly municipal partly private There is to welcome Detroit 8
  and give thorough trial to municipal ownership.
 Thus far the two main American experiments with municipal ownership have had mixed results. Seattle voted in the fall of 1918 to buy the entire local tion system for $15000 900. No proper valuation had been made in advance of purchase Estimates of the real value ran from seven to twenty-five millions Since then Grand Jury has concluded that the city paid three times the proper price, while the Mayor s engineer says 100 per cent too much On the nickel fare the deficit in nine months of 1919 exceeded $500 900. while the lines began 1920 by losing well nnfh ae rose in year from 1000 to 5560 and wages were greatly increased. However improved service was furnished. In San Francisco the record has been better The city operates nearly seventy miles, against PA by it's private competitor. It enjoys special ad- santages. But it has given efficient service; has been financially well managed, and 1t has shown that Fit will be valuable means of opening regions 10 settlement. The city has recently been negotiat- ring for the purchase of the private system outright Detroit hopes to avoid Seattle's of paying too much. It is city of 1000 900 people, against San Franciscos 510,000 and Seattles 320, 900 and has bigger problem. The results of it's experiment will instructive to of traction -perpexed cities