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Page 1: I OALP I How British Cities Man i age Utne-ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/04/87/34/00322/00188.pdf · T I C i c TT1-I < 71< f SAGE TEN THE OALP BANNEt rz n S I How British Cities

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THE OALP BANNEtSAGE TEN rzSn

I How British Cities Manh

1 age Public Utne-I Birmingham Owns Its Street Railways Electric LightI and Power Plant and Many Other UtilitiesIts Gas and

Water Works Were Acquired In the Seventies Under theBoy Mayor Joseph Chamberlain pi Dt pt-

iiI By FREDERICK UPHAM ADAMSCo-

pyrightI1S04 by Frederick Upham Adamsl

VI-

LBIRMINGHAM

cc owns its gas pIntit successful ¬

than a third of jiprivate company

controls the gas in Liverpool and itWill be everal years before the citycan acquire possession of the fran-chise On the other hand Liverpool

4 operates its tramways while a private1 company operates those of Birming-

ham¬

leasing them from the cityIt Is rather singular that of the ten

c most popular object of municipal own ¬

ership in Great Britain not a city hasundertaken the entire list The ten Inave in mind are as follows

First Dwellings for the workingclasses

SecondTrlmway-sThirdGas worksFourth Electric lighting and power

plantsFifth MarketsSixth TelephonesSeventh and washhonse5Eighth liefuse and sewer disposalNinth CemeteriesTenth Works departmentAll of these with the exception of

remeteries are reproductive institu ¬

tions and in Great Britain are tech-nically

¬

classed under the head of mu ¬

nicipal trading In the above list Ihave placed only those utilities whichare practically municipally unknown

i In the United States and have not in-

cluded¬

waterworks for the reason thata large percentage if not the majority-of clUes in this country and Canada

5 dearly recognize that the water supplyI should belong to the city and be operat-

ed¬

by it Glasgow comes the nearestof any city to complete municipalization but as yet it maintains no burialgrounds-

I had an interesting talk with SirSamuel Johnson on this subject Forthirty odd years Sir Samuel has beentown clerk of Nottingham and itshould be understood that the townclerk is the principal officer in a Britishtown or city having vastly more pow¬

er and influence the mayor or anyelective official lIe usually holds hisplace for Rfe and most town clerkslive to a good old age It would be diff-icult

¬

to find a higher type of the court-ly

¬

f old fashioned English gentleman-than Sir Samuel Johnson and his off-icial

¬

life goes back to the days beforethe present scope of public ownershipwas dreamed of

Why is it I asked that there is solittle uniformity of action among yourcities in the matter of municipalization If public ownership be a goodthing why do your cities omit certainenterprises and take up others If itbe practical for Birmingham to own itsgas works why is it not equally so forLiverpool and for all other cities

i When our young folks get marriedand start housekeeping said Sir Sam¬

uel after a pause each couple pro-ceeds

¬

to fit up its house according to itstastes or means One may buy a pianoanother begin the collection of a libra-ry

¬

a third may put all of its surplusz earnings into land while others will

concentrate their energies on obtainingpossession of various comforts and lux-uries

¬

But all have In mind the eventu ¬

ownership of everything which willconduce to happiness and prosperit-yit is the same with our cities Thereare good and sufficient reasons whythey are compelled to wait before theydare assume certain responsibilities

i Glasgows proud position has been at-tained

¬

from the fact that she started-on this work many years before theother cities did In many instances weare hampered by leases and franchisesgranted to private companies and mustwait until these expire or pay extor ¬

tionate prices for their surrender Ev-ery city In Great Britain knows that Itshould own Its gas and electric lightlug works and every one has suchownership in contemplation It Is nota principle but of expediency-

in other words of money Come overs again he concluded with a smile as

he poured out another cup of tea comeover again when you are as old as Iam and our successors will show youthe municipal edifice of which we are

t building the foundationWhen Joseph Chamberlain became

mayor of Birmingham in 1ST3 be setabout to purchase the gas and water

j supplies for the city Several preTious attempts had been made but the

conservatism the taxpayers and theinfluence of corporate Interests hadbeen sufficient to defeat his less ener-getic

¬

I and resourceful predecessors MrChamberlain made an exhaustive studyof the subject and presented it so favorablj to the council that the measurepassed by a vote of 54 to 2 The pur-chase price was in the neighborhood of10000000 The city Immediately reduc ¬

ed the price of gas from 78 to 70 centsa thousand cubic feet and the wisdom-of Mr Chamberlains policy was shownin profits of 170000 for the first yearSince then the rates have steadily been

r reduced until they now stand at 50cents and at thls low rate last yearsprofits exceeded 5280000 after setting

S aside a large sum for sinking fund and>r > r depredation 1

J i e tangible result of the publicownesb1p tlga wOrklf1n1S1rlfJtft t1 i

j T f Pt JSt

enues the sum of 5000000 with anextra 3500000 paid to the sinkingfund and the further fact that duringthese years the price paid for gas hasaveraged onethird less than thatcharged by the private company Thereduction in the expense of city light-ing

¬

amounts to 1200000 The hun-dreds

¬

of men employed in the worksreceive higher wages and work fewerhours than formerly and it is worthy-of note that the record of tests and theevidence of consumers prove that amuch better quality of gas Is supplied-now than before the city assumed con ¬

trolThemunicipal gas monopoly Is com-

plete¬

but there are no complaints andI heard of no scandals Owing to thehigh price of coal the cost of produc ¬

tion Is much greater than In the UnitedStates but the gas is sold for half asmuch with a large and increasing rev-enue

¬

to the city When the bonds areall paid and the city becomes the abso ¬

lute owner of the property the pricewill be yet furtr reduced In themeantime the pIts wIll have morethan paid the cot of the plant

The gross profitIat year were near ¬

ly 000000 anu ere it not that largesums had to be diverted to interestand sinking fund psyiients and to theassistance of the taxpayers it wouldbe possible today even with the abnor-mal

¬

price of materials to produce andsell gas at less than 40 cents a thou-sand

¬

feet and leave a handsome profitThere is na theory about this It isbeing dune on an enormous scale in oneof the worlds largest cities-

I have space only to note the otherenterprises in which Birmingham isengaged The city maintains a com-prehensive

¬

system of baths rangingfrom open air baths for the poorerclasses to modern Turkish baths Theincome amounts to S23000 a year The

j city burial board has charge of ceme-teries in which 4000 were interred last

I year It is the policy of the board toso conduct this estate as to make itself sustaining and successive yearsshow alternating profits and losses insmall amounts

Four years ago Birmingham pur-chased

¬

the electric light and poweri plant paying the owners of the fnint elilse more than 2000000 For the

first two years the new managementmade so many improviuents that tre-vrs a sl ht tlefieit Int the third year-iItltdi n protit antI the last azmuile > t indicated a net jniin of 150000-

vvLIih eat ijto the common treasuryIie el owns its markets and theyare a source of revenue Birminghamis a fariiie on a large scale The mu-

j zilcipal farm comprises 1500 acres and1000 more are about to be added Thisland is fertilized by the sewage and is

I largely devoted to cattle raising anddairy business There are also im ¬

Imense herds of sheep which belong tothe city There are filtration worksand a plant for handling the byprod-uctsI and these with the farm repre-sent an investment of about 2300000

I The last report shows that the annual I

sales of stock amount to 80000 whilei 25000 is realized from milk and aboutI as much from wool By these scientificI methods the cost of disposing of sew ¬

age is materially reducedBirmingham purchased its water sup-

ply in lS7t under the administration ofJoseph Chamberlain paying 6500000for the original plant It has just com-pleted

¬

at an expense of nearly 30000000 an extension of the scheme bywhich it conveys water from Waleseighty miles away It owns outright j130 square miles of hills and valleyswhich will supply water for a popula ¬

tion of more than a millionBirmingham has owned its tramways-

for years but has pursued the policy ofleasing the lines to private companies

j

These leases are now expiring and thecity has decided to take over their con-trol

¬j

The British Traction company ismaking a hard fight to renew its fran¬

chises and has offered to pay 15 percent of its gross receipts for the privi ¬

lege of a charter for a limited number I

of years American cities which havea mania for giving such franchisesaway may find amusement in estimat-ing

¬

how much their revenues wouldamount to from 15 per cent of the re¬

ceipts of those companies which havethe free use of their streets But theBirmingham authorities have rejectedall terms They proceeded to employAlfred Baker formerly in charge ofthe London tramways and justly re¬

garded as one of the most capable ex-perts

¬

In Great Britain and have placedhim in charge of the proposed munici-pal system Instead of electricitywhich they refused to install until recently the company which held thelease used steam power The motor j

looks like a box freight car with astovepipe thrust through the roof andwhen one of them goes puffing andchurning along the street strangers areovercome either with fright or amusemeat Such is the service which Bir-mingham proposes to supersede with astrictly modern plant Its experiencewith private tramway companies hasbeen similar that of a score of otherBritish cities which in sheer self de-fense have been forced Into public ownershJpIn order escape the antique

t J i-

I< f

BENEFACTOR OR BARBARIAN

Tiie following Is a list of some ofRockefellers gifts to educational andreligious institutions of the countryUniversity of Chicago 13000000Rush Medical College 6000000Barnard College 1375000Southern Educational fund 1126000Harvard University 2000000Bap ibt> Missionary fund eo 1000000Teachers College X Y 500000-V issar Cpllege 400000Brown University 2oOOO

I Cornell University 50000I Bryn Mavr College 2lu000Rockefeller Institute iedi

i cal Research 200000i Newton Theo Seminary 150000I Adelphi College 125000Syracuse University e 100000Smith College I 100GOOY M C A New York 100000t

Rochester University 150000

Total eo 26131000Bigger than these is his reduction

I

of the price of oil to consumers fromdollars to cents per gallon-

So is or is not this daily abusedman a barbarian or a benefactor-

The following are Websters defini-tion

¬

of the tw-oBarb3rianA cruel savage brutal

man jone destitute of pity or human ¬

ityBenefactorHe who confers a

benefit especially one who makescharitable contributions either for

I public institutions or for private useSo if he who runs may read he

must conclude that the Standard Oil

Iking as a public benefactor is meas-

uring¬

I purses with Andrew Carnegiej

Last Hope VanishedWhen a leading physician said that

I W M Smithart of Pekin la hadi incurable consumption his last hopevanished but Dr Kings New Dis-

covery¬

j

for consumption coughs andI colds kept him out of the grave Hesays This great specific complete-ly

¬

cured me and saved my life Sincer then I have used it for over ten yearsI and consider it a marvelous throatI and lung cure Strictly scientificcure for coughs sore throats or colds

I Sure preventive for pneumonia Guaranteed Soc and 1 bottles at Tydings

Cos drugstore Trial bottle freemTne Stars Idea of Good City Finan

i cieringTo the Editor ot the Ocala Banner

The gentlemen who got the issue ofcity bonds carried can hardly appre ¬

ciate the laudation of the Star when-it gives the figures In its yesterdayevenings edition it cites a case ofthe redemption of a 100 piece ofscrip on which SO interest had accrued Any school boy can see thatat S per cent it was costing the city-

S a year intrest on this 100 piece butwhen the city borrowed 1SO at 5 percent to take it up it is a loser to the

i

extent of 1 per annum during theterm of the bonds On the S2000

batch nothing was gained by redemp-tion

¬

had the holder continued tohold it the city would have been againer On every dollar of scrip onwhich over 60 per cent interest wasdue the city is loser by the redemp-tion

¬

so far as interest is concerned

f Ocala April 22 IflO-

oCheated

CITIZEN

i DeathKidney trouble often ends fatally-

but by choosing the right medicine-E H Wolfe of Bear Grove Iacheated teath He says Two yearsago I had kidney trouble whichcaused me great pain suffering andanxiety but I took Electric Bitterswhich affected a comglete cure Ihave also found the m of great benefit-in general debility and nerve troubleand keep them constantly on handsince as I fiind they have no equalTydings Company guarantee themat50c ni

The Dunnellon Hard RoadAt the last meeting of the board of

trade Col W N Camp was before itwith a statement that the CampPhosphate company had subscribed

1000 towards building the hard roadfrom Ocala to Dunnellon the ClarkRayJohnson company 1500 CaptJohn L Inglis 500 and that he feltsure that the town of Dunnellonwould subscribe 1500

This will still leave 2500 short ofthe amount required which ColonelCamp wants to have subscribed bythe public spirited citizens of Ocala

The road will be a great benefit toour county and will pay a largeamount of interest many times overoa the amount needed We hope itwill be raised

and at1

IF I WERE YOU

mien by L T I for The Ocala BannerIf I were you you often ay-

I vould lo tlii or thiBut why woud oit now tell me prtyLest I should go ami

I You do not know what movt my ridI Nor eaeI my inmost heartI lu thee reason yon may findI Which makes us drift apirtI

Some thin tit are to you nikn ivn-Hxerl A j ror ynll csisitio feelnut through iy e e and iirnc aioneGod tre em to wl1ich I kneelIf <J1I were I eJ I tvere you

IYou cve> vul i ee the tlnnrj I et

I The you could iv what yon tviIL do-

Or leive iilifoie a the cne mulH be-

IJiiCaitI

it jv > u cannot tellvvhat you wouli do in aiioher placiills heart may be quite fnl of hell

I While youtX abound in richest grace

The storm swept sea produces wreckI And filNall heats wIth fear

When a I i calm we walk the deckAnd eathe sweet freedoms air

I

The hearts a sea within its shoreGreat storm lashed waves are drivenThey wreck our hopes our praver ignoreAnd tomb ambition all unhrivenYour ship sail not upon my seaYour navigators have no chartIf I were you and you were meYour ships would sail as ill mv heart

I have used Chambierlains Stom ¬

I ach and Liver Tablets with most sat-isfactory

¬

results says Mrs F LI Phelps Houston Texas For indi-gestion

¬

biliousness and constipation-these tablets are most excellenteold by Antimonopoly drug store m-

atI The tuneral services

Restof the late

Mrs II E McConnell were held yes-

terday¬

I

morning at 10 oclock from theI

I Presbyterian church and the re-

mainsI were interred in EvergreenI cemetery

The services were conducted in aI

most impressive manner by the RevI Henry W Little assisted by theRev W H Gottwald-

TheI

following gentlemen acted asI

pallbearers Messrs R A Burford-D

IW Davis E T Helvenston L

Dozier J H Livingston and W Wi

Clyatti The casket was covered with beau ¬

tiful floral tributes of love and affec ¬

tion from loving friendst

For Fancy soaas and perfumes callon Tydings fc Co x-

FOLEYSjt

j

I

I HONEYi and TAR

CURESCoughs and Colds-

PREVENTSPneumonia and-

ConsumptionII

Foley Honey and Tar not onlystops the cough but heals and strength-ens

¬

the lungs and prevents serious resultsfrom a cold

I

There is no danger of PneumoniaConsumption or other serious lungtrouble if Foleys Honey and Tar-is taken as it will cure the most stub¬

born coughs the dangerous kind thatsettles on the lungs and may develop

IInto pneumonia over night-

If you have a cough or cold do notrisk Pneumonia when Foleys Honey

I and Tar will cure you quickly andstrengthen your lungs

IRemember the name Foley I

Honey and Tarand refuse anysubstitute offered Do not take chances

I

with some unknown preparation thatcosts you the same when you can getFoleys Honey and Tar that costsyou no more and is safe and certainin results Contains no opiates I

Cured After Physicians Said HeHad Consumption

E H Jones Pastor M E Church I

Grove Md writes About seven oreightyears ago I had a very severe coldwhich physicians said was very nearpneumonia and which they afterwards I

pronounced consumption Through afriend I was induced to try a sample ofFoleys Honey and Tar which gave moBO much relief that I bought some ofthe regular size Two or three bottlescured me of what the physicians calledconsumption and I have never had anytrouble with my throat or lungs sincethat time n

Three sires 25c SOc 100The 50 cent size contains two and

onehalf times as much as the small sizeand the 100 bottle almost six timwumi1cho

ria ir4 csJ fi t ft

I m-i

V k AND1

Z m-nii

f

1 z

rrt

CI

I

<JjLet 15 iilu rate vividly the difference in mean-

ing¬ i7

of the word might ftHcl W1iILhe hid nugrtl-ive the child will live Might implies doubt w 11

means certainty Might live means mIght diewill live means will not die

These two words aptly illustrate the differencebetween Johnsons Tonic and the horde cf cgjniner J

cial remedies on the market and that vast horde ofinert professional remedies which only bear thesanction of the High Priests of medicine-

I

j

USE JOHNSONS TONIC l

in a bad case of Grip and you will liveUse inert or commercial products and z

you might liveJohnsons Tonic quickly drives out every trace 4

and taint of Grip It is not simply good it is su ¬

premely goodnot good as anything but better thaneverythinga genuine lifesaver Those who believein it are safe doubters are in danger and jeopardize-their lives Summed up Johnsons Chill and Fever lTonic is the best Grip medicine on earth This isthe sober serious earnest truthJOHNSONS CHILL FEVER TONIC CO-

At all druggists Savannah Ga TaKe no substitutesF t fl

I iIf il1 ft t-

iiv

r 1

THE CHAMBERS SHOE COMPANY 1

Ve hae just rece eJ AI

a ornplete hne of Trunks r 2 5 2500I Suit Cases 300 I 1500

Hand Satchels 125 S 1500C-ome

>

in and see them

THE CHAMBERS SHOE COMPANY-

Opera House Block Ocala Fla

StraussRoyal

Reservei

1

OCALl MINING LABORATORYF T SCHREIBERI

Consulting and Analytical Chemist Memberof the Society of Chemical Industry Lon-don

¬

Eng Member of the Ameaican Chem-ical

¬Society

P O Box 703

OCALA FLA Oct 22 1904

Messrs Strauss Co Wholesale WhiskyMerchants Ocala Fla

Gentlemen In accordance with vour1 3J

nstructions I visittti ycur valdIuse < n c

the 19th instant and personally selected too0u

from your stock a sample of

Strauss Royal Reservew-

hisky the analysis of which shows it to I1

contain R4usLAlcohol by weight per cent 0666

tj

Alcohol by volume per cent43131D-egree 4proof per cent 8710 i 4Residue on evaporation p cent 0660Ash per cent 0011Reducing sugar per cent 0225Volatile acids per cent 0027Amyl alcohol fusel oil per cent 0073

A

The above results show the whisky to be-

a carefully blended brand of high gradeand that it has been disstilled from a clean pure grain mashThe amount of fusel oil and of volatile acids is very low

Respectfully-F T SCHREIBER Chemist

FOUR FULL QUARTS 350 EXPRESS PREPAID

STRAUSS COS-ole Owners and DistributorsO-

CALA FLORIDA

THE VEHICLE AND HARNESS COCer Farsyth Cellar StJCKSOXTIMJB FLORIDA 3

Everything Used bytheCarriage and Wagonmaker

Celebrated DvjsWagops fo Sale

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