The Advocate and news. [volume], March 29, 1899, Image 1

About The Advocate and news. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1897-1899

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
Devoted id me BSTlnterests brthe Home theiioHDdlhe farm I
Eleventh Year, No. 13.
OFFICIAL STATE
FAFKK. 1 YJSAK.
TOPEKA, KANSAS, MARCH 29, 1899.
KVKKY WEDNESDAY.
1'KICB F1VK C'KMTS.
Topeka's City
Waterworks.
Campaign on Which Will Lead to Gen
eral fluniclpal Ownership in
the Kansas Capital.
SOME ARGUMENTS FOR IT.
Topeka is just now in a municipal owner
ship campaign which shows the strong
growth of this sentiment of late years.
There arc three candidates in the field for
mayor C. J. Drew, Republican; G. C.
Clemens, Populist, and Dr. A. Taylor, Dem
ocrat. Each of those men has pronounced
himself in favor of city ownership of the
waterworks, which is the campaign issue.
Mr. Clemens is of course widely known as
an advocate of public utilities, and his chief
opponent, Sir. Drew, was nominated by an
overwhelming majority at. the Republican
primaries because the voters felt sure of his
professions in favor of city ownership.
There is no doubt of what the people of
Topeka want. The history of their con
flicts with the water company as well as
some stiong arguments in favor of general
municipal ownership was told in an inter
esting manner by L. T. Yount, commis
sioner of elections for Topeka, in the fol
lowing paper, read before the Topeka coun
cil of the American Labor Union:
For the purpose of the discussion of the
public ownership of public utilities and the
ownership of the waterworks by the city
of Topeka, it becomes necessary to examine
for a moment the foundation upon which
this theory of public ownership rests, and
to name a few of the successes in this line
which have been thoroughly demonstrated
in other parts of the country.
Companies are not formed nor charters
demanded to build and maintain water
works in the forests or out upon the prai
ries, but only where there is a "settlement"
or a mass of people collected in a tniall ter
riority, as in a city a concentration of in
habitants. The people who build a city because of
a community of interests must own all of
the things necessary to their cointort, con
venience and profit, and by right are owned
in common by all the people so associated.
The benefits accruing because of the close
association or compactness of the commu
nity should be and in reality do belong to
the public.
A postoffice is necessary to every country
neighborhood, and there is not one among
you who would sanction the keeping of
said ollice by any private corporation.
Waterworks are not necessary in a country
community, as every man has his private
spring, well or cistern free from contamina
tion, and no corporation asks for a fran
chise there because it would not be profit
able to the corporation.
In cities it is different. The people want
water from a pure and uncontaminatcd
source, and because it is profitable a cor
poration is formed, not for the public good,
but solely for profit, to build waterworks,
and the people are charged dearly for the
necessity. Corporations would be formed
to sell bottled air to each city if there was
danger of congestion, and it was known to
e profitable to the corporation.
Municipal ownership, or public ownership
6y municipalities, stands out boldly in op
position to private ownership or owner
ships by private individuals. Public own
ership implies an inherent right to the
ownership of its public utilities, and were
it not for such inherent rights, it would be j
impossible for many cities to thrive or
make growth.
The public franchise is tho authority
given to individuals to conduct public en
terprises and is owned inherently by all the
citizens of the city, whether "taxpayers"
or not. Please remember that the ' rent
payers are the real taxpayers in every city,
as they pay all the taxes as well as insur
ance and improvements in the rent pay
ments, and that 95 per cent of the citizens
of this and every other city, save two ex
ceptions, are rent payers in one form or
another. Thus we are compelled to say
that the rent payers are the "taxpayers."
Topeka, the most beautiful city in the land,
is kept alive and thriving by the ''rent
payer."
Remember that the founders of the State
who in their wisdom located the Capitol
here, every man who has contributed a cent
to the building of the State Capitol, every
citizen who contributed to the building of
a railroad to this city, every one who has
contributed a cent toward a court house
and a fair ground dilapidated though it is,
every liberal soul who has donated to our
colleges and churches has added to our
growth and development, and each one who
has paid taxes or rents has become a public
benefactor in building a city.
The franchises to the waterworks, lights,
street railways and public parks oolong to
tho people of this city for the reasons
above enumerated.
Under the reign of an early mayor we
granted franchises to whomsoever asked
them, not looking toward the future, and
not earing for posterity. Thanks to the
shortsightedness of the private corpora
tions, we did not make their franchises per
petual.
The mayor and council did not know the
value of their municipal munificent gift,
and there are still among U3 men who strut
up and down Kansas avenue, opposing mu
nicipal ownership.
Sydney Wells, a noted English writer on
municipal ownership in England, says:
"The individualist city alderman will walk
along the MUNICIPAL pavement, lit by
MUNICIPAL gas, and cleansed bv MU
NICIPAL brooms with MUNICIPAL wa
ter, and seeing by the MUNICIPAL clock
on the MUNICIPAL city hall that he is
too early to meet his children coming from
the MUNICIPAL school and MUNICIPAL
gymnasium, near by the MUNICIPAL asy
lum and MUNICIPAL hospital, will use
the NATIONAL telegraph system to tell
them not to walk through the MUNICI
PAL park, to listen to the MUNICIPAL
band, but to come by the MUNICIPAL
street ear, around by the MUNICIPAL
lodging house, to meet him in the MUNICI
PAL reading room, close by the MUNICI
PAL art gallery, where he intends to con
sult of some of the NATIONAL hand books,
in order to prepare his next speech in favor
of NATIONAL ownership of railways and
canals."
The only reasons that can be given by
the opposition are, first, lack of informa
tion upon what has been and is being done
in the world, and personal opposition for
personal gains by those who are interested
or hope to be in the private corporations.
Municipal ownership is not an experi
ment, as there are now nearly 3.10 branches
of business conducted by municipal and na
tional governments, and 225 which are con
trolled or regulated.
In 1893 New York City possessed prop
erty worth $500,000,000, without including
streets, sewers or bridges, but includes over
300 large buildings.
I he proposition submitted to the voters
of New Paynesville, Minn., to erect water
works and an electric plant, was earned.
"JJanbury was the first town in Connec
ticut to municipalize its gas and electric
light plants. The new venture meets with
general approval.
"Hy a vote of more than four to ono the
people of Mobile, Ala., have voted in favor
of city waterworks and a system of sewers
to be owned by tho municipality.
"The city of Vienna, Aust ria, is soon to
erect and operate a municipal brick kiln
the product of which is to lie used in city
l . ! i: .nr.. i . .
miimuigs, out soiling aiso to private par
I ICS.
"Southampton has followed tho example
iii inner jiriuHii towns in operating a street
lailwuy. July 1 last it acquired the same
at a price determined by arbitration
"Paris gets her public lighting at cost
and 20,000,000 francs a year as her share of
the profits of six companies, whose rights
all revert to the city at the expiration of
me dinners.
"The city of Jena, Germany, owns a
brewery which yielded a profit of $.'12,000
last year.
"Six years ago only twenty cities of the
United States owned their electric lighting
plants; now the number has reached 200
and in no case can it be said that munici
pahzation was not a success.
"In Manchester, England, the municipal
gas works bring in a net profit of $300,000
a year, wlnle $100,000 a year is received
from the management of the markets
slaughter house.
"In Indiana every town of any size has
its own ice factory, some of them capable
of turning out from 500 to 1,000 tons of ice
a day. And the same thing holds good in
J'gypt and the southern States of Amer
ica."
The city of" Glasgow, Scotland, receives
suflicieut revenue from gas, electric lights,
street railways, public bath houses, public
lodging houses and public laundries to pay
oil expenses for conducting its city affairs,
and the people, beginning with the year
ihm, are wholly relieved from taxation
In consequence, rents are lower, and thou
sands of new buildings have been erected
and employment given to thousands of men,
who of course have added hundreds of thou
sands of dollars to her commerce and again
given employment to hundreds of idle men
Municipal ownership is no longer a Pop
doctrine; neither is it a Republican or Dem
ocratic doctrine, but is purely non-narti
san, as we believe that all political parties
are driving lor the self-same goal the bet.
torment of the conditions surrounding all
mankind, and this idea is taking lnmsession
ot the minds of men in all parties.
The mai-or and council of Topeka, on the
12th day of November, last past, submitted
to the voters of Topeka a proposition to
vote $440,000 to purchase the waterworks
now located or build new waterworks. The
proposition carried by a vote of 1,703 for
and 610 against nearly three to one in
favor. Let us review briefly the history
of the Topeka waterworks.
In the year 1881 a franchise was granted
by the mayor and council of Topeka to the
Topeka Water Company, and provided in
the charter the right of the city to pur
chase the works at the expiration of the
charter in twenty years.
The mayor and council bound the city
to pay said corjioration the sum of $14,500
per annum ns rentals for water. Corpora
tion bonds to the amount of $120,000 were
issued and sold, and $80,000 in taah was
subscribed. If the bonds were sold at par,
the entire first cost was $200,000 the city
agreeing to pay $14,500 per annum,
paid interest on the whole amount of the
investment at 74 per cent per annum, leav
ing out the amount received from the pri
vate consumers. But in reality the corpo
ration had but $80,000 invested, m the bal-
(Contlnued on page 6.)
Preparing to
Make Twine.
Penitentiary Binding Twine Plant Is
Being Pushed Forward and Will
Turn Out a Hi'Ilon Pounds
of Twine Before
Harvest.
TO BE READY IN TWO MONTHS.
Tho work of putting in a binding twino
plant at the Kansas State penitentiary is
going forward as rapidly as possible, and it
is expected that it can furnish a million
pounds to Kansas farmers at a low price
this year. It will not bo entirely completed
immediately, since there is not now room
for all the machinery, but. it is pro
posed to put in operation about half of what
machinery the plant will contain when com
pleted. This would give it a capacity of
about 5,000 pounds of twino per day for
the first few months it is in operation. It
is expected that the plant will be completed
by August, when its full capacity will lie
10,000 pounds per day.
The machines with which it is expected to
begin the work are:
One breaker spreader.
One Binall spreader.
One drawing frame.
Ono finisher.
Two balling machines.
Forty spinners of twenty jennies.
The completed plant will contain twice
this amount of machinery.
these machines must all be made to or
der, so they should be installed as soon as
possible in order to be in time to make
twine for this harvest.
The rooms for the reception of the ma
chinery are all in readiness," said Warden
I.andis a few days airo, "and the only work
that is necessary is the action of Ihe board
in ordering the machinery.
J he quest ion of fixing the price of tho
twine for this year, which is to be man
ufactured by the prison plant, was dis-
cused by the penitentiary board, but it is
not thought any price will be fixed until the
hint is nearly ready to begin operations.
'J he reason for this is that no raw material
for making the twine has been purchased
yet on account of the unsettled condition of
affairs in the Philippines, which has caused
lie market price to advance. It is believed
the market will be more settled later on
when the board can purchase the raw ma
terial much cheaper.
"Ihe penitentiary in Minnesota has al
ready fixed the price of this year's produci
t 8 cents a pound to farmers direct. lty
the operation of this plant it will lie possi-
le for Kansas farmers to obtain their bind
ing twine without submitting to the extor
tion of the trust."
The War In the Philippines.
Fighting has continued between tho
American troops and the Filipinos. The
most serious conflicts, and those vhich the
Americans expect are the beginning of
Aguinaldo's last stand, have been taking
place this week. In Sunday's and Monday's
engagements Aguinaldo commanded the in
surgents in person. His forces have been
riven back with considerabm slaughter.
he Americans now hold Maliloa, Aguinal-
do's former headquarters.
Ihe twentieth Kansas has been in the
(Continued on page 8.)