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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1905)
qpMpppppi ij,ii ti iu - .w7!ff55ff The Commoner: 7 Ft 'AUGUST 18, 1005 would drive her out of business. The trust then opened-a cigar store in a building adjoining that occupied by the Saqui establishment. The plucky little woman explained to her customers that the trust was making war upon her. A New York newspaper tells the story in this way: "The customers spread the news quickly. Within two weeks the trust store wasopened, with standard goods ticketed at ruinous prices, but the custom ers, ignoring the bait of the trust, made purchases at Mrs. Saqui's store. Within a month Mrs. Saqui's business had doubled. Not only did her old customers stand by her in her days of trial, but they brought new custom. Men who had been buying tobacco and cigars downtown stopped and bought their day's supply in the morning. The trust undertook to refuse to sell its goods to Mrs. Saqui, who then stopped buying the trust made goods. Men who had been smoking certahi brands of cigars, tobacco and cigarettes for years stopped them when they found why Mrs. Saqui had quit handling the trust goods and began smoking the kind she sold." THAT "the senate is not the road to the White House" was an opinion recently expressed by the Washington Star. A writer in the New York World takes issue to the Star's statement and says: "If we were to take the presidents of the last fifty years we should have to say that the senate seemed to be quite as good a road as any other." For instance: "Franklin Pierce had been a. senator, and he defeated General Scott, who had only a military reputation. Buchanan had been a senator, as well as secretary of state and minister to Great Britain. Fremont, his op ponent, had also sat in the senate. Lincoln was a defeated candidate for the senate. One of his democratic opponents, Douglas, was a senator, and the other, Breckinridge, was vice president. Mc- Clellan, who was a soldier, was defeated, but Grant who was a soldier was elected, Seymour had been governdr of New York and Greeley was an editor. Hayes was governor of Ohio and Tilden was governor of New York. Garfield was a sen ator and Hancock was a soldier. Cleveland was governor of New York and Blaine had been a, senator. Harrison also had been in the senate. McKinley was a governor of Ohio after a long service in congress. Roosevelt was vice president and had been governor of New York, while Par ker was a judge. It would be extremely difficult to classify these data in such a way as to blaze a trail to the White House, but the senate ap pears to be a good enough road If the right man takes it. There used to be a notion that no 'ac cidental' president could become president in his own right, but it does not seem to have been a very great handicap to Mr. Roosevelt." TT f ALTER C. HAMM, United States consul at VV Hull, England, made an interesting re port under date of October 31, 1904. In that re port Consul Hamm said: "The construction of a municipal telephone system In Hull has brought about a speedy reduction in rates. At a recent meeting of the corporation telephone committee it was announced that the charge for unlimited service over an exclusive line would be 5 pounds ($24.33) per annum to private houses and G 'pounds 6 shillings ($30.65) to business premises. This reduction has been followed by a large increase in the number of subscribers The Na tional Telephone company has been compelled to reduce its rites for unlimited service to private houses from 10 pounds ($48.66) to half that amount. To what extent this reduction will affect the company in other towns and cities is a matter of interest. It is stated that in the agreements which the National Telephone com pany has with practically all the iarge towns and cities in England, and by which the corporations of those towns granted the company under ground way leaves, it was made a condition that in case it reduced its unlimited service rate in any place below $48.65, a similar reduction must be made, if demanded, in all other towns. If this is the case, then other cities can now demand the same telephone rate that is made in Hull. Thus the competition in this city may prove beneficial to every city in England." THE REPORT of the comptroller of accounts of the Hull corporation throws some light on the position of other corporation enterprises, and the success attending their municipalization. Referring to this report, Mr. Hamm said: "On account of the crematory $530.44 was expended for maintenance and $306.58 was received In the year ended April 1, so that there was an excess of expenditure of $223.86 in this case. On .ho public baths during ihe same time there was an excess of expenditure of $1,110.53. In the gas department the profit in the year ws $15,380 from which there is to be deducted interest on the debit balance, and a sum for the sinking fund, leaving a net credit balance on the revenue account of $2,637. The working profit of tho waterworks was $119,893; deducting 12,652, city fund annuity; $57,419, interest on loans, and $0,622 for the sinking fund leaves the net profits $71,162. The revenue account of the electric lighting shows a working profit of $88,696, from which there are to be deductions for interest on- loans, sinking fund, and meter installments, lealng the net profit $7,976. The working profit on account of the street cars for tho year was $185,238, from which $48,329 is to bo deducted for interest on loans and $45,700 for the sinking fund, and $37,400 to be transferred to the reserve fund, making the credit balance for this year $57,500. In each instance, then, with the exception of the crematory and the baths, the municipalization of public utilities in Hull has resulted In profit, to the city treasury. The profit, it is true, is small, but it must be remembered that tho charges for these public services are extremely low. A ride on the street cars in any dt:ectIon to the end of the line costs only 2 cents; an exclusive telephone service in a private house costs less than $25 a year, and in a business office about $30 a year. Gas is sold at 4S cents per thousand feet, and electricity at nine cents per unit. The object is not so much to make a profit for the city out of these utilities as to furnish the public with the best service at the lowest possible price. Viewed in this light, municipaliza tion in Hull can be pronounced a success." AN INSTRUCTIVE comparison between street railwa conditions in Leipzig as they ap pear in Consul Warner's published report is made by The Churchman with the conditions in New York, Chicago and Boston. The Churchman says: "In Leipzig the franchise is for forty years, then the lines and rolling stock" revert to the city, except such as have been built within the pre ceding five years. Other property of the com panies, powerhouses, grounds and so forth, :an be bought at the assessed valuation. On terms somewhat more favorable to the company the city may acquire the plant at the end of twenty years, or of any subsequent five-year period. The com panies forfeit their rights if they discontinue running along any of their lines without munici pal sanction. That would be sad news for the interurban in New York. They lose them, too, if they fail to comply with any ordinance within a reasonable time, or If the royal ministry should think it expedient. Stockholders are protected in such an eventuality. The city must pay them the value of the plant as determined by experts. Meantime, for the right to use the streets, the company pay first 2, 3, 4 and after fifteen years, 5 per cent of the gross receipts. They also pave them when tracks are laid, and repair them where traffic causes wear and tear, and all this they do for a fare a little less than half our cus tomary five cents. Six tickets cost a little less than 12 cents and commutation and school tickets are cheaper. Transfers are a matter of course. Postmen, telegraph and messenger boys are car ried free. Nobody is allowed to stand inside the cars and not many outside. The companies have paid dividends every year since their organiza tion, ranging as high as 8 per cent." DR. JAMES W. LEE, pastor of St. John's church at St. Louis recently paid a visit to Luther Burbank, the famous California horti culturist. Dr. Lee quotes Mr. Burbank as say ing that the great object and aim of his life is to introduce into the method of rearing children some of the scientific Ideas that he applies every day to the improvement of plants. Mr. Burbank says that plants, weeds and trees were responsive to a few influences in their environment, but that children were infinitely more responsive, and the failure to recognize the spiritual elements in the environing conditions of children had been the fatal lack in dealing with them. Dr. Lee asked Mr. Burbank if he was familiar with the works of Thomas J. Barnardo, of London, who has educated some 60,000 waif children in the ninety-three homes which he has founded in va rious parts "f England, with the result that only 2 per cent of them have turned out bad. Mr. Burbank replied that he had studied Bernardo's methods of rearing children and that the lau- was doing in the realm of human life what he (Burbank) was doing in the realm of plant life. "Barnardo," ho continued, "has demonstrated that infinitely more enn bo done with children than with weeds and plants. Whenever human beings recognize these realities In the realms of human life and bogln to apply scientific principles to the training of children, then humanity will en tor upon a now stage of exlstonce." Mr. Bur bnnk said that In his opinion overy person should lie physically, morally and spiritually perfoet, and could bo if tho same attention were paid to his or her training that he was giving to woods. Ho doclnrod that, Just as he had wrought scorn ing mlraclos with plants by bringing them into contact wth those elements of their environment to which thoy rapidly responded, thoae who have tho caro of children should seek to do for them and to train them by bringing their natures Into relation with all the elements of their environ mont to which they are potentially responsive. T N A RECENT ISPU'3 the London Dally News 1 says: "In the agricultural returns Just Is sued by the board of agriculture and fisheries reference is made to the wheat growing areas of tho world. Reports have been received by the department from some thirty soparato national units containing 219,000,000 acres under wheat. Two-thirds of this vast area may be grouped un der three flags tho Russian empire with its Asiatic possessions, the British empire with Its Indian territories and colonial possessions, and the broad areas of the United States of America. These three areas produced roughly In the latest year for which figures are available: Area under Estimated Yield por States. wheat. production. acre. Acres. Quarters. Bushels. Russian Empire 57,000,000 77,000,000 10.8 United States of Amorica 44,000,000 67,000,000 12.1 British Empire 40,000,000 69,000,000 13.8 ANOTHER extract from the same report fol low: "The American quota Is put rela tively somewhat low, owing to the unfavorable character of tho latest harvest, and the British empire's yield, owing to tho large Indian crop of 1904, Is probably unduly high. But, whatever allowance might have to be made wore average arena and average crops to be measured, there Is no state which comes near contesting tho posi tion of the three above enumerated as large wheat producers. The low average yield por acre of territories so vast and varied Is an Incident to bo expected, for the means above given Include in each group results realized under very differ ent conditions. Nowhere for an area of equal size is so high a yield obtained as In Great Britain herself, with a return of 31 bushels per acre over the last ten years. But In an imperial average we have to cou:.t with the meagre yield of our Aus tralian colonies, and some parts of India, where tho wheat production may fall to seven bushels to the acre, while similar low estimates for Rus sian Siberia, and for the southern states of the American union, leave their mark on the average In each case. With narrower areas higher aver age j'lelds are obtainable, and the next largest group of wheat-growing states may be said to bo formed as under, crediting to France as in tho case of Russia and of the British empireher non-European wheatflelds In Algeria." HERE IS A TABLE for the small areas de voted to wheat: Areas under Estimated Yield . or States wheat. production. acre. Acres. Quarters. Bushels. France, with Algeria 19,000,000 39,000,000 16 Italy 12,700,000 18,000,000 11 Austria-Hungary 11,800,000 28,000,000 19 Argentina 10,700,000 16,000,000 12 Spain 9,000,000 17,000,000 15 Germany 4,700,000 17,000,000 30 Roumanla 4,300,000 6,500,000 12 The board of agriculture says that "practi cally these seven countries among them grow 72,000,000 acres, which is just half as large a surface as the 141,000,000 acres of the three great states quoted above, but they supply about two thirds of the crop furnished by Russia, the United States, and our own empire jointly. The collec tive wheat area of other minor European states is under 4,000,000 acres, of which Bulgaria and Servla probably account for three-fourths, while to include in this analysis the officially recorded wheat acreage of Uruguay in the west, and of Japan in the east, would not quite add another two million acres to the record given above." irf: niiiimtiiMiSr,ait--'J't d-.-'-.- kji.'tet.- j.4' jt..XitH...A. 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