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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."
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