The Commoner.
MAY 15, 1903.
if
Mueller Municipal Ownership Bill.
Following Is the text of the Mpellor
municipal ownership hill which re
cently passed both branches of the
Illinois legislature:
A bill for an act entitled, "An act
to authorize cities to acquire, con
struct, own, operate and lease street
railways, and to provide the means
therefor."
Be it enacted by the people of the
state of Illinois, represented in the
general assembly:
Section 1. That every city in this
etate shall have the power to own,
construct, acquire, purchase, main
tain and operates street railways with
in its corporate limits, and to lease
""the same or any part of the same to
any company incorporated under the
laws of this state for the purpose of
operating street railways for any per
iod not longer than twenty years on
Euch terms and conditions as the city
council shall deem for the best inter
ests of the public.
But no city shall proceed to oper
ate street railways unless the pro
position to operate shall first have
been submitted to the electors of such
city a3 a separate proposition and ap
proved by three-flfths of those voting
thereon. It shall be lawful for any
such city to incorporate in any grant
of the right to construct or operate
street railways a reservation of the
right on the part of such city to take
over all or part of such street rail
ways at or before the expiration of
such grant upon such terms and con
ditions as may bo provided in the
grant; it shall also be lawful to pro
vide in any such grant that in case
such reserved, right be not exercised
by the city, and it shall grant a right
to any company to operate a street
railway in the streets and parts of
streets occupied by its grantee under
the former grant, the new grantee
shall purchase and take over the street
railway of the former grantee upon,
the terms that the city might bav
taken it over; and it shall be lawf.il
for the cit: council of any city to
make a grant containing such a reser
vation, for either the construction or
operation, or both the construction and
operation of c street railway in, upon
and along, any of the streets or pub
lic ways therein, or portions thereof,
in which street railway tracks are
already located at the time of the
making of such grant, without tjie
petition or cpnsent of any of the own
ers of the land abutting or fronting
upon any street or public way, or por
tions thereof, covered by such grant.
No ordinance authorizing a lease
for. a longer period than five years,
nor any ordinance renewing any lease
shall go into effect until the expira
tion of sixty days from any after its
passage. And if within such sixtv
days there is filed with the city clerk
of such city a petition signed by 10
per cent of the voters voting at the
last preceding election for mayor, in
such city, asking that such ordinance
bo submitted to a popular vote, then
such ordinance shall not go into ef
fect unless the question of the adop
tion of such ordinance shall first b3
submitted to the electors of such city
and approved by a majority of those
voting thereon.
The signatures to such petition need
not all bo appended to one paper, but
each signer shall add to his signature,
which shall be in his own handwrit
inghis place of residence, giving the
street and number. One of the signers
of each such paper shall make oath
.before an officer competent to admin
ister oaths that each signature to the
paper apponded Is the genuine signa
ture of the person whose name pur
ports to be thereto subscribed.
The city council of any city that
shall decide by popular voto, as in
this act provided, to operate street
railways, Bhall have the power to
make all needful rules and regula
tions respecting the operation of "the
same, including the power to fix and
prescribe rates and charges, but such
rates and charges shall bo high enough
to produce a revenue sufficient to bear
all c63ts of maintenance and operation
and to meet interest charges on ai
bonds or certificates issued on account
of such railways, and to permit the
accumulation of a surplus or sinking
fund that shall be sufficient to meet all
such outstanding bonds or certificates
at maturity. Street railways owned
and operated by any such city, or
owned by the city and leased for oper
ating purposes to a private company,
may carry passengers and their ordi
nary baggage, parcels, packages and
United State3 mail, and may be util
ized for such other purposes as the
city council of such city may deem
proper. Such street railways may bo
operated by such motive power as the
city council may approve, except
steam locomotives.
For the purpose or acquiring street
railways either by purchase or con
struction, as provided for in this act,
or for the equipment of any such
street railways, any city may borrow
money and issue its negotiable bonds
therefor, pledging the faith and credit
of the city, but no such bonds shall
be issued unless the proposition to
issue the same shall first have bee a
submitted to the electors of such city
and approved by two-thirds of those
voting thereon, nor in an amount in
excess of the cost to the city of the
property for which said bonds are is
sued, ascertained as elsewhere pro
vided in this act, and 10 per cent of
such cost in addition thereto in the
exorcise of the powers, or any of
them, granted by this act, and such
city shall have the power to acquire,
take and hold any and all necessary
property, real, personal, or mixed, for
the purposes specified in this act, eith
er by public purchase or condemnatiou
in the manner provided by law for
the taking and condemning of private
property for public use, but In no
valuation of street railway property
for the purpose of any such acquisition
except of street railways now operated
under existing franchises, shall an
sum be included as the value of any
earning power of such property or of
the unexpired portion of any fran
chise granted by said city.
In case of the leasing by any city
of any street railway owned by it, the
rental reserved shall be based on both
the actual value of the tangible prop
erty and the franchise contained in
such lease, and such rental shall not
be less than a sufficient sum to meet
the annual interest upon all outstand
ing bonds or street railway certificates
Issued by said city on account of such
.street railway.
Sec. 2. In lieu of Issuing bonds
pledging the faith and credit of the
city, as provided in section 1 of this
act, any city may issue and dispose
of interest-bearing certificates, to be
known as "stieet railway certificates"
which shall under no circumstances be
or become an obligation or liability
of the city or payable out of any gen
eral fund thereof, but shall be pay
able solely out of a specified portion
of the revenues or income to be de
rived from the street railway property
for the acquisition of which they
were issued. Such certificates shall
not be issued and secured on any
street railwav property in amount in
excess of the cost to the city of such
proporty as hereinbefore provided, and
ten U0) per cent of such cost in au
dition thereto.
In order to secure the payment of
any such street railway certificates
and the interest thereon tho city may
convoy, by way of inortgago or deed
of trust, any or all of tho street rail
way property acquired or to bo ac
quired through the Issue thereof, which
mortgage or deed of trust shall be ex
ecuted in such manner as may bo
directed by' (ho city council and ac
knowledged and recorded in tho man
ner provided by law for tho acknowl
edgement an.l recording of mortgages
of real estate, and may contain such
provisions and conditions not in con
flict with tho provisions of this act
as may bo deemed necessary to fully
secure tho payment of tho street rail
way certificates described therein.
Any such mortgage or deed of trust
may carry the grant of a privilege
or right to maintain or operate the
street railway property covered there
by for a period not oxcoedlng twenty
years from tho date such property
may come Into tho possession of any
person or corporation as tho result of
foreclosure proceedings, which priv
ilege or right may fix the rates of fare
which tho peon or corporation secur
ing the same as the result of foreclos
ure proceedings shall be entitled to
charge in the operation of said prop
erty for a period not exceeding twenty
(20) years.
Whenever, and as often as default
shall bo made in tho payment of any
street railway certificates" issued and
secured by a mortgage or degd of trmc
as aforesaid, or In the payment of the
Interest thereon when due, and any
such default shall have continued fo
the space of twelve (12) months, af
ter notice thereof has been given to
the mayor and financial officer of the
city Issuing such certificates, it shall
be lawful for any such mortgagee or
trustee upon tho request of the holder
or holders of a majority In amount of
the certificates issued and outstand
ing under such mortgage or deed of
trust, to declare the whole of tho
principal or all such certificates as
may bo outstanding, to bo at once due
and payable, and to proceed to fore
close such mortgage or deed of trust
in any court of competent jurisdic
tion. At a foreclosure sale the mort
gagee or the holders of such certifi
cates may become tho purchaser or
purchasers of the property and tho
rights and privileges sold, If ho or
they be the highest bidders.
Any street railway acquired by any
such foreclosure shall be subject to
regulation by the corporate authori
ties of the city to tho same extent as
if the right to construct, maintain and
operate such property had been .c
qulred through a direct grant without
the intervention of foreclosure pro
ceedings; provided, however, that no
street railway certificates or mort
gage shall ever be issued by any city
under the provisions of this act unless
and until the question of the adoption
of the ordinance of the city council
making provision for the Issue there
of shall have first been submitted to
popular vote and approved by a ma
jority of the qualified voters of the
city voting on such question.
Sec. 3. Every such city, owning, or
owning and operating street railway?,
shall keep the books of account for
such street railways distinct from
other city accounts and in such man
ner as to show the true and complete
financial results of such city owner
ship, or ownership and operation, as
tho case may be. Such accounts shall
be so kept as to show the actual cost
to such city of street railways owned,
all costs of maintenance, extension and
Improvement, all operating expenses of
every description, In case of such city
operation, the amounts set aside for
sinking fund purposes; If water or
other service shall be furnished for
the use of such street railway without
charge, tLo accounts shall show, a
nearly as possible, tho valuo of suc'a
servlco and also tho valuo of such sim
ilar service rendered by tho street
railways to any other city dcpartmcr.t
without charge; such accounts shall
also show reasonable allowances for
Interest, depreciation and insurance,
and also estimates of tho amount of
taxes that would bo chargeable against
such property if owned by a private
corporation.
Tho city council shall causo to ba
printed annually for public distribu
tion a report showing the financial
results, in form as aforesaid, of such
city ownership, or ownership and op
oration. The accounts of such street
railways kept as aforesaid shall bo
examined at least once a year by an
expert accountant, who shall report to
tho city council tho results of his ex
amination. Such oxpert accountant
Bhall bo selected in such manner as
tho city council may direct, and ho
shall receive for his services such
compensation, to bo paid out of the in
come or revenues for such street rail
ways, as tho city council may pre
scribe. Sec. 4. This act shall not bo in
force in any cJty until tho question of
its adoption in such city shall first
have been submitted to the electors ot
such city and approved by a major
ity of thoso voting thereon. The city
council of any such city may, by ordi
nance, direct that the question of tho
adoption of this act in such city bo
submitted to popular voto at any gen
eral, city or special.. election in and
for the entire city, coming not sooner
than thirty days from and after tho
passage of tho ordinance. If tho city
council of any city shall Incorporate in
any grant to any company the right to
construct or cperatc street railways a
provision reserving to such city tho
right to take over such street railways
at or before tho expiratidii of tho
grant if tho people of such city shall
adopt this act as herein provided;
this provision shall be as valid and ef
fective for all purposes in case such
city shall later adopt this act as here
in provided as if tho said provision
were made a part of such grant after
tho adoption of this act
Sec. 5. In all cases provided in this
act for the submission of questions or
propositions to popular vote, tho city
council shall pass an ordinance stat
ing tho substance of the proposition
or question to be voted upon and des
ignating the election at which such
question or proposition Is to be sub
mitted, which may be any general,
city, or special election, in and for tho
entire city, coming not sooner than
sixty days from and after the passage
of said ordinance.
The city clerk of said city shall
promptly certify the passage of such
ordinance to the proper election offi
cials, and it shall thereon be the duty
of such election officials to submit
such question or proposition to pop
ular vote.
Sec. G. Nothing In this act contained
shall be construed to authorize any
city to make any act or grant or to
lease any street railway property for
a period exceeding twenty (20) years
from the makingof such grant
Provided, that when a right to main
tain and operate a street railway for
a period not exceeding twenty (20)
years is contained in a mortgageor
deed of trust to secure street railway
Certificates (and no such right shall
be implied) such period shall com
mence as provided in section two (2)
of this act
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