The Commoner
SEPTEMBER, 1915
2B t
Progress in Public Ownership
(New York American)
Experts found the profits of the
publicly owned street railways of
San Francisco for the year 1914 to
he $185,546.66, after deducting op
erating expenses, depreciation and
sinking fund accounts and interest
on bends.
For the purpose of conforming to
the charter there have been deducted
all federal, state and city taxes, as
well as such charges as were made by
other city departments for services
rendered these street car lines. All
these deductions left a net profit of
81,790.36 for the year.
Four rooms and kitchen, publicly
$180 00 ?12,00; prlvtcly owncd
It was recently estimated that the
city owned and rented moro than
one-quarter of the houses in the
city.
Italy has more than twenty pub
licly owned bakeries, that of Verona
being typical. It cost $25,000 to
build, and produces 35,000 loaves of
ordinary size daily. Its receipts for
a single year recently amounted to
$80,000.
The bread is sold at a price slightly
above cost, and keeps the price of
the privately owned bakeries down.
Some Italian towns have added pub
licly owned flour mills to their pub
lic enterprises.
The referendum vote in the town
of Zurich, Switzerland, on the ques
tion of whether the city would ap
propriate $500,000 to build and own
dwelling houses resulted in 18,000
for to 7,950 against the proposition.
The city proceeded to erect blocks
of flats, with children's large play
grounds attached. The rents have
been stationary, while those of the
privately owned flats have risen from
time to time.
Between 1902 and 1910 the in
crease was almost 30 per cent, This
was principally the reason, the city
had for1' erecting its own dwellings.
Here are the comparative, rentals of
houses publicly and privately owned:
Two rooms and kitchen, publicly,
owned, $77.50; privately owned,
$85.00.
Three rooms and kitchen, public
ly onwed, $100.00; privately owned,
$122.00. ...
AUGUST, 1915
Another best month has been add
ed to the record. August of this year
proved to be the best in point of new
insurance of any previous August in
the history of THE MIDWEST LIFE.
The company will undoubtedly write
more insurance in the year 1916 than
in any, former year. It now has
$7,200,000 in force.
Prosperity is in the. great middle
west. Every-day of sunshine is put
ting dents into the corn. A few more
w.ill mature the largest corn crop
ever raised in this -section. -In time
of plenty it is well to run over your
life insurance policies, and find out if
you are not 1n need of more insur
ance. Possibly you do not have" any.
Our policies are liberal in their pro
visions and the rates low. Call or
write
TheMidwestLife
op LINCOLN, NEBRASKA '
A STOCK COMPANY SELLING
ftUARANTEED COST LIFE JHSURAHCE
Here are examples of the two wayb
of conducting public utilities:
First way: After seven vearn nf
fighting the citizens of New Rocholle,
Mt. Vernon, Portchester, White
Plains and Tarrytown finally got a
new scale confirmed by the public
service commission. The gas rates
complained of ranged from $1.00 to
to $1.50, but it the town where the
$1.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The prices now range from $1.00
rate is above $1.25 there is to be a
reduction of 6 cents every year with
the hope of reaching the "order" of
the commission, which reads, "The
complaints as relate to gas must be
dismissed, but with recommendation
for reduction to $1.26 or even lower
in well settled parts of the district."
Second way: Kalamazoo, Mich.,
went at it differently. The council
sent for an expert who reported that
the private gas plant was valued at
$1,177,969, but could be reproduced
for $945,894 and gas furnished at 75
cents. He figured the cost in the
town to be:
Manufacturing 18.44
Distribution 3.84
Utilization 7.67
Miscellaneous and general 7.56
Interest on funded and
floating debts, taxes
and interest on stock. . 32.38
Total 69.89
Leaving 5.11 for. contingency. The
company offered to make the rate 85
cents. The citizens by a vote of
6,330 to 1,912 decided to run their
own gas plant.
The fear of public ownership is
more potent in bringing down the
price of a public utility than the fear
of any investigation by any public
servico commission.
THE MARIONETTES OF WALL
STREET
Probably a gold-brick game has
been worked. in Wall street. That is
the opinion of the Financial Chron
icle and of others who speak with
authority. Shares of half a dozen or
moro manufacturing concerns have
been taken in hand and boosted sky
ward on the strength of profits that
are to accrue from war orders. There
is every indication of the rankest
manipulation and of a pious intention
to unload on suckers at an altitude
satisfactory to the manipulators.
All of which, in the present cir
cumstances, is a matter that concerns
the public very little. If the Chron
icle's view is correct the affair is a
contest between a set of inside
gamblers who are running the game,
and a crowd of more or less sophis
ticated outside gamblers who think
they see a chance to beat it. That
the inside gamblers will skin the
outsiders is a fair assumption from
their superior strategic position; but
nobody need harrow his emotions
over that. The stocks referred to
are not of a sort that attract much
outside investment money in any
case. Certainly any outsider who
would put his investment money Into
a war-order stock after it has been
boosted to the sky is a hopeless case.
" 7 , . ,iitfiii that maninula-
tion can ever be wholly eradicated
from any open speculative market.
QmUh Jones & Robinson decide to
bSost' Consolidated Goat, with the
nu?nose of unloading at the top. They
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OUR IMPREGNABLE FORTIFICATIONS
From South Bend Tribune.
change. That institution has no di
rect control over them. They are
quite as likely to live in Detroit or
Chicago or San Francisco as in New
York. They give orders to a score
of brokers to buy Consolidated Goat.
The brokers are members of the
Stock Exchange, but no one of them
necessarily knows that any other
broker has an order from Smith,
Jones & Robinson. They buy, and
the stock advances. Smith, Jones &
Robinson then give orders to a score
of other brokers ti sell. By matching
buying orders with selling orders
they create an appearance of tre
mendous activity in Consolidated
Goat. The price soars and suckers
come In who almost Invariably ex
pect to unload on somebody else at
a still higher price.
In its present free, unincorporated
state the Stock Exchange has fairly
unlimited power over Its members.
On a strong appearance of manipu
lation the management should exam
ine the books of brokers who arc do
ing the buying and selling. If ex
tensive buying and selling orders are
thereby traced to a common source,
it should at least publish the fact.
It might then attach conditions to
the execution of further orders from
that source. But that manipulation
can be wholly eliminated Is doubtful,
Saturday Evening Post.
Speeches of
William Jennings
Bryan
Revised and Arranged by
Himself
In Five Uniform Volumes, Thin 12mo Ornamental
BosrdsDalntv Style ,
FOLLOWING AIIE THE TITLES I
THE PEOPLE'S LAW -A Discussion of State. CqristK
tutions and what they should contain. . -!
THE PRICE OF A SOUL
THE VALUE OP AN IDEAL
THE PRINCE OP PEACE
MAN
Reprinted in this form Volume IT of Mr. Bryan's Spoachcs, Bagh
of theso four addresses has been delivered before many lartfe audiences.
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Price of Each, 30 Cents, Net.
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TWO OTHER NOTABLE SPEECHES i
THE SIGNS OP THE TIMES; To which is added
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