Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/558

 544 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

apply the best and most drastic of remedies the defeat of the administration's candidates when they offer themselves for the suffrages of the people.

The cry for municipal ownership in the abstract has often been made the cloak to hide some corrupt and selfish ends. By this I mean that very often a city administration has advocated the policy of public ownership while following out ulterior purposes of public plunder. This may be taken as an illustration of the popularity of the policy or of the difficulty of establishing more than a very few reforms at a time.

It is simply out of the question to mention the places where municipal ownership, control, and operation have been discussed or partly inaugurated. The list includes nearly every state and practically every city of importance.' In many localities the successful operation of the water and gas supply by the munici- pality "can well be designated as the most notable municipal event of the year." For instance, Duluth, Minn., feels a just pride in the success of its water and gas plants, which were acquired a few years ago after a long struggle, and then placed in the hands of a competent engineer who was to be subject to no political clique or influence. " Not the faintest inclination has been shown to use the department or myself," writes the manager, " for political purposes. And therein lies the secret of our success." Rates have been reduced, the service has been made pleasant and agreeable to consumers, special privileges have been abolished, interest on the investment has been paid, and a surplus accumulated. If this can be done in Duluth, if honesty, economy, and intelligence can be introduced there, why is it not equally feasible to do the same elsewhere ? It is, and if a story of honest business conduct of everyday affairs could secure readers, a long one could be made out ; but people much prefer to hear a tale of shortcoming, and consequently we hear of more of the failures of municipal control and operation than we do of the successes. Naturally we conclude that the former are the rule ; the latter the exceptions. We might as well conclude that vice and immorality are the rule because the average newspaper devotes more space to them than it does to