THE SCK ANTON TRIBUNE WEDNESDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 1896. 11 CAREER OF HAZEN Review of an Interesting Fight for the Rights of the People as Opposed to the Usurped Power of Com bined Special Interests. The personality of Hazen 8. Plngrce, four times mayor of Detroit and now governor-elect of Michigan. Isoneof the most interesting that have been pro jected on the screen of American poli tics In this generation. In response to numeros requests The Tribune presents herewith some facts as to Mr. Pin gree's career, and more particularly as to his course with reference to those great issues between corporate activ ity and-popular rights which are so rapidly - pushing to . the front of our politics, municipal and state. A biog raphy of him has already been print ed in these columns, but It may not be amiss to say In review that he carved out a fortune from the shoemaker's bench, was a brave soldier during the war and since his entrance into politi cal life has often been accused of eccen tricity but never of dishonesty. He has said some bitter things against cor porations, but then he has had some bitter experiences with them. A3 MAYOR OP DETROIT. He was elected mayor of Detroit In response to the urging of a number of citizens who were not satlslled with prior administrations under which valuable public franchises had been voted away for a song, laws governing corporate interests had been violated, favoritism had run rampant ond cor ruption invaded hlsh places. He con sented only after other business men had refused the responsibility. Once In the fight he went into it to win, and soon had the whole corporate Inltuence of Detroit and of Michigan against him. As President Gates, of Iowa col lege, one of his biographers, Bays: It ought to be true that the strong gov erning forces, the business, social, indus trial and commercial leaders of the city would rush to his support. What did they do? There was almost nothing of the power of such Interests that was not turned against Mr. Filigree. He Is a mem ber of a shoe-manufacturing firm. The corporate interests of the city did what they could to ruin his firm. There wus time when not a bank in the city of De troit was out of the combination which refused to take the account of Plngree & Smith, a firm of excellent repute atrJ standing In the city of Detroit, a iirm op erating a factory and employing more people than any other shoe factory In the west, a tlrm of thirty years' standing, a Arm of more Importance to the city than all the landed c-stute of the city, and an Institution paying from four thousand to six thousand dollars every week to la bor. Mr. Plngree was put out of the directorship of the bank he helped to or ganise and In which he held twenty-seven thousand dollars' worth of stock. His business was not the only one conspired against. Some of those who dnred to be his friends, business or social, were similarly treated. Mr. Plngree has been obliged to spend thousands of dollars of his own private money to carry out his plans In the Interests of the tax-payers of Detroit. The above Is a specimen of the return he has received. CITY IMPROVEMENTS. Mayor Plngree Is best known for his potato patch scheme and his suc cessful battle for a three-cent street car fare. But these were only parts of a general scheme of municipal house cleaning which he undertook and In the main effected. For instance, he found that a gas monopoly had been operat ing in Detroit for twenty years with out a franchise, and that another had been collecting 28 per cent, more than their franchises permitted them to do. In six years this company had stolen $."i00,000. Plngree stopped that. He also tried to correct the inequality caused by the exemption from city taxation of $7,000,000 worth of railroad property well able to pay Its due share of the burdens of government, but the rail way lobby at Lansing was too much for him. When he becomes governor he will break another lance with that lobby, and may possibly have better luck. Another thing which Plngree did while mayor of Detroit was to estab lish a municipal electric light plant, which cost $600,000, cut prices In two and is now worth $2,000,000. He also turned the street cleaning department upside down, and introduced both ef fectiveness and economy In Its opera tion. He greatly enlarged the city's school facilities, spent $1,000,000 for new sewers, constructed a tine driveway, established Helle Isle park, one of the finest in the world and wrought other Improvements all without extra cost to the public. While warring on the recalcitrant or Illicit corporations, Pln gree got the newspapers down on him. Not one would print his side of the case. He simply started a dally paper of his own, posted It on bulletin boards and thus communicated with the peo ple, who never wavered in their sup port of him. THE POTATO PATCH PLAN. It is a well known fact that there are in every large city, even at the best of times, a great number of la boring men who, through some mis fortune, are not able to obtain contin uous employment at such wages as will support them and their families, and who are therefore driven by neces sity to apply to the organized charities during the whole or a portion of the winter months. Realizing this fact, Mayor Pingree conceived In the early summer of 1891, when more persona than usual were out of employment on account of the hard times, the Idea of furnishing these unfortunates with con tinuous employment by opening up the vacant lots of the city for cultivation by the deserving poor. At first the scheme was ridiculed by many and bap tized by various designations, such as "Plngree's potato patches." "The May or' potato crop" and "City farming." Mr. Plngree, however, believed In his novel plan and persevered, with the result that the scheme although tried late In the season, was a signal suc cess, no less than nine hundred and forty-five families raising sufficient vegetable food for their winter use. Under Mayor Pingree's direction a committee was appointed, who secured several thousand acres of land, but for lack of funds onlv 430 acres were accepted the first vear. This land wan plowed, harrowed and staked In lots of one-quarter to one-half acre each. Seed and tools were furnished bv the com mittee and the land was cultivated by the amateur farmers under the direc tion of a volunteer superintendent. AH applicants were carefully Investigated, and none but worthy persons with fam ilies were helped. As it was the middle of June before the work was begun, there was not sufficient time to obtain, in every case, the best soil, yet when the crop was harvested it averaged about fifteen bushels of potatoes per lot, while large crops of beans and turnips and other vegetables were raised and dally con sumed. Th" estimated total value of the crop produced was from twelve to fourteen thousand dollars, at a cost to the committee of about thirty-six hun dred dollars. This latter sum was made up bv subscriptions. THE PLAN aJ'sUCCESS. Poor people who hare been out cf work for months fought for a chance to get a pat h of .ground to till, and those who were successful , used the tiest efforts to obtain a full crop. Ap plications fen . land for ..the next sea son, 1895, - were made- by a large pro-' S. PINGREE. portion of them. The crops turned out so well. In spite of the lateness of the season, that an exhibit at the state fair of vegetables grown on the soil "fertilized by old tin cans, boots and shoes." as It tvas sarcastically referred to, was awarded a diploma by the state agricultural society. So tangible were the results obtained from Mayor Pin give's plan of city farming that the council of Detroit appropriated the h u in of $5,000 for the use of the city farm commission for the summer of 181)5, and again the past season ap propriated a like amount. Other cities encouraged the success of the scheme In Detroit, who decided to determine whether the matter was practical so far as the employment of their city poor was concerned, are New HAZEN S. PINGREE, GOVERNOR-ELECT OF MICHIGAN. York, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Omaha, Min neapolis, Toledo, St. Louis, Pittsburg, I 'ninth, Rochester. Minn.; Seattle, Wash.; La Crosse, Wis., and Washing ton, D. C. In every one of these places the plun has proved more or less of a success just as has been properly managed and carried on. In Pittsburg the experiment was made on a small scale by the t'lty Club of Allegheny county. The committee having charge of the work found It Impossible to se cure the least assistance from the city authorities of Pittsburg, but received generous encouragement from many public citizens. Land was freely of fered, but that which was best suited for agricultural purposes was only ac cessible to a large proportion of the In digent population by railroads. After the early part of the season the dif ficulty resulting from these circum stances was removed by the generosity of several citizens, who furnished transportation for all those engaged on the city farms. Although the Season was very un favorably on acount of floods, which were particularly disastrous, a faJr crop was raised, estimated In value at $1,464. while $775 was expended In the cultivation of the land. The people for whose benefit this project was in tended seemed at first suspicious and incredulous, but afterwards showed interest and appreciation. In Buffalo. New York, the scheme was Indorsed by the mayor, Edgar B. Jewett, who. by a personal effort In 1895. raised $2,000. Five hundred and seventy-eight families were given plots to cultivate and the result of their efforts were very successful. During the past season the state legislature authorized the city of Buffalo to make an appropriation for this work and the common council appropriated $3,500. The work, however, was carlred on with an expenditure of about $3,000, and twelve hundred families, or be tween five and six thousand persons, were benefited. Duluth, Minn., is another place where the scheme has been eminently successful. THE STREET CAR WAR. Mayor Plngree himself. In an address delivered Jan. 25, 1896, at Providence, R. I., has told the story of his street car war. We use his own words: "Thirty-two years ago, when the peo ple of Detroit granted a charter to a street car company to run cars through Its steets for the accommoda tion of the public and permitted the charging of rate which, in the years of the war, when all things were high, were considered reasonable, they little thought that this apparently harmless company would grow into an immense and powerful corporation controlling hundreds of miles of streets and be capitalized nnd bonded at the end of that time for over $12,000,000. The facts of which I shall speak and which are true of the street railways of De troit are. In general, equally true of the street railways of other cities. The les sons to be drawn from our experience there, are good In all large cities of the United' States, as far as my infor mation goes. "As this horse car company and Its plant grew In size, due to the exten sion of its tracks and the Increase In population, it also grew in influence in political affairs. It went Into politics as a company, and here our troubles began. Its stock was held and its divi dend divided, principally among cer tain citizens of our own, but the con trol of the company was In the hands of a single Individual. This gentleman, through good management and the great earning power of the system, has, from humble beginnings, become very wealthy. To this he anil his fel low operators are perhaps fairly en titled. "Although the state law of Michigan provides that the life of no corporation shall extend longer than thirty years, and that at the end of that time all privileges granted shall again revert to the people, about sixteen years ago a council had been elected which rep resented more particularly the street car company than it did the people at large. Of the methods employed in packing the caucuses, and other doubt ful ways, to elect this council, I need not speak In detail; suffice it to say that in consideration of certain new lines to be -established, the life of the company's charter was extended thir ty years from that time. There Is not the least doubt that, this extension was obtained by corrupt means, and at the time no one doubted It, but as It could not tie proved, the charter stood. This new charter provided further that, dur ing its life, the company to which It was granted should have exclusive rights to all the streets of the .city and that no rights to lay track should be given to any other company until the old company had had refusal of same. RAN THE CITY. "Then followed a long period during which time the street car companies virtually ran the city. They owned the common council, and public officials generally were subservient to their wishes. In 1891 the conditions were such that it culminated In a mass meet ing being held, which was densely packed with citizens of all classes, to protest against the arrogance, tyranny and poor service of this company. The companies claimed the right to say when the city might be permitted to pave Its principal streets and through Its subservient tools it prevented ne cessary public Improvements. "It Is a fact that a committee of principal citizens, appointed for that purpose, besought the street car mag nate to permit the paving of Wood ward avenue, our principal street, which was In a scandalous condition, half paved with rotten cedar block and cobble stone, and were flatly refused the privilege, and were told that it could not be repaved until the company was ready to pave between the tracks, and that It was satisfied with things as they were. The service of the street cars was most abominable; slow horses with small, badly ventilated cars con stituted our entire street car system until 1S93. The company said they were satisfied with horse cars. It was then that the city determined to test In the courts the validity of the extended charter. Two of the most eminent law yers of the city were engaged, but these, due to certain Influences nut readily explained, refused to go on with the suit, and when the city began to look for others to take the case, it was found that every luwyer of any note, except one, had been retained by the company. This gentleman, together with an able lawyer from another city, was retained to represent the city's case. THE LIGHT PROBLEM. "Some of the bonds being held In New York, it was possible to throw the case In to the United States court and out of our state courts. About this time, it devolved upon me in taking care of the interests of the whole peo ple of the city, to attempt the reduc tion In price of gas, which was being sold for $1.75 and $1.50 per 1,000 feet, by a company doing business without a charter. The stock of the two plants in existence was also held principally In Detroit. Public lighting was fur nished by a private concern at a cost of $11.15 per lamp per year, a combi nation having been formed which made it Impossible to procure It for less price. The lights were poor and the service bad. I determined to go to the legislature for permission for the city to do Its own lighting, which being granted, bonds were voted and a plant erected which furnishes twice the light per lamp for $7.20 per year, and now lights the entire city and effects a sav ing of over $75,000 a year. "The owners, stockholders and hangers-on of the private lighting compa nies were thereafter also counted among my sworn enemies. These and other public monopolies were mostly owned and controlled by a few Detroit people, who out of them had grown rich, and are Its bankers, Influential men and so-calltd best citizens. But the city was being bled to death and the taxpayers mulcted for the benefit of a favored few. I considered such conditions to be unjust. The charges in evry case were out of all propor tion to the value rendered, and for the same returns we In Detroit were get ting less value received than almost any city in the United States. In short, we were a corporation-ridden town in every sense of that word. "Since I have held public office my motto has been: 'Equal rights to all, special privileges to none.' So valu able was the street car franchise of the company of which I have spok en that it. has been possible to bond the business, and pay interest upon watered stock to-the value of four or five times the value of the plant. In fact, when the old company sold out to the present owners for nearly $8,000,000, all that was worth anything was a franchise with sixteen years to run, but hones for more, and some old flat rails and primitive cars. It will not seem strange to you after this explan ation. In my efforts to reduce prices for the benefit or tne whole people,- that I should have encountered the opposi tion of all those who claimed vested rights and special privileges to get rich off the people of our city. They had got used to this privilege. Nearly all of the gentlemen whom I had antag onized were men of great social and political Influence, and social pressure was largely Instrumental In bringing into line against me any friends I may have had among that class. The com panies attacked cried, "The corpora tions must stick together for mutual defense," and they did. "You can readily Imagine that my ef forts to fight the street car companies In the people's Interests, were sadly handicapped by the position of our most influential men. I had been elect ed largely upon the platform of street railway reform. That it was a popu lar cry may be seen from the fact that I was elected by a majority of 1,700, although In a normally Democratic city of about 3,000. In. fact, Detroit was so solidly Democratic that It was difficult to get a Republican to run, and I was put up witli the. expectation that I would be slaughtered, for the street car companies still ran -the i-aucuses and we did not know at the time how thor oughly In earnest the masses were upon the matter of street car reform, party or no party: ' ''' ? . : A STIFF FIGHT. ''After having been elected, and when I became conversant with my duties as mayor, and better acquainted with methods In vogue to bleed the city, I saw that there were other abuses which needed to be looked into, such as gas at $1.75, while other cities were pay ing $1 a 1.000 or less; the exorbitant price paid for electric lighting; the bleeding in the council and school board, the contractors' ring which made us pay two prices for street pav ing, etc. The opposition of the entire class who were profiting by these abuses, of course, became more and more crystallized as I endeavored to do mv whole duty to the public, and I at last found mvself alone with only the masses of the common people at my back. Arrayed against me. either through interest, political or social pres sure brought to bear, were the cor porations, pretty much of all kinds, the banks, the fashionable churches, the lawyers whom corporations and banks, hire, the architects and doctors whom they employ and all the Eng lish dailies of our city. "I was called a socialist, anarchist, demagogue and pretty much every thing that was bad, and the feeling against me became so bitter that to all Intents and purposes my family and myself were socially ostracised by the people who were formerly our friends. I state these facts not to give you to understand that Detroit people are worse than elsewhere or that I am an exception. This opposition would have been the same, no matter who was mayor, provided he had labored for re form as I did. The gentlemen to whom I refer only stand for representatives of a class whom you will find In any city, men of good standing and charac ter, but who consider private Interests paramount to public welfare. Detroit being a city of 250,000 people. It was not so large but what It was possible for them to crystallize the Bolld array of wealth and Influence against me. It has always been so and will continue to be, that any man who takes up the cause of the common people or exerts his labors in behalf of Justice, equal ity and right, will, when he Interferes with the claims of the favored few, or disturbs existing conditions by which they profit, be ostracized, hated and misrepresented. Any man who re ceives the support of the masses or has their interests at heart. Is naturally called a demagogue. Had I known In advance how it would be, I dare say courage might have failed me. I say this as a warning to others. "The very people who were loudest In their denunciation of the street rail way company's methods, when it came to their particular abuses and privi leges being attacked, joined forces with the car comoanies and did all In their power thereafter to thwart my efforts to reduce fares and recover to the city the stolen franchises. WHIPPED IN COURT. "As regards the suit at Issue: the city won its case before the federal circuit court, but upon appeal before the Unit ed States Court of Appeals, the city lost. The city brought suit to test the validity of an ordinance which extend ed the franchise so as to cover more than 30 years, this being the limit of time for which a charter can be grant ed to a corporation by the laws of the state. The decision of the court being. In effect, that although the equities lay on the side of the city, the Interests involved to the bondholders and stock holders were so great that the court felt a delicacy of depriving them of what the court called their property. "In this connection I may state that there Is a growing feeling In the United States, and especially In the west, that the United States courts have of late years shown strong tendencies almost uniformly to decide against the rights of the people, and In favor of the seem ingly more sacred vested rights of cr poratlons. Until about thirty years ago, it was Just the other way. Their present attitude may, perhaus, be ac counted for when we consider that United States Judzes have almost uni formly before their appointment, been prominent corporation lawyers, that often the Influences which recommend them for appointment are those of large corporations or stockholders In them, and that their association and environment while upon the bench Is largely of this class. Whether these surmises r.re true or not. it will in deed be a sad day for our Republic when the courts come to consider the rights of the people and the welfare of the workin? masses less sacred than the supposed claims of rights of cor porations, trusts and combines. "To revert to our strusgle with the street car company. When the case had been decided against the city, the company became more arrogant than ever, its stocks having In the mean time, and Just fifteen days before the last court rendered Its decision, been bought by New York parties at a figure much less than the stock would have commanded, had it been kno.wn by the owners (I say owners, not purchasers) that the de cision would be In their favor. The plant of the Citizens' company (the company which gave us the most trouble) can be duplicated today for probably $3,000,000: yet I believe there are out some $12,000,000 of bonds upon which it pays interest. This will show you how profitable Is the investment. I read In a newspaper that the street car plant of Philadelphia can be dupli cated for $15.000,000.yet It Is bonded and pays Interest on $112,000,000, and this the people must poy for. THREE-CENT FARE. "About the time that things looked darkest, and It seemed probable that the companies would have their own way in spite of the people, I induced certain gentlemen of means to come to Detroit and look the ground over, with a view of granting them a cheap-rate franchise. My light had been for a reduction of fare, a three-cent fare and universal transfers. I believed from figures and evidences in my possession, that three cents was ail a ride was worth, and that at that price there was a handsome return. A new company was formed to which the council gave a franchise of about 75 miles of track, the charge to be eight tickets for 25 cents in the daytime and six for 25 cents at night, and general transfers over all Its lines. The best streets and principal paying thoroughfares were In possession of the old company, hence the new company took what It could get, but asked for a terminal facilities within the half mile circle of the city hall. To this the old company object ed. This then become the issue be tween those with me and those against me. "Then began a fight against me and this company In the state legislature, where we went for authority to grant these facilities, of which probably there Is no duplicate In the records of any state legislature. A whole volume of laws was passed at the dictation of my enemies, which, while depriving our city of its rights of self-government, were all aimed at me. It would be too long a story to go into In detail. Suf fice it to say that the combined Influ ence of the political and moneyed In terests of Detroit were solid against me there also. Boodle to defeat the bill, says a paper published at the cap ital, flowed like water down hill, and the whole legislature was corrupted and demoralized by the workers In op position to the terminal bill. The bill did not pass. By threats of eternal po litical damnation, by promise of federal office and other methods, those who control politics In our state, and were Interested In the bonds of the road, whipped Into line enough country members to defeat it. "While this' controversy with the Traction company was in progress. 1 1 had been i'e-elected a second time as mayor by oyer 2.500 majority, a third time by fi.OCO and again a fourth time, last fall, by lU.tiUO. In the last election my majority was greater Mian the en tire vote for my opponent. I state this to show that except tbtt Interests men tioned, the people were with me almost solid. - . THE FARE RAISED. "About December 10th last a threat was made by the company that if we did not lie down and keep still, fares would be raised to five cents, as it claimed a right to do by Its charter, it had previously given six rides for 25 cents. The fares were raised In due time and then the cars did not pay for their running, for the people would not ride In them at that rate. They walk ed, or rode with the other company when nosslble. "All the members of the council who during the past year or two had been hypnotized by the street car company or had listened to the voice of the political charmer, had been defeated by the people at the polls, and a council composed largely of new men was to come in January 14th. The five-cent bluff was made to serve as an excuse for boodle aldermen to vote In favor of the company. An effort was made by ihe company to rush through a charier during the last two weeks of the old council, again extending Its franchise for &0 years. In considera tion of a three-cent fare, hut no trans fers for less than five cents. I op posed this and the company needed two votes to pass it over my veto. There was boodllng and corruption rampant. In such cases those that are dishonest and accept money for their votes nev er tell, nor does the briber; it is only when by accident some honest man is approached that it comes tangibly to the surface. "One of the aldermen stated publicly nnd In the press that he had been of fered $6,000 In cash for his vote by the company's manager. The latter, of course, denied this. We have had bondltng in Detroit In almost evry case where a valuable public franchise was sought, and in every case the honest public official who was approached, hut who would not sell himself, has been ridiculed by the press and persecuted by the corporations afterwards, because he exposed their corruption, but gave no absolute proof. Many a man elect ed to the council who had all his life been known as honest, has fallen to the tempter. With such large amounts of money at stake) large bribes can well be offered and are usually paid for votes. The people must, however, sit idly by and helplessly look upon these things while their birthright Is being sold. It Is so very difficult to catch the bribers. Yet this class pass for gentlemen and are honorable men, so-called. It Is considered by many a legitimate business method. In one such case, however, I succeeded In trapping four boodlers in the school board, who were selling seat contracts for private gain. One was acquitted. One tried to commit suicide, the third left the country and the fourth was sent to state prison. "To go back to the last ordinance, the line of two weeks ago. It could not be passed over my veto and there we stand at the present day. Charg ing five cents straight, which was held up as a threat while the ordinance was under passage, did not pay, so this company has come down to a three cent fare also. We are waiting to see what It will do next. "While Its franchise has still some 14 years to run. It is a valuable prop erty and the company could carry peo ple at a great profit for three cents, or perhaps at even loss rates, were It not for the fact that It is capitalized on a five-cent basis and must pay In terest upon such onerous sums. I be lieve, however, firmly, that there Is a good profit even upon theAvater and all at a three-cent rate. It, however, be hooves the people of Detroit to be on guard for the next 14 years. They can scarcely afford to go to sleep nights. Franchise-grabbers sleep not, nor slumber. The efforts of the people for reform are usually spasmodic, and when the spasm Is over, then again begins the process of sapping and min ing by franchise-grabbers. The labors ot the latli r are constant and unceas ing, always wot king in the dark, al ways corrupting. SAFEGUARDS. "There Is but a single safeguard against this eorruptlong of the people's servants that I know of. Let no fran chise be granted except upon ft vote i f the whole people. This method may be somewhat more cumbersome, but It is the only cure for the evils which now threaten American cities. Evils of gov ernment can only be cured when the honest masses attend the primaries. Let the cry be: 'Don't allow your pri maries to be run In the Interests of pri vate gain. Let every citizen go. At tend the primaries.' "But while our street car troubles are not yet permanently settled, we nave ben learning something which perhaps may be of value to you here as well as to other cities. We have learned, for Instance, when these franchise have become so very valuable and are bonded for such enormous sums, that the companies and their Inltuence ar.d power become so great that they are greater than the people and rule ovtr them. The offpnseless one-horse car with Its glass box, where a passenger deposited his nickle has grown into an enormous corporation. In which are financially interested men of Inlluence and wealth In every community, io perpetuate this becomes their aim. It becomes a monster which fastens its) tentacles upon every branch of munici pal government and whose corrupting Influences penetrate everywhere; an old man of the sea. who cannot be shaken off except by an almost superhuman effort. At the bottom of this Is. of course, the constant effort to get a franchise for nothlnir, or practically so, or have It extended, which Is worth millions. Money Is often protected ly money. It is cheaper to bribe alder men than pay In reduction of fares or taxation that should be paid to the en tire people. "I believe that I can safely say from our own experience, the experience of Chicago, N?w York, nnd other cities, that corporations owning or endeavor ing to procure public franchises, which by their nature are .monopolies, and hence very valuable, are responsible for most. If not all, the corruption In American municipal politics and Amer ican cities. It has become a wry sPrl ous question whether these shall ru'e the people or the people them. What I say with regard to cities applies equally to the Influence of railroads, great coriwiratlons and trusts, with our state legislatures and with congress. The amounts of money Involved in their affairs have, I believe, become dangerous to the liberties of the people and the future of the republic, dreed has no conscience or patriotism. THE ONE CURE. 'As regards municipalities and how to lessen the growing Inlluence and power of traction companies, while I am not yet ready to advocate municipal opera tion of roads, I am strongly In favor of the city owning the tracks of Iron, just as it owns the bricks In the pavement. When once you give your streets away you are no longer master, but servant. I would then advocate the letting of the right to run cars to the lowest bidder, taking certain good streets and cer tain poor ones In lots, the fat with the lean, for periods for say ten to fifteen years. The right of Inspection of the books of the company to be open to the proper officers of the city and a yearly sworn statement by each company showing earnings and traffic to be made. This for the purpose of form ing a basis to bid upon next time. This is already the practice with state and national banks. The boons of rail roads are subject to inspection by the state railroad commissioners. I be lieve that all benefits to a city from these franchises should go In a reduc tion of fares and not in taxes to be paid by the company, which are generally evaded In some way. Until civil ser vice reform, working smoothly and honestly, can be made to operate In American cities. I ,ani nut in fuvor of municipal running ot cars. This may perhaps come luter. As yet it would be too great a power in the bands of corrupt politicians. ' ' "We,-in Detroit, have become very wary of giving away franchises., The people are becoming afraid of these tre mendous Interests growing constantly, and which work solely for evil and cor rupt politics. There are cities, which, today, are bound hand and foot by franchises which they Innocently granted many years ago. I believe that the people in some of these cities will never get back what Is rightfully lh- lis at the explratton of these franchises. "It has been my lot to run up against certain monopolistic corporations In our city In trying to do what I thought best for the interest of the whole people, and In consequence I have been repre sented as opposed to all forms of In corporate capital. 1 am not bo op posed. I see clearly that corporate capital. In many forms of business nowadays, is beneficial and proper; but 1 say emphatically that all corporations which do business upon charters grant ed them by the public for public pur poses and which by their very nature are monopolies, such ns raliroaus, trac tion companies, telegraph and tele phone lines, etc.. should not be permit ted to charge according to their own sweet will, but should be under the supervision and control of the people, so that only reasonable and just rates be charged. There Is no uncertainty about street car investments in large cities. The business Is not as hazard ous as farming. A reasonable per cent, upon the actual vale of the plant Is all that should be asked for or permitted. I will not go into the argument why lowstreet car fares benefit a city and its large class of working people. It Is the pennies that count. The pen nies daily make many dollars yearly. To a working man or a shop clerk, it Is often a question of a few dollar be tween barely able to live and getting along nicely. Low street car fares en courage manufactories and public school education for children. It fa vors the building of homes and dis courages tenement life. Electricity has cheapened the cost of operation and equipment 60 per cent. In the last ten years. In private lines of business everything has cheapened. It is only monopolistic corporations which are able to keep up war prices, and their enormous profits are apparent when you try to buy their multi-watered stock and see the amounts for which they are able to bond their business. It is the right to operate which the public gives away often for nothing. which Is the main factor In values; the plant is often not worth a tenth of the whole." It Is proper to add that since the foregoing address was delivered Mayor Plngree wpn his tight for a tnree-cent fare, the street car companies mak ing a complete surrender. HIS FUTURE PROGRAMME. In a speech before the Detroit Cham ber of Commerce In 1S95 Mayor Plngree went further into his views on the Issues. He there laid down the prop osition, first of all. that there should be no difference in the treatment of Individual capital and corporate capl tal "An individual or a partnership Is reuuired to do business upon actual capital. The same rule should apply to corporations. No corporation should be permitted by law to Issue stock which is not represented by actual value. This is especially true of public corporations owning and controlling nubile franchises. The evils arising from what is known as watered stock are great. In order to earn Interest upon such stock, it is necessary to draw from the public more money man is required to curry on the business with profit. Combinations are being formed In all parts of the country, oe tween Btreet railway companies, gas companies, electric light companies, telephone companies and other organ izations whose life comes from the bodv of the people, and to the extent that such combinations represent false values, the paying power of the people who must support legitimate business is lessened. If this system continues in a short time the only prolltable liusl- ness will be the operation of public franchises. All manufacturing Inter ests will be crippled. All mercantile business, will be Injured. All trades will be cheapened, and there will be established a class more dangerous than any that has heretofore existed, either In this or any other country." The following is a list of the reforms which Mr. Plngree will fight for as governor of Michigan: 1. Doing away ns far ns possible, with conventions for local ofllcers, and giving the people themselves a direct vote in primary elections ror ine nom ination of candidates. 2. Two-cent fares on all the railroads of the lower pelnsula. 3. Taxation of railroad property the same as other property. 4. The application of the principles of the Interstate commerce law to com merce within the State, to secure to farmers and shippers the advantages of the canipetltlon in places not hav lng several lines of railroad. 5. Submit to popular vote the grant ing of street railroad ani other quasi public franchises as a check upon the corruption of aldermen and other city oflicinls. 6. The suppression of trusts and monopolies as far as the State can go in that direction. 7. Laws against overcapitalization of corporations and swindles committed bv promoters. 8. Laws against the coercion of vot ers, and particularly to prevent cor potations of a public character, like railroads and banks, exerting unlue Influence in elections. Wholesome When shortened with TIM urttotene trade mark mn "rbttoinw" ane SMrr'i Aauf in enton ptttnl ureal on every tin THS N. K. FAMBANK COMPANY, '!! o. terk. Ihllaielpkl, litUksr THE IDEAL AMERICAN TRIP NOkTrlEKN fcTEAMSHIP COMPANY. The fcuperbly Appointed snd L'umm, dioaj to. 1 r-tamhfni, NORTHWEST AND NORTHLAND, American through and id rough, leave Buffalo 1 ti'udav and Fridays 0. jo p.m. for Cleveland, Detroit, Mackinac, Tbe So a, Duluth, and Western Points, paaamf all ulai-ee ot Interest by daylight In connection, with THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY, it form tbe moat dirnct rnntr, and fmm ery pi lot of comparison, the moat delightful and eomfortal 1 one Minneapolis, tit. Paul, tireat Fall, Helena, Putt. Spokane aol Pa ri ho roast. The onlv tranerontiusntal ins running the lament buffet, library, obsjr ra tion car. New 67 boor train for Portland via Spokane. HOTEL LAPAYETTE, Lake Minnetonka, 1ft miles from Minm-apolif. largest and must beautinl rvaort la the weat. tickets and anjr Information of any agent or A. A. HEARD, Ooneral Faaeenger agent, Buffalo, N. Y. III AN INVITATION. It Circa l a Ileasura to IMbUah tue fob looius Announcement, AN women suffering; from any form of illness peculiar to their sex are re quested to communicate promptly with Mrs. rinkham, at Lynn, Mass. All letters are re ,tjv ceired, opened, read and an fy swered by women only. r A woman can freely talk ot her private illness to a woman thus has been estab lished the, eternal confi dence be tween Mrs. rinkham and the women of America. This con fidence has in duced more than 100,000 women to write Mrs. Pinkham for tdvlce during the last few months. Think what a volume of experience he has to draw from ! No physician living ever treated so many cases of female ills, and from this vast experi ence surely it is more than possible she has gained the very knowledge that will help your ease. She is glad to have you write or call upon her. You will find her a woman full of sympathy, with a great desire to assist those who are sick. If her medi cine I not what you need, she will frankly tell you so, and there are nine chances out of ten that she will tell you exactly what to do for relief. She asks nothing in return except your good will, and her advice has relieved thousands. Surely, any ailing woman, rich or poor, is very foolish if she does not take advantage of this generous offer of assistance. Never In the history of mediolne has the demand for one particular remedy for female diseases equalled that at tained by Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vege table Compound, and never in the history of Mrs. Plnkham's wonderful Compound has the demand tor it beta to great as it is to-day. Youngstown, O , Sept. 18, t8q6 To Tub Nux-Phospho Co , Gentlemen : I consider Nux-Phospho the greatest nerve medicine on earth, am aiy physician, after testing it, highly en tlorsed it. It has cured me completely ot kidney, liver and bladder tioubks. Vours truly, Heater in Union Iron & Steel Co. For Sale by Matthews Bros., John H. Phelps, X. M. Klike. I.orenz & Koem. pel, l'. I.orenz: also O. W. Davis, C. Hem wood & Co., Providence. THE HIC POWDER CO., BOOMS I AND 2, COffl'LTH t'VVt, SCRANTON, PA. INNING AND BLASTING POWDER MADE AT MOOSIC AND RUOaV PALE WO RKB. LAPLIN A RAND POWDER CO'S . ORANGE OUN POWDER Electric Batteries, Electric Exploders, for ex plodlug blasts, Safety Fuse, aud Repauno Chemical Co.'s man EXPLOSIVE WILLIAM S MILLAR, Alderman 8th Ward, Scranton ROOMS 4 AND S OAS AND WATER CO. BUILDINd, CORKER WYOMING AYE. AND CENTER St AV11PP T.YI Tttl feaan f M at t a A a w m xu iiv. a, a wiu a ,wv Hit V W m. (1 hour Intermission for dlnasr an4 upper.) Particular Attention aivtn to Collections, Prompt Eattlament Guaranteed. Your Busk aaas la RespMtfulljr Solicited. 1 slcpbose is. "zm? REVIVG RESTORES VITALITY. Made a lalDar. Well Man 18th Day. of Me. Tr:e uPEAT aoth produces the nbore results In 30 days. It acts powerfully and uuirkljr. Curea whan all otbenfaiL Vounimeu wl 11 retain their Inat manhood, and old weu will recover their youthful Tie or by utlns RKVI VO. It QUlcklT and humIt PMtorea Nttrvnuo. neM, Loot Vitality, Impotency, Nlshtly EmiaMoae, Lntt Power, Fallins Memory, Wantins Dlaeam. aoe all eflecta of aeU-ibuae or eioetaand lndlamuos, tthit-h unllte one for atudy. bnainsH or marrtai. It aot onlr curea by riartltur at tbe mot ot d.ieoM. but la a treat ncrtr tonic aud blood builder, brine liif back tbe pink (flow to pale rheoke and re torlnt the flro of youth. It wards off fnualty ad Coneumptlon. luetut on bavins REVIVO, ae tner. It can tie carried in vest pocket. By BUI, S IMQ per peckate. or all tor SS.OO, with a aoi "Ito written Kuarantee to care or renutd he money. Circular froe. AdJreat -. MroiCiHE CO.. Rt !9t St.. CHICAGO, r' For Ssls by MATTHEWS BROS.. Drug Jlii) fTS hay. fist ssramoo. fa.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers