Chapter 30: Public Ownership

REFERENCES.

_Bemis, E. W._, (Ed.), Municipal monopolies. 1899.

_Brooks, R. C._, Municipal Affairs, 5: 1-346. 1901. (An exhaustive
and well-arranged bibliography on all aspects of municipal
problems.)

_Dewsnup, E. R._, The attitude of the state toward railways, a
discussion of the question of nationalization. A. E. Assn. Bul.,
4th

_Fairlie, J. A._, Recent extensions of municipal functions in the
ser., 1, no. 2: 175-187. 1911. (Vol. of Papers and discussions.)

United States. A. A. A., 25: 299-310. 1905.

_Guyot, Yves_, Where and why public ownership has failed. Trans. by
H. F. Baker. 1914.

_Knapp, M. A._, Government ownership of railroads. A. A. A., 19:
61-73. 1902.

_National Civic Federation_, Report on municipal and private
operation of public utilities. 1907. 3 vols. (A monumental study
by an American delegation, which visited many cities of Europe and
America; favorable, in the main, to extension of municipal
ownership.)

_Winchell, B. L._, Drift toward government ownership of railways.
Atlan. Mo., 110: 747-758. 1912.

QUESTIONS.

1. Does every government enterprise necessarily narrow the field for
private enterprise and diminish the amount of competition?

2. What forms of state activity favor survival of unfit men and bad
traits of character? What forms help the fittest to survive?

3. What are municipal franchises? Where are they?

4. Why does the public consent to grant patents or public franchises?

5. What kinds of municipal industries have you seen in operation? How
successful were they?

6. What are the main arguments for and against the city ownership and
control of gas and waterworks? What troubles arise from city politics?

7. Name the industries that are owned and controlled by towns and
cities of which you have a personal knowledge.

Which of them are most satisfactory in your judgment? Which the least
so?

8. What is the public sentiment in your home community as to the
ownership of industries by the town or city?