AN AMERICAN VISITOR.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCIV, Issue 14480, 29 June 1911, Page 2

AN AMERICAN VISITOR.

PROFESSOR W. T. MILLS. SOCIALISM IN MILWAUKEE. All the way from tlio oitv of Milwaukee—a city 'if over 300,Ull!l iuliabitimU—came a visitor who .uiwwl in Ti.lu.lru yesterday, in tlio person of Professor W. T. 'Mills. Tlio Professor li:»<» bean in Now Zealand for tlio past few weeks, having como <-s si special Commissioner to make investigation as to industrial ami municipal enterprise. H.> Una boon through Great Britain and Europe, and also Australia, on a siruihr nu'ssion, and on his return will report direct to the Mayor and City Council of Milwaukee. Professor Mills has been a teacher of history ivnd economics all lus life. On different occasions he lins hecn offered a University Professorship in political economy and science, hut lias always hud lnrgor classes outside of tlio University' than could be organised in it. He is Principnl or tire International School of Socj i.i Economy, and for fire years has had 4000 correspondence students. He is n Socialist ami as lie elites from Milwaukee—the American c.ty which was captured by Socialists fourteen months ago (and where their reign is said to have been a rank failure) a

"1-Iorald" reporter asked him to give his opinion of the result of the Socialist regimo in this : big Unitedi States city.

.1 ho request was courteously complied with, the Professor stating the case as follows:

"As to the attack on Milwaukee] it is part of a campaign of misrepresentation financed aiid carried on by oiw AMqimn.li who still represents the old aggregation of. "crooks" on the Citj 'Council, This is Aldennan I'-ogdt, .who is Himself without standing m the city except among the disreputable claso". It 's true that the Socia :: sts won a ward at a. time through an educational campaign extending over twelve years, this hoing carried on almost entirely by the.distribulio'j of literature giving information as 1o the municipal improvements which tho Socialists would effect. : It is also true that tlireefourths of the • clergymen of the city, iica.-ly all tho school teachers., the trad?s unions, and a large professional constituency, support our Party. These eati hardly be called ike "fluffyminded" section of the. community. Prior to the election of the Socialists to office, tho city of Milwaukee was admitted to be. among the worst governed cities in' America.; more than GO ind.'jtmente wcro secured in n single year against prominent officials connected with tho old administration. And yet their organisation was so completethat they were- ablo to change candidates and continue in control untll A«r ! " > Sociillists won it from them.' Wo came into possession of the ciiy foupeen months ago with -.lre amount of loans authorised under the law already carried almost to the.legal limit, with ro cash in the treasury, and a doficit of 200,000 dollars. It was imme-aiat-ly proposed by the bankers handling the city's accounts that an increa.sed commission for the sale of bonds, and an increased rate of interest, would have t'.,be paoTbr the Oiiy Oou.ical. Our administration refused to t>ay any omr mission, reduced the rate of interest, and sold »h» bonds in QJfS'-ion Jit a better rate than that oht-uued by any other American city' with, r population equal to or ittrgeitha.i our own. Our bonds sold two pom,s more to the advantage of tho city than Philadelphia bonds—and Piil■adephia is tho third largMi city m Amwiea. ' J "Prior to our acministratton, Milwauto> was said tj he an "open" city , which, means m American that .gambhng and dWdl-ly houses yeio pernxtted, with no further interference from tho public authorities ™,w- « c . ol , kcti ?" "f blackmau by public officials who appropriated it to 'im£J : ' W ?i Pe] ?" m $- USB - TJlu Socialists! mmediately closed. ISO of these houses, iteo l ,s were refused to a large num •W™-.. haS he '»™ a parad.se for crooks," comes 'from the "crooks" 3S.btn*i 'f CaUSe ? divfeionTthe ? oflS ' on - er Sj6DCe " r bribe the , v ,'' oomh !s !«** to tie' increare in ase ofS' D ' t r 1 d trU if th , at a ' mi »'"»''" edW +k- P j ay haß been, established, but this does nob advance the pav of common labour sufficiently to nmlto b?v, ?**¥ creased cost of livi„° brought about by the food o-nd' ft.!S monopolies of Amerifa. Even o0 per cent, suggested (which I new W mq) would, .hardly do bo Vfc,' bave abolished tbe contract system in favour of day labbur, tlrereby mg the number of men in tie publfo * , This adds to the e^ekdiouttj,»7"\ees' t b ? t " nob on] y ™t s thl^L c S 1 ! tracto - 1 , a , ,P rof,ts - b W. makes , the»e profits available for tbe further employment of labour, with resuHhig additional improvements for tlio ben£ nt or the city. - Jo'^, t ° J ? ooial ? sm being on trial in Mil7h?Jt % anything in the sliape of industr.il enterprise tiat our cjty is authoriseu to undertake under nn ? J o a,r i ° f °;' r State - aad no <wtcrpiises hare been uiiderfaken which have resulted in failure for the reason b™. 110,l 10 , au *bority under the' law, v-to undertake any. What wo have been able to do is to establish a Department of Plumbing in connection with the Sanitary complaints are made of insanitary conditions the City Council proceeds to put the proi>erty into a sanitary state and sends tho bill'to tho owner, having first given five davs* notice for the making of the improvements by the owner. The result is tliat insanitary places are made wholesome without delay; and the owners, finding their bills for plumbing are about 66 per cent. less, thau if the work were done by the Plumbers' trusts, have almost entirelv ceased to make any repairs on their own account, but gladly leave the work to be done by the Municipal Plumbing Department. This is one of tie railures that Alderman Bogat has not not advertised.

*As tio Ulie faddists' schemes referred to by those who seek to botittle the administration 0 f t i ia Socialists, I may say that in Milwaukee the 'unit' system lias been adopted, both ui the management of the clerical work 171 the City Hal: and 111 the construction work' of the Department of Public Works. This is a system recently developed in America is_ in use by every great manufacturing company. By it, any particular piece of work is traced' from the . raw material Ho the finished article, and 1 the cost for each separate service in the process of makim' is accurately ascertained. Through the adoption of this system, the loafers, previously employed in the City Hall (municipal offices) have been obliged either to do their work, or to retire. Those who onlv showed up on pay day, have been' dropped and those who were giving indifferent service were drop]ied also, as fast as the new system unerringly revealed their incapacity. Mr Bogdt and his friends who have'lost their "rip 011 public funds by this process, naturally regard this as an inexcusable muddle of public affairs.

TI "-Js to the statement that the City ! Health Commissioner is not a recognised' member of tho medical profession, this is untrue. Tile chief of the Health Department has established a system by which the poor are treated, and furnished with medicines at cost price, much to the annoyance I of the Medical Trust and the DrunTrust, which together had been collecting large sums fir small services in previous rears. The Door neonle

ara enthusiastic in ties - expressions of approval of the now order of thansg. Certain members of the medical profession, no longer able to use the City Department for their personal purpose!), are denouncing those, in authority, for the reasons stated. "The fact is that Socialism has not been on trial in Milwaukee. The city has had a Socialist administration, but • without power, under the law, to inaugurate Socialism. All it has been able to do is to carry on the city government as best it could, not under socialistic laws, but under laws enacted' by those who are opposed to Socialism. Socialism would menu the public ownership of the gres.t monopolies, but in not a single, niMHiice is the city government of- : Milwaukee able to become the public owners of any sneli great monopoly. In spite of this, however, great improvements were made within six months of the time,the Socialists came into office, and in ii succeeding. State election "the City of Milwaukee was carried by .Socialists. live additional members uero elected to the Stat© Legislature dunking 15 altogether), and our first. Socialist Congressman to the United States Congress was elected. This victory was gained chiefly because of the satisfaction of

I tlio people with tlio Socialist administration during the six months preceding this election Those who aTo opposed to the Socialists have abandoned nil hope of ever getting the city away from us under the old form of election . But now, the Republicans and tho Democrats, having control of tho State Legislature have enacted a law making it impossible for anyone to he a oandidato for any office in our city as the candidate of a. party. Ho must be a personal candidate only! In this way it is hoped to defeat the Socialists, but the latter will bend their energies in the .direction of .so educating the people that they will be- ablo and willing to pick oil and . vote for the Soomlist candidate. Wo liave about two-hftlis of the votes now, but we shall need about throefifths on our side at the next election, which will be held about nine mouths hcncc._ No matter, how the election goes it will be cabled abroad that the Socialists did not win, as no candidate will be permitted to stand under the name of Socialist or as the avowed representative of any party. We are confidently expecting to win however, and are' nusning our campaign with- that end in view, .