1904.” A law that authorized the introduction of electric traction in the trams of La Comercial had been vetoed by the Government of Battle's predecessor Cuestas in 1902 on the grounds that the traction systems were in their infancy and that the term of 75 years was excessively long. One of the first measures of Batlle's administration consisted in the withdrawal of that veto, and thanks to this the work began immediately. The Executive Power justified this decision by arguing that the change of traction was a progress that Montevideo demanded and that it would have "effective repercussions in the improvement of the housing of the working class, due to the ease with which he will be able to transpose daily the distances that separate the habitual center of occupations from the localities where land ownership can still be obtained relatively cheaply." Sanitation works were also carried out, while yielding to the exhortation of the Executive Power, the Charity Commission granted the "Uruguayan League against Tuberculosis” a monthly subsidy of $2,000 which the same Executive Power obtained after it was raised to $3,000, invoking the importance of the work undertaken by the League. The Conversion and Public Works Loan Law passed in 1906 earmarked $1,000,000 for school construction. That amount was reinforced with $200,000 and later with $300,000 during Battle's second administration. The University curriculum was expanded, foreign professors and technicians were brought in, and scholarships for study in Europe and the United States were set up. University expansion took place, A decree authorized a long-needed house-to-house property reassessment of Montevideo; “the decree required land to be evaluated separately from improvements.” For the first time, army and police uniforms were required to be made from Uruguayan cloth, while the government also stipulated the piece rate paid the seamstresses who sewed the uniforms. Under a law of the 27th September 1906 the anme of an enterprise was changed to Usina Eléctrica de Montevideo, “with exclusive privilege of selling electric light and power in Montevideo for twenty years.” The Executive was given power to fix rates, while profits “after setting aside 15 per cent for reserves, were to go to the Junta Económico-Administrativa de Montevideo. The Act’s original purpose had been to enable the Usina to meet power requirements, but the law was passed on the promise of lower lighting rates and better service on the insistence of the Cámara de Representantes.