Wichita eagle., 1889-08-13
he different wards are importuned by
heir long-suffering constituents for more

their long-suffering constituents for more
light
Were the number OF lights now in use
doubled, the city would be no better light,
ed than her geographical area, and good
police protection demand. This would
call for an outlay of more than forty-ive
thousand dollars. Wichita needs and
sooner or later must have more than
double the light she now has.
The question confronting your commit
tee Is, can the required quantity and quail
ity of light be had any cheaper than at
present, if the light plants were owned and
operated by the municipality? We here
| with submit for your consideration sucn
| data as the limited time at our command
| enabled us to collect, Our Investigations
have been confined to the experience OF
cities in Germany, Great Britain and the
| United States.
| Germany led the way. In 1916, Berlin,
the best governed city in Europe, If not In
the world, constructed and began the oper-
| alton of public gas works. An unbroken
continuation of the public system for more
than forty years is the strongest ratlhca-
ton OF the experiment, In 1855, Berlin
| furnished gas at less than one dollar per
thousand feet, and even at that price de-
rived a revenue sufficient to pay IS per
cent of the current expenses OF that great
| city. In 1860 there were two hundred and
slXty-six gas works in Germany: sixty-slx,
or only about % per cent. belonged to the
municipalities. In 1888 there were six
hundred plants, two hundred and ninety,
nearly so per cent. being owned and oper-
ated by the city governments. The capt.
| taliZed yalue of the gas works was one
hundred and forty-three millions of dol
lars; of private works twenty-six millions
The inhabitants of cities In which public
whereas THE cities supplied by private COM
! aOOrpCatP
ton of only four and one half
millions. OF one hundred and sixty
four leading cities in Germany, eighty
eight are supplied with gas furnished by
public works. Germany tried private
management in all it's forms, and as the
result of the experience of the last forty
or fifty years she is going over to the sys-
tenn of public ownership and public con-
troll as rapidly as possible. In Great Bri-
tain, with the exception of London, Edin-
burgh, Dublin. Liverpool, Sheffield, New
castle, Preston, Bristol and Hull, the gas
authorities.
The relative number of public and pri-
vate companies is changing continually
in favor of the public companies. re-
cent writer says: $50 sure are the cities
in England of the advantages of public
ownership, that nearly every week some
private company is bought out" Concern
works in Great Britain more will be said
at another place in this report. In the
| United States public control of gas works
is not so general as in the countries re-
ferred to- but the plan, so far as it has
been adopted, has produced satisfactory
results. The city of Richmond, Va, after
sending committee of seven of the city
council to the cities of Baltimore, Phila-
delphia, New York and Boston, to investi-
gate the gas business as conducted in
those centers, decided in 1850 to erect and
manage its own works They were in sue
cessful operation by the 22d of February,
| 1851, and have ever since been managed by
the city. The price of gas. which stood at
81 per thousand feet in 1851, was gradually
reduced to its present figure, 80 to pri-
vate consumers, and Is furnished free to
the city. In 1888 the city received from
the gas works $52,093 more than 1t ex-
pended, besides furnishing nearly 29,0O0,-
900 cubic feet of gas to the city for public
lamps and other public uses, free Of
charge. The Hon. w. G. Darlington, in
March, 1886, wrote as follows:
'Our gas works have been operated with
great success, furnishing our public lights
free for streets and buildings, paying all
expenses of manufacture and leaving in
addition almost enough to pay6 per cent
on the whole cost of original and ad-
ditional construction" The manager, Mr..
John II. Knowles, wrote about the same
| time: The gas works are about the only
paying institution which the city possesses.
Every tax payer is q stakeholder. l have
been first inspector and then superin-
tendent for thirty-three years. The peo-
pie. the owners Of the works seems salts
fled with the management" In 1852 an
attempt was made by private company
to persuade the city to sell the company its
works.
After careful investigation, during
| htoho - ,,,a How
to examine the works OF many other cities,
the common council, by large majority,
decided that it was the best policy tor the
! city to keep it's works and manage them
itself. Wheeling, w. Va, a city of $1,000
inhabitants, purchased gas works in 1871.
paying therefor 500, 000 in 1880 they were
paid for and had increased in value to
$500, 600. The price of gas was reduced
from 81 so per thousand feet TO 90 cents,
at which price it is now furnished. Dan
vile, Va, also owns its gas plant, and the
results are most satisfactory.
Philadelphia is the largest city in the
United States that owns its own gas works.
The management was for sometime I'M
satisfactory. A board of trustees, not &C
countable even to the council was to man
age the works until they were fully paid
| for.
Charges of corruption. and consequent
investigation, for time obscured the
=
ownership. The city finally got the con-
troll of the works out of the hands of the
trustees, and the results are all that
could be desired. In 1887 the re-
ceipts from the works were nearly
$4,000, 900, almost 81 900 900 more than was
expected Thus in Europe and America,
public ownership and control are steadily
gaining In favor.
1t is urged by the opponents of the pub
lie system, that private companies can
| manufacture gas cheaper than public cor
porations. To this it may be replied in the
first place, admitting the claim to be true,
it is of little force unless it can be estab-
lished that private companies will sell
cheaper than public. But the argument is
not founded in reason or in fact. The rel
alive efficiency of working, in one respect
at least, may be seen from the fact that
the average of gas unaccounted for of
forty-nine works of private companies in
England. amounted to geo per cent; that
of fifty public works only SIS per cent. So
that In one of the points in which private
periority they are really inferior.
The burough of Dundee, Scotland, as
sumed the works in 1865 with the amount
sold at 11o, 900, 600 cubic feet, the price As.
l0d and the waste 232 per cent. As the re-
suit OF twenty years management il sells
nearly 400, 900, 900 cubic feet at a price OF
SIS cd. and with waste Of only los per
cent
Leicester assumed the works in 1878,
with gas at IS. 10d. aud consumption of
of go, 900, 600 of feet. BY 1855 the price had
been reduced to IS. 4d. and consumption
| had increased to 500, COO. The original
was $685.. 000 from which $4,000 had been
written off from profits derived from the
Undertaking. IS 600 had been mt in a re-