The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-09-14
has no, made on, case that . city cannot

/ demonstrate the fallacy Of cities ownln
: and operating their electric light plants;
bu, II his argument be followed, II will b
seen that his objection to such ownershi
is based rather on the resulting effects o
! the business OF the home companies, IN
manufacturers Of electrical machinery
q than upon any decislyely objectionabl
features In the theory OF municipal owner
. ship itself, aside from the point named
I City ownership. In his view, must ulti
, mately react on the business of paren
. companies by making private capital tlmit
, and loath TO enter the business In juxtapc
r sitIon with municipal plants, and, there
fore, cause a reduction Of their sales.
is notable, however, that In his chapter OF
this phase of the subject, In describing
municipal plants, Mr.. Whipple's note
show that the cost Of light to the cities
owning such plants is less than under the
contract system, the cost of which is else
where In his book detailed though II |!
fair to say that he claims the figures In the
former case are unreliable. Ii Is further
more noticeable that where the authorities
In the cities owning their own plants were
asked, among other questions
4. With your experience are you Ia
favor of cities owning their own lighting
6. Has the operation Of your plant met
all expectations and requirements
.. If you. city had the work TO do over
again, do you think they would do the
same?
Only six, out of % cities making reply
to the questions, answered any of them in
the negative. The fact Is, neither Mr..
Whipple nor Plalndealer maintain their
position by their arguments Tor the contract
system, when the questions of cost and eff
ficIency are considered
But the great poin, is the politics" of
the thing. Plaindealer says
And 1t is the advice of a somewhat SUI
perficial observer and thinker, to suggest
as the proper way to remedy his imaginary
evil Is to put in city plant. The maker
of public opinion would indeed bring about
pernlcious results. and have a pack of
bowling office seekers and newly-made
electricians, engineers and quacks seeking
to run the public machinery, who knew no
more OF running dynamo or engine than
some men are capable of running news
paper,
What is the testimony? MIR. Whipple's
questions, alluded to above, Included these
also:
10. Does the establishment of the plant
necessarily enter into politics?
II. Does 1t create Offices for the mere
seeker of office?
OF the % cities answering, 90 answered
positively, Mo-
The other five answered as follows:
Alameda, Cal: 10. Somewhat. II. Yes.
Fairfield, Ia: 1t might In some places.
II. Not here. Substantially "No" to
both questions.
Hannibal, Mo-: TO- To some extent
generally. II. 1t may do so. Not very
bad, II would seem.
Staunton, Va: 10. Yes, 1t did here, as
everything else of a public nature does
II. No. Still not very bad
Ypsilanti, Mich: 10. Owned by the
city it must necessarily become political
II. Sometimes.
Little Rock, Ark, said, In answer to
question 10, at has had the opposite effect
with u.s. And this Is the FREE TRADERS
position, that the question of politics is
quicker and more effectuslly solved by
city ownership than by the contract sys>
tenn, since the former takes away all neces-
sity or temptation for private companies to
dabble In politics to gain renewal of a
desirable expiring city contract
Would 1t be more difficult to get and
keep in his place competent electrician
than an engineer of fire steamer Would
1t any more disturb the city's peace to
solve the problem of hiring lineman than
1t does to hire a teamster to drive horses
attached to fire apparatus? The FREE
TRADER does not believe with Mr.. Whip
pie and apparently Plaindealer that city
officials are dishonest per Sc, or that men
become 30 simply because they happen to
work for municipality. The FREE IRA
DER believes, on the contrary, that the City
Of Ottawa Is just as able to hire competent |
men to run Its electric light plant as are
The local companies or the electric railway
and no sound argument can be
idduced to the contrary.
Prof. Ely, In his address, says Mr. Whip.
pie In his Municipal Lighting" quotes
of the municipal council of Paris,
Ill.,, as saying:
MANY reasons were advanced pro and
on before our plant was purchased. First,
hat II would have tendency 10 purify
lily politics, as these electric light compa-
hes are generally composed of sharp,
hrewd men. Their stock Is dis
ributed where II will do the most good In
making city contracts, sometimes alder
men and even mayors being interested. 1t
vas observed also the company took a
pecial interest In city elections. i
L was common thing for council men to
)urn free gas, or such that the
'ity was paying for. There was a constant
ssue of this kind. Politics cut ne figure.
The question was, "Are you for the light
/