The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-09-07
Aurora Advice.

Mayor Jamtson, hiueAn0" '
vosmer and City Engineer Huntington OF
Aurora, arrived in town on the evening
train on the G. b s. Q. road Tuesday even
inc. and under the guidance Of Messrs. AL
shuler and Porter, succeeded In finding the
splendid council chamber in our magnificent
city hall.
Il was hot night, but all were present
excepting Messrs. Hull and Williamson the
former being in Colorado and the latter at
tending to his assignee sale.
The Mayor announced the presence OF
the gentlemen from Aurora aud on motion
Of Mr.. Armstrong the regular order OF bus
mess was suspended and Mr.. Alshuler then
called upon Aid. Gates, of Aurora, to en-
tighten the council upon the water works
and electric light questions.
Aid. Gates stated that he had not come
here to make set speech, but there were
good many things he didn't know. What
tbsv we're after was to find out something
about paving brick and were willing to i'm
part what information they had gained on
tho electric light and water works questions.
When they began to look up water works,
some five years ago, they found infected
surface wells, densely populated grave yards
and germs Of diptheria. The great question
for their consideration was that OF bonding
the city. They found that they could only
raise $4,000, while they would require
$4,000 to complete first class system.
They issued the bonds, but if they had
submitted 1t to vote of the people it would
not have been carried. They had to lay low
for while but they had today system Of
water works the equal Of any in the United
States. Their system had cost $lsO,OoO
complete Before they built they went to
Joliet and other neighboring cities, where
they found private corporations in charge
and not so good water as they had discover
cd. They now had twenty five miles of
mains and two hundred and fifty hydrants.
Each hydrant had stationary pressure
equal to any first class steam engine.
Just after the completion Of the works
they had big fre-the Allen Wsfehouse-
and had they not had the water works the
entire business portion Of the town would
have burned. They had fourteen streams
on it in ten minutes and succeeded in con-
6ning the FIRE to its starting point.
A city should always construct and own
its own water works, for if the Auro-
70 counoilmen should ever think of selling
tho works they would be drammed out Of
town. Just as they had raked up all Of
their ready money to pay on the water
works, they found that their electric light
contract he'd expired. They had no expert.
ence in electric lighting. They visited the
chief cities Of the country where plants were
in operation and became convinced that
their interest was to own their own plant,
for the lowest bid for the year was
one hundred and twenty-five dollars per
lamp. They constructed their system at q
total cost of $4,000 to $l9, 1000, with seven
ty-fve arc lamps and have now eighty seven
lamps in operation. Their experience has
been that the total expense for the lights
was not much over $4,000 per year. The
expense was lessened by the use of the wa
ter works power in the running of the plant
but it was all charged to the light fund.
The water works are self-sustaining,
paying the interest on these bonds, current
expenses and leaving small surplus.
AS many lights may be run as may be de-
sired and the cost need not be over sixty
dollars per lamp on the moon schedule.
Mr.. Alshuler asked if this was on the
Philadelphia moon schedule.
Mr.. Gates remarked that it was not, it is
on the cloud schedule. Ottawa had the sd.
vsntsges over Aurora in freight rates On
coal, which was very important item.
Unless Ottawa was bankrupt, had no
credit and no friends he would not advise
allowing any corporation to own either the
light or water.
City Engineer Huntington said that what
Alderman Gates said was correct. The
Aurora lights were run on cloud schedule
of 2,490 hours per year. Everything was
charged to the electric light, making the cost
81, 100 per year. Where part Of the expense
of running water works was not charged
to the light, as in Ottawa, for instance, an
eighty light plant could be run for $500
per year. Aurora used two trinmers and
thirty four dollars worth of oarbons for SO
lamps. The Aurora plant cost ST., 300 but
he could duplicate it now for less than Sl5,-
600. They had never lost night since the
plant was started. II he was to put in q
plant he would use common screened Strea.
tor slack in Hszelton boiler with the auto
matte stoker. This would cos. but ninety
cents per night for fuel. This was the e1-
pense Of the Aurora company which uses
seven hundred lights in the stores. There
was no need Of an expert electrician for q
superintendent and laborer could do all the
necessary work about the station.