St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-21

with its costly steam heating aud mechanical
ventilation, with the Van Buren, School. a
twenty-room building, containing Ruttan
System and Smead Dry Closets. The reason
we take the Van Buren, is because it Is
larger and contains more rooms than the
Franklin, and 1t is not near SO economical MS
some other schools containing the Ruttan
plant.
Franklin school Q8 rooms), cost
for fuel 1SS9-90. -. ....... S534 IL
Engineer and janitor's services
eost......'... .....'....... ....,. 1913 90
Cost of running Franklin plant. .S2,Oll IL
Van Buren, GO rooms), fuel cost ST., 2IS IL
Janitor's service in Van Buren,. 1,430 so
l1 Total. ........... .... -. $50, GAS 81
twenty-room building costs over $3.50 less
per year than the most economical steam
plant in the eighteen-room building. The
plant i'll the Franklin cost twenty thousand
dollars t$2O,00W. The Ruttan plant in the
Van Buren, cost in twenty rooms, seven
thousand two hundred and eighty nine dol
lars (S7,2S9). Remember that the Van
Buren, plant cost over twelve thousand dol
lars (Sl2. 000) less, besides interest at per
cent to put into a twenty-room school build
ing than it cost to put in the steam plant in
the eighteen-room Franklin. and Van Buren,
plant costs over two hundred and eighty dol
lars (S2S y less per year TO run. while it
costs nothing for water in the Van
the closets in the Franklin is no
small item. Mr.. Taxpayer, do you now think
that the Ruttan System is as expensive as
the newspaper reports have tried to make it?
But this is not all. In the Jefferson school,
containing eighteen rooms and steam
heating and mechanical yentilating plant
and water closets that cost over sixteen
thousand dollars ($l6,OO0.0U), it costs for
fuel, engineer and janitor's services over
$1,000 per room per year. while the Hum
bOldt. which is equivalent to twenty room
building, is heated with Ruttan System and
has full mechanical ventilation and dry
closets; cost Of plant put in, eight thousand
six hundred and ffty-three dollars ($S,
65300), or seven thousand three hundred
and forty-seven dollars less than The Jeffer
son, besides interest at q per cent Cost of
fuel. engineers and janitor's services, one
hundred and ffty-five dollars (Sl55-OO per
room per year; and while there is not much
difference III the above. except i'll the cost of
putting i'll the plant. it shows that the Ruttan
System is still the cheaper to put in and run.
Having compared buildings containing
eighteen or twenty rooms, we viii now com.
pare the cost of elght-roOm buildings. In
looking over the annual report of the Board
of Education for lSS99O it shows consider
able difference in the cost of fuel in the
eight-room buildings containing the Ruttan
plants, but the difference is no greater than
in the buildings containing steam-heating
plants. For example, cost OF fuel for the
eighteen-room Franklin, heated by steam,
fourteen cents 1884. l4. Cost of fuel in
eighteeu-room Jefferson, heated by same
kind OF plant as franklin. eight hundred and
eighty-five (SSS5.00) dollars. Why so great
a difference in same size buildings contain
ing steam plants and same size buildings
containing Ruttan plants, am unable to
give any reason, except difference in size of
building. The cost of fuel in the German
eight-room building (Ruttan plant. 1ss9;9o.
is six hundred ana eightythree, dollars
and forty cents (S6S3.40), while the Doug
lass eight-room building (Ituttan planU for
same time is three hundred and ninetytwo
dollars aud eighty-siX cents (S392.S6). The
other eignt-room buildings containing Rut-
tan plant range between the price of fuel in
German and Douglass schools. 1t will,
therefore, be seen that the cost Of fuel in the
German is the highest of any eight-room
building containing Ruttan plant. and the
Douglass the lowest. 1t will also be seen
that the Monroe and jackson schools have
each ten rooms with Rutian plants in each,
and the cost of fuel IN each or these ten-room
buildings is less than the cost Of fuel i'll some
or the eight-room buildings.
We will now compare the cost Of fuel
and janitors services of the eight-room
Washington school, heated with steam (being
the only eight-room school In st Paul with
steam-heating plant). and the eight-room
German school. containing Ruttan plant
where more fuel is used than in any other
eight-room school in st. Paul heated by
Ruttan.
COSJ OIL Iuel anu JdultOfS sSTVlCGS III WdSu-
ington school for year 1889 and 1890, one
thousand: four hundred and ninety-one
dollars aud sixteen cents Sl,491.1 6).
Cost of fuel and janitor's services in Cor
man building for the same length of time,
one thousand three hundred and fifty-three
dollars and forty cents (Sl, 3o3.4O.
Compare. ALSO the cost of fuel and jani-
tors services in the Washington aud Gar
field:
In the Washington. ............... Sl.491 Is
fr,f no I
Difference in favor of Ruttan Sl32 81
in one year besides water tax. 1t is a well
known fact that the ventilation in the Wash
ington is unreliable and unsatisfactory.
while in the Garfield the ventilation is nearly
perfect The cost of the steam-heating plant
in the Washington school was three thousand
two hundred and seventy-tive (S3,275)
dollars, and was put into the building when
it was built. and the building was specially
prepared for it and cost more than it cost to
prepare any of the eight-room buildings in
st. Paul for kuttan plant. 1t only
building to prove this fact. Had the
Ruttan apparatus been placed in the Gar
field when the building was built, it could
have been put in for not exceeding two
tho sand six hundred dollars ($26t0), in
Guiding closet plant. Now, MIR. Taxpayer,
which is the cheaper plant in ON eight-room
school building, steam plant that cost six
hundred and seventy-fve dollars (S61o)
more to put in than u Ruttan plant and costs
over four hundred dollars $4,000 per year
more to run than @ Ruttan plant? The
answer is largely IN favor Of Ruttan. Practi
cally the same difference can be shown in all
other eight-roOm school buildings in st. Paul.
Does this not show that n large amount of
money Is saved to the taxpayers of st. Paul
by the use of the Ruttan apparatus?
Having shown the difference and cost OF
plants, f1ues etc., of Ruttan against steam,
we will now take up the matter of other fur
hann
schools, but through courtesy to our com
petitOrS we Will not mention the names of the
manufacturers or firms selling the same.
Previous to 1886 there were only two school
buildings in st. Paul heated with steam. the
Washington and high schools. All others
were heated by furnaces or stoves of differ
ent manufacture. and hard coal was used as
fuel as the furnaces in use were not adapted
for any other kind of fuel. These furnaces
were placed in the buildings merely to heat
them. as the question of ventilation had not
been much thought of at this time by the
members of the st. Paul board. And while
ing the buildings. the ventilation
was very defective-in fact some of
the schools with these furnaces in were as
devoid of ventilation as dry goods box. The
furnaces in the schools previous to 1856
would heat building where not much ven
tilation was required, but in school room
containing fifty pupils they could not yenti-
late properly. for they were not built for that
purpose. me result WAS WHEN the DOtru OI
Education became educated up to the impo
lance of school house ventilation they sought
a remedy, and after thorough investigation
of the Ruttan system and very cold winters
trial, they adopted it for the following rea-
sons:
First-Ruttan would thoroughly warm, and
at the same time ventilate q school building.
Secondly changing from hard to soft
coal very large saving could be made in
fuel bills.
Third-Ruttan furnaces being sn large and
heavy would last for years without repairs,
while the other furnaces required almost
constant repairs.
Fourth-By using the Ruttan System, the
Smead Dry Closets could be used. thus saw
ing very large expense by substituting the
Smead Dry Closets for Water Closets, and
Fifth-That while the first cost of Ruttan
apparatus WAS some higher than other fur
naces their great durability. together with
the Smead Dry Closets, made them much
/. cheaper to put IN than other furnaces or
steam heating with Water Closets.
For the information of the public and tax
payers. will say that the Board of Education
has not spent one cent for repairs on any of
the Ruttan plants i'll the schools of st. Paul.