Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-01-27
ELECTRIC LIGHT PLANTS.

gents statements Are Misleading
and Untrue.
NEW HAVEN, Conn.,, Jan. 26, 1891
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
In Mayor Sargent's address before the
trades council Sunday night, he read a let
ter from Mr. Cowles, making certain
erroneous statements relative to the cost
of electric lights in cities owning their own
plants for producing the same. The list
of cities as given by Mayor Sargent covers
nineteen towns and villages. The state
ments made therein are so very misleading
and untrue that trust you will give this
letter place in your issue containing the
report Of Mayor Sargent's address.
OF the entire nineteen cities named the
only one that operates its lights as many
hours per day as New Haven is the city Of
Chicago. Eight of the cities named burn
lights only on the moonlight schedule, or
about 1900 hours per light per year. Three
of them burn on moon schedule till 9
o'clock am, about 1900 hours per year.
One burns on moon schedule until
o'clock a. M, and one on moon schedule
till 10 o'clock midnight for but eighteen
nights per month. In fact, of all the cities
named, but one of them burn nearly as
AAuAJ 1Aou1o POI JOoA 90 o3O AEAt6 LII N6W
Haven do, and nearly all of them burn for
less than one-half the numbers Of hours
that are burned here.
Further than this none of them use the
1900 candle power lamp as stated, all of
them being the 1000 and 1900 candle
power lamps. None of the figures named
include repairs, interest on investment, de
probation, taxes, water rates, insurance
and many other items of cost of opera
ton. Many of them run with water
power, which reduces cost, but which can
are so situated that they get coal for
power at less than 50 per ton as against 81
per ton here. One of them burns slabs at
almost no cost for fuel In fact, hardly
statement made by Mr.. Cowles is correct,
and the whole matter is so misleading that
I am surprised that Mayor Sargent, who
assumes to speak in the interest of truth
and of the city, should have made
public document which his
own good judgment must have
told him was incorrect in most particulars.
The city Of Lyons, Iowa, is given as one in
which lights are made at a cost of 8 2-1O
cents per night per light, yet the statement
does not say that these lights are thirty
two candle power incandescent lamps.
burning less than 500 hours per year,
with the price paid by this city for / 200
candle power are lamps burning over 1000
hours per year. Of Bangor and Lewiston
it is not stated that they are run with
water power and on moonlight nights only.
l could in this way point out hundreds
of inaccuracies in the statement and list of
prices which neither time nor space will
now permit of. In all these figures it is
not stated that they represent even under
the varying conditions of hours, ETC. which
the lights are run only the first cost of
part of those things which have to be paid
for even by city running it's own plant,
and not in single instance do they cover
repairs, depreciation and renewal of plant
interest on Investment, water rates, taxes
insurance and many other items.
In this connection the results of the city
of Topeka, Kansas, which bought it's own
plant of 1874 lights, may prove interesting
and instructive. In letter of February
10, 1890, Mayer R. D. Coffran of Topeka
writes:
''We find that the cost of operating the
plant for the month of December all night
was So. 80 per lamp per month. This does
not include interest on the plant, which
would increase the cost to 81 81 per month
per light. The company furnishing the
city the plant agreed that the cost of all
night lights should not exceed So Der
month, not including interest, and fur
n1shed their own superintendent to oper-
ate the plant, SO there is no doubt that the
plant is run to the best possible advan-
tage."
T. J. B. Barrett, city electrician for the
city of Chicago, states in letter to Mr..
Ridgeway of Trenton "that the cost of
lights to the city of Chicago owning its
own plant is about 10 cents per light per
night, but that this cost does not include
any water rates, insurance, taxes, interest
on investment, repairs nor renewals of
plant, etc."
A little careful consideration of the
matter will convince any one that New
Haven is buying its lights quite as cheap
", for the same hours Of service, and
operated under the same conditions of
cost of coal, ETC., as any of the cities who
have purchased their own plants and have
run them long enough to find out for
themselves what lights cost to produce
JAMES ENGIIsH.