The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-04-16
THE DISPATCH AND An EIEcI"ic
PLANT.

TIL. Disnatch thinks there can DO no private
rival electric plants in Richmond because inc
.,.o,,io I;ght consumers will have to pay Tor
.aoh ono. and therefore oil at last will DO
.,.c,rio plants constructed and maintained
by the people of Richmond. According 10
this idea. If there wcre two lines of steamers
nlvine the James river between Richmond
and Norfolkthey would not DO rivals. because
| both would DO supported by the travel and
traffic between the two places. And yet II the
Dispatch owned one OF them IL would soon
| find itself driven out of tho business unless 1t
| paid the closest possible attention to securing
all the passengers and freight it could, at the
lowest possible rates.
Every electric plant established in the city
Of Richmond is, of course. in a certain sense.
constructed by the people of Richmond ana
maintained by them-that is. the light COM
pany mus. charge its patrons price Tor the
light that will pay interest on the cost OF tho
construction of its plant. provide reserve
fund for repairs and improvements. pay the
cost of producing electricity, and leave over
surplus as profit. This is the fundainentai
law of every business. and in that sense IL may
be said that the people Of Richmond pay LOT
constructing and maintaining every electric
plant that may be erected here. But there Is
nothing in this idea inconsistent with seyerai
rival plants being thus built and operated 10y
the people of Richmond. 1t is directly their in
terest that there shall be a. many of them AS
possible. since each one will then have to sell
It's electricity at the cheapest possible point
in order TO prevent the other one from get
ting all the business
Now the difference between nm electric
| light plant built and operated by the people
of Richmond in this sense and one built and
operated by the people of Richmond in tho
sense recommended 10y the Dispatch, is this
If il is built by private company TO make
money. the plant will be built according to
the cheapest possible method. In producing
light everything necessary 10 the process Will
be bought ct the cheapest possible price. and
the labor used in producing it will be hired at
the lowest price at which it can be secured
Thus light will be produced at the lowest
possible cost. and, if there are rival COM
panies. il must be sold at the lowest possible
price consistent with profit.
But, IL DulIt ana OpeIhLeb W IHo Si'J 40 +"
political body. politics will control the cree
ton of the plant, and. as in the case of the
City Hall. it will cost four times what 1t
should cost. Politics will control the pur-
chase of everything necessary to producing
light. and thus will cost much more than they
should cost. Politics will control the hire Of
the labor used. and then IL will cost double
what a private concern would pay for its
labor. Thus the production Of the light will
be made to cost much more than it would
have cost if produced by private company;
the city will have been embarked in pri-
yate enterprise that she has no business 60
ing into. and a number of berths will have
been provided for lazy political bummers to
live in at the expense OF the public to TO-
ment discord and strife whenever an election
| comes on.
As for what the Dispatch says Of the streets
being torn up to put down fixtures for private
companies. we don't think that matter worth
consideration. The companies pay for taking
up the streets and must put them into the
same order as they were before. The tenn
porary inconvenience of this is nothing com
pared with the advantages of getting the
business upon its proper basis.