The morning call., 1893-11-03
GAS IN SUNSHINE.
How 1t Is Burned at the
New City Hall.
THE FUNDS RUNNING LOW
Extravagant Waste of Light During
the Day by Various Munich
pal Departments.
THE FUNDS RUNNING LOW

One of tie public funds which will be
as heavily overdrawn as any at the eud OF
the fiscal year will be the fund for lighting
public buildings. In fac>, the outlook Is
such that The public buildings may have
to go without lighting during the last few
months of the fiscal year.
Last year the sum of $4,000 was appro-
prlated for the purpose of lighting pubic
buildings. This amount was wholly lnade-
quate, as was shown by the fact that the
fund at the end of the last fiscal year was
overdrawn $4,000
This year the board in the annual levy
appropriated $4,000 again for lighting
public buildings, which is an allowance OF
$500 month. Thus far they have just
kept within the limit, but they cannot do
so any longer for various reasons. The
first of these is that the winter months
are Just coming on, when 1t gets dark
early The experience Of the past is that
the cost of lighting public buildings IS al
ways almost double in the winter months.
Again, there have been just added to the
cost two new institutions. which will draw
more heavily than any other on the fund.
The first of these is the new Police Depart
ment AT the new City Hall. On the upper
floor n entire wing and part OF the main
building will have to be supplied with
light. Then the prison basement, reach
ing the entire length of the building on
Larkiu street and all the way around the
McAllister.street side TO the center, will be
a heavy drain on the fund not calculated
upon. This basement will have to be kept
lit night and day, and tbs bills will be very
large. Al the same time there Will be no
compensation in the Abandonment of the
old quarters, for that place will still be
maintained as the chief downtown station,
and the lighting will go on all the same.
In the second place there is the new
Public Library, which is being lit by elec-
trcity. The lights in this institution are
very plentiful, and VIII be kept lit till 10
O'clock every night The bills viii be very
heavy and viii contribute TO the speedy
consumption of the fund. in which there Is
only left little over $4,000, with eight
more months to run and added expenses
during the winter months.
Chairman Refs of the Committee on
Street Lights said yesterday: "All the
trouble for the board will come during the
last few manths of our adm inistration.
Then there Will be fun, when contractors
may refuse to supply the city with supplies
may have to be put out for the reason
there will be no money with which to pay
the bills.
"The fund for lighting public buildings
will probably be the most overdrawn. The
overdraw may amount 10 $4,000. Why,
he S27,0o0 appropriated will be nowhere
in paying The bills during the winter
months with the new Police Department
and new Free Library bills TO pay"
Still it may be said that if little more
attention were paid to the eXtravagant man
ner in which the various departments use
their lights there might be a possibility Of
keeping within the allowance, OF at the
least the deficit will be very small. II
would take but little overseeing to stop
the great waste of gas in the new City
Hall, which is the principal drain on the
fund. But it seems what is everybody's s
business is nobody's business.
In some of the Offices gas is kept burn
ing all day merely to warm the atmos-
phere. Mayor Ellert took a trip
through the basement the other day, a
cold, damp, miserable place, in which
there are no public offices, save one. on an
extreme end, and where but very few peo-
pie ever go. The Mayor found about forty
gas jets going AT full blaze at the cost of
the city, and doing no good whatever.
This is shameful" said his Honor,
"and should be stopped."
Often In the Receiving Hospital and
other departments gas Jets galore can be
seen burning in broad daylight, with the
sun shining outside. On he second floor,
with the sunbeams flaring through the
windows, may be seen gas jets eating up
the public funds burning in front of the
elevators. In the private Offices during
the night and day gas is such a cheap
comm odiiy that it is never thought of.
And this is why the S27, 600 appropriated
l. not liable TO last very long, and why the
public buildings may be in darkness be-
fore the close OF the fiscal year.