Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-11-03
DODGING THU ISSUE.
TEE REPUBLICAN CORPORATION AUXILIARY
SKIPS TsE HAIEaIAL POINTS
n The aa'g.s:us' Reply TO lis Owa Statement on
Behalf o. Whiakw-Why Dass the Hsc-
Fical Conpa1y Fear Composition, i
L Can URdsrssll the Ciy?

With 3 versatility essential TO the Re
publican and Wheeling Electrical Con-
pany side OF the electric light centric
versy, the corporation which unwit-
tingly rushed TO the aid OF its best
friend, Mr.. n. E. Whitaker, in his des-
perate campaign for reelection TO the
State Senate, appeared in print in the
Intelligence Of yesterday morning With
An essentially new statement and some
additional unsupported assertions, but
without any attempt to rsfuts the argu-
ments or to answer the questions con-
tanned in the REGISTER Of Thursday.
In its former article, the Wheeling
Electrical Company msds the unquali-
fed assertion that the street-lighting
plant Of this city OF Wheeling cost the
city more than 500 per lamp per year,
IS against the offer Of the Company 20
supply lamps for $40 per year. The REG
IsTER 10 reply showed that the Electro
ca CompaDy's bid was conditioned upon
RELEASE FROM ALL TAXATION
upon its plant, aad that the contract
must run for ten years, with the prlVi-
lege OF renewal, and that without such
unlawful release from taxation the Com
pany's price would be So So per lamp
per year, as against net cost 20 the city,
by the present system, as figured by the
Secretary of the Gas Board, OF S6f per
lamp. The only reply the Company
is able TO make is TO question the
REGIsTER's statement Of the number or
lamps burning, and % assert that the
dYnamos put ia by the city would only
supply seventy lamps each after one
wears use. add that for that's reason
another machine bad 10 be pu, chased.
The Wheeling Electrical Company, II it
has been the close student OF tae city'S
works it PROCESSES to have beer, knows
that it's questioning Of the nH5aber Of
lamps is childish, and that igs asser-
tions regarding the dynamOs a. false.
The lamps are burning mig silly, as
stated by the REGISTER, and ths new
dynamo was not purchased Tor the
reason assigned by the Company, but
for the reason that five out Of S. dyna-
mos first purchased had 10 be lPDt run
ming up TO the full load limit > supply
the lamps on the circuits, and the
Superintendent held thatit was
NOT GOOD MANAGEME&G
70 work an elghty-light machine up to
the full. load limit, any NOR than IL
would be good engineering 20 l,sep con-
stantly 200 pounds Of steam ia boiler
tested uD 10 that pressure. The boiler
might hold all right, but IL would be
under excessive strain, and so with the
dynamo. Then, too, additiOgal lamps
were needed upon the strse&, and for
these reasons combined anOt Ger machine
was put in, the load on - i've pre-
vlously operated Iightene& aud addi-
tiOnal lamps hung up.
aIItbis.as indicat&d at the outset,
pnon-essentlal su0tertuge OF the
wheeling Electrical Com sany, which
cannot, and dare not II 10 copld, answer
the main points in the REGFSTER arti-
Gle. Why, for instance, does 10 dodge
the issue il has itself raised, that If 10
costs the city so much more than the
Company 70 light the streets, and would
therefore cost the city more than the
Company 10 furnish incandescent light
ing, &c
FEARS THE COMPETITION OF THE CITY,
and must have the protection Of Sens-
tor Whitaker in the session Of 1895, as
il had 10 10 the sessions Of 1891 and
1898? Surely, il its claim OF additional
cost % the city is true, 10 ought 10 be
glad to see the city enter the ,ncandes-
cent lighting field, for a few years OF
operation Of a city plant would bank
rupt the Gas Board, increase taxa
a
among the people that the city would
be forced 20 close out the whOl5 electri-
cal establishment, and the Wheeling
Electrical Company would have a fair
field for all time % come. The truth Is
that the city can furnish cheaper
electricity 70 private consumers, just
as 10 has furnished cheaper gas, and
cheaper street lighting than the Elec-
lrical COmpany'S bid, and no one knows
this better than the Wheeling Electric
al Company. Hence its persistent bat
sic against the municipality. That cor
pOration Is looking out for itself, as
well as for Mr. Whit1ker, and wants 10
have the consumers OF electricity con-
tlnue right In the hole they are 10. or
course the business men are paying the
Company perhaps twenty-five per cent
more than they would pay the city for
the same or q better service, but IS long
- the city Is debarred from obtaining
she legislation it asks for, the business
men aforesaid
WILL HAVE TO STAND 1T.
The Electrical Company devoted the
space In the lntCligcRcer it might have
used in explaining this matter TO bald
Misrepresentation OF the city's light
plant For instance, to go into details,
it spoke OF it as having four hundred
horse power capacity, when it is eight
hundred, OF i've 100 b. .. boilers when
there are six, etc. The Electrical Com
paBy knows the facts as TO the equip
ment Of the city's plant, knows that it
is splendid one, as good as any 10 the
country, aud better than most plants OF
q similar nature, and that, 50 far from
money being squandered upon it,
the city never made better invest
ment. It's engines, boilers and cleo
tFical outfit Is the best that money can
buy il furnishes cheap and Unlver-
sally satisfactory service, without cost
10 taxpayers, and is tangible proof
that but for
THE TREACHERY OF SENATOR WHITAKER
and Of the interested opposition Of the
AWhseling Electrical Company, the city
kould supply the stores, hotels, saloons
residences of Wheeling with mean
Scent lights az a lower rate than the
ectrical Company now charges. II
his were not true. the COmpanY would I