Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-04-03
Buy TIE ELEcrRIcAL cos. PLANT.

BUY THE ELECTRICAL cos. PLANT.
If anything is to be learned from
practical experience the city now GER
tainly should be in a position to see
clearly that the only avenue Of escape
from serious financial embarrassment
and the certain decay and ruin Of its
costly and once prosperous gas plant
is 10 take the bull by the horns and do
at once. in the only practicable way
left open. what it was the unanimous
desire Of the community to have done
four years ago, namely. to transfer the
business Of manufacturing and selling
electric light from private hands to the
city. which. had it been wise, would
never have allowed the lighting priv
ilege to go out of its hands upon any
pretext or on the strength of any prom
ises.
The law now provides that the city
may go into the business of manufac-
turing and selling electric light by
buying out the present private COM
pany Had this been done two years
ago the city would long ere this have
saved the cost Of the transaction in
Increased revenues and saved it again
many times over TO the consumers of
electric light which the city would fur
nish at the cost of manufacture. The
city has been deferred from taking
this step in the past on account Of the
exorbitant price put upon the Wheel
ing Electrical Co S plant, which would
probably be worth little more than its
junk value to the city. But the COM
munity can better afford to take the
plant at any valuation than to allow
the present state of affairs to continue
to the great detriment Of the city's in
terests
The city can we'll afford to abide by
the law in the case which offers ample
protection to its interests in the prem
ises by providing that if the city and
the company fail TO arrive at an
agreement as to the price to be paid
for the company's plant, the amount
shall be settled by arbitration. This
is fair as can be TO both sides and
though there was a discrepancy Of
something like 500. 600 betweenthe price
asked by the company and the val
uation put upon the plant by the city's
expert two years ago. there is no rea-
son apparent why an adjustment can
not be safely left TO committee of
arbitration as provided by the law.
This is practically the sentiment ex-
pressed by the joint meeting Of the
Council Committee on Lights and the
Gas Board Monday night and the sub
stance Of its recommendation to Coun-
ell. after thorough consideration of the
subject in all its phases. Council can
not do better than adopt this sugges-
ton At once. The sober, business
Judgment Of that body will point out
that it is the only possible way out of
the present financial difficulty that is
open to the city other than the COM
plete abandonment of the whole light
ing business TO private monopoly, for
the deficiency cannot be made good
through taxation-even if that were
desirable-for the tax limit allowed by
law has been reached.
As the Register has pointed out, the
city, if permitted to manufacture and
sell electricity as il does gas, would
easily recoup itself and place that
branch Of the city government on its
old time, prosperous, self-sustaining
basis, besides saving thousands of dol
lars annually to the consumers of cleo
trie light.