The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-06-28
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT MATTER.

plant, it ought to submit some lnfor-
nation to the voters as to whether
plant sufficient to meet the needs OF
the city could be put in for 10000,
and if it could not how much more 1t
would cost, and where the money
would come from to pay for 1T, Act
ing upon his suggestion the board APP
pointed committee to wait upon
the council and urge upon it the
necessity of obtaining and spreading
before the public all the information
possible upon this subject. The COM
mittee was appointed, waited upon
the council and was informed that
such information would in due time
be forthcoming.
At the meeting of the council Sat-
urday night there was laid before it
letter from the ID. & ID. Electric
Light Co., of Minneapolis, who stated
that they could put in "tirst-class
arc light plant of 100 lights, with an
automatic high speed engine of 100
horse power" with everything includ-
ed for from $4,000 to $4,000. The
writer of the letter acknowledges that
he cannot give exact figures because
not knowing the exact locations of
the lamps, he cannot figure upon the
wiring, etc. There is an indefinite
ness about the whole matter which
renders the information sought to be
conveyed valueleSS. The people OF
Mankato know no more today what
kind of a plant will be put in and
what it's actual cost will be than they
did before. The $4,000 asked for may
meet the cost and it may not-most
likely not. The plant referred to
may be what the city wants and it
not-moSt likely not. If man were
to borrow $4,000 to invest in private
enterprise, he would want to know
more about the business in which he
intended to invest than this letter
would tell him, or he would break off
his negotiations at once. If he were
going to build a house, he would not
Lorrow an amount of money therefor
on any such indefinite statement
from an architect or contractor.
When information of this character
was being sought for, why were not
letters addressed to some of the lead
ing electric light companies like the
Edison-companies which the people
know more or less about? But no
company could give any definite
figures unless it knew what it was
making figures on. The council
ought, as was suggested at that time,
to have had specifications made out
as to what it wanted, the location of
the lamps, the number of poles,
mics of wire, etc., and then had all
the leading companies bid on the
same. There is no question but that
they would have been glad to have
done so, and the people would have
had some definite information to guide
them in voting on the bond question.
But now they are as much in the dark
as they were before, for the letter con-
tains nothing not already known-that
plants could be put in for $4,000 or
less, up to any price desired.
What Mankato voters want to know
is, just what kind of plant the coun-i
Gil intends to put in and what it will
cost. And knowing this they can
vote with some sort of intelligence
as to whether or not they wish to au-
thorize the issuing of the bonds.
There is strange contrast between
the action of the council on this ques-
tion and that of sinking another
well. The city has three wells and
knows what they cost. 1t is known
about what another one will cost, yet
the council Saturday evening order
ed the board of public works to CORES
pond with as many practical well
makers as possible in order to ascer-
tain the probable cost of new well.
This is right. 1t is practical business.
But why is it not just as important to
get information from as many firms
as possible on the cost of an electric
light plant? The bids for the same
could just as well have been received
before as after the bonds were voted
upon, and the voter would then know
what he was doing. Now he will not.
Now as matter of fact, in looking
over long list of cities which have
put in their own plants, the cheapest
plant we can find running 100 lights
costs $4,000 and from that to 1876, 900.
To be sure small towns have put in
plants at from $4,000 to $4,000, but
in every instance they run only so or
60 lights. In large number of towns
the population of whichrun from 5000
to $4,000, the cost was from $4,000
up for first-class plant. All of these
towns are compactly built and it
does not cost as much for poles and
wiring as it would in Mankato, which
stretches over vast amount of ter
ritory for town of it's size.
Is it reasonable to suppose that
Mankato can put in plant which