The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-07-05
acknowledged AT LAST.

|
After persistently hammering away
upon the matter and showing that a
| tirst-class plant suitable to the needs
of Mankato could not be put in for
$4,000. the position of the FREE
PRESS is fully indicated by the open
acknowledgment of the advocates of
the bond question, that the $4,000, if
voted, will simply serve as starter
and that it will cost much more to
complete it. This additional sum may
be $4,000, and it may be twice that
sum, in fact no limit is placed, it be-
ing simply argued that the council
can set aside the sum now used in
paying for street lights, to apply to
the payment of the balance on a plant,
which would mean an additional tax of
as much more to the already burdened
taxpayers to meet the running eX-
penses of the plant.
In fact it is virtually acknowledged
that, just as the FREE PRESS has
stated all along, nothing definite is
known as to what kind of a plant is
wanted, or it's probable cost or any
thing about it, and the voters are left
totally in the dark as to the inten-
tions of the city authorities. Although
there has been plenty of time to OBJ
tain full information upon the subject
there has not been so far as the pub
lie knows, the slightest attempt to OBJ
tain from well-known and responsible
manufacturers of electrical ma
chinery, any information that would
throw any light upon the subject
whatever. This voting in the dark
may be satisfactory to the taxpayers,
but in the light of past experiences,
we doubt it. .....
AS to the matter of cheaper lights
by city owning it's own plant, it
should be remembered that every in
stance noted, is where the city has
done commercial lighting, and that in
leaving that item out, the lights have
cost the city as much, and in many in
stances more than would have been
the case if left to private company.
1t is not pretended that commercial
lighting will be done in this city. On
the other hand most of the,leading dd-
vocates of city plant are opposed to
such course. But even were it the
intention to do commercial lighting,
the recent decision of the supreme
court of this state, in the state elevator
case, would stand in the way of it's
realization, so that the full cost of
running will fall upon the city, and if
the experience of others is worth any
thing, it would cost as much or more,
than from private company.
Wheeling, West Virginia, undertook
to do its own lighting few years ago,
and M. ]. Francisco, in the April num-
Der of the Engineering Magazine, quotes
from the reports of that city showing
that their experience cost them S112.73
per lamp, while local company offer
ed to furnish them for 1882, each.
Little Rock, Ark, does its own
lighting, and it has been reported
that it's lights cost only S51 each. The
city clerk in report to the mayor
says that such is not thecase, that their
cost to the city was SS043 per light.
The report of the board of trade Of
this city made year or two ago con-
tains table showing that the average
cost of lights in twenty-three cities
which own their plants, is SS7.37 each,
and many of these burn but part of
the night, while large portion, if not
all of them, do commercial lighting,
which is applied to reduce the cost of
the city lights. And so instance after
instance could be cited.
With this experience from other
cities, with no definite knowledge of
what a plant will cost, are the tax
payers of Mankato ready to throw in
$4,000 to start upon an experiment Of
their own, with no idea where it will
lead to? That is the question which
will confront them on Tuesday next.