The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-02-10
THE RIGHT WAY THE REST.

The reduction secured by the city
authorities of four dollars per lamp for
the lighting of our streets by cleo
tricity is great financial victory. 1t
is a saving of about one-third of the
expense formerly incurred. We do not
believe that under present conditions,
to say nothing of the inability to pur-
chase a plant because of the lack of
funds, the city could maintain a sys-
TEN of its own for much less cost.
The price is reasonable and the city
can afford to close with the terms.
But as to the payment for the three
hundred lamps proposed to be lighted.
The number is all right. No less
would answer the absolute needs Of
the city. The money to pay for them
can be furnished by the fall Of the
present year out of the revenue for
this year. We have no doubt that the
light company will wait for payment
If proper arrangements are made
We press this matter once more
upon the attention of the city authori-
ties, because we believe it will save
them a great deal of trouble if they
act upon our suggestion. The Herald
has no other purpose in view than the
general welfare. We regard street
lighting as a public affair 1t is for
that reason that we argue it should be
supplied by means Of the public funds.
The street lamps are not erected for
the special benefit of the abutting pro-
perty. Some of it is vacant land. Such
benefits as it receives vary as the &C.
o. YI1I..
street lamps are for the general bene-
fit-for pedestrians and travellers in
vehicles. They are as much q public
convenience as is the public building
erected out of the general revenue.
The city might as we'll make local
assessment on abutting property for
every rod of street repairing as for
each street lamp erected. An electric
lamp of ten thousand candle power
could not make anything clearer than
the plain proposition, that street light
ing is a public matter for the public
benefit and should be paid for out Of
the public funds.
The plan to appoint three commits
sioners to determine what are the
| benefits received by each piece of
abuttlng property from the street
lamps, is impracticable under the pres
ent conditions Of the city. If carried
out at all it will have to be done by
! assessing subdivisions Of the lighting
district instead of each piece of pro-
perity therein, and therefore would
not be strictly in accordance with the
charter Of 1865 under which action
would be taken.
| The idea Of taking up a provision
adapted to the city thirty years ago
when it was in a sort of village con-
dttion, and attempting to carry it out
with our present extension, improve
ments and quadrupled population, is
not indicative of advanced wisdom and
progressive craftsmanship. Why go
back thirty years for a measure to
meet the needs of the living present
| The Herald is in hopes that the city
council will not be governed by the
wishes of a few capitalists and men
! of large property, on this question
| The cry of "a bankers ticket when
the non-partisan election was con-
sidered is thought not to have been
altogether unjusti1ed. Let the wants
Of the people as a whole be considered
and also their wishes when reasonable
They would, by a large majority, vote
for public lighting by public funds
and on principle we believe that
method would be just and right.