Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1896-01-17
About Lighting Cresco.

A party was before the City Council,
Monday evening, with proposition to
put in electric lights for the town.
The light which he proposes to put in
is in no respect better Or cheaper than
the present system, and will ask the
exclusive franchise for period of five
years, thus limiting the public for all
that time to Il system as inferior to the
arc light, as u tallow dip is to the
present system; and this, althoug h
there are systems as much superior to
the arc light as that is to the incan-
descent. And thess inferior lights he
proposes to shut off each night at IL
o'clock, leaving the remaining hours
OF the night to marauders and dark
ness. His proposition is to put in
tifty-ive of these lights, which would
be in excess of the street lamps now
in use, some half dozen. Tue street
lamps now in use average about one
to the block and covering less than
one half the blocks in town. The res
idents on these outside blocks and
streets, taxed as they would be, to sup
port the lights in the portion of the
city which it is proposed to light,
would have good reason to demand
that the streets and blocks on which
they reside be also included in the
system adopted, whatever it may be.
This would enable the proprietor of
plant in very brief time to more than
double the number of lights, and to
draw from our city and its people
some sevnral thousand dollars q
year from an expenditure of about
three thousand. If it is expedient for
the city to change its system of light
ing its streets, the city should own it's
dynamo, and plant, and the profit de-
rived therefrom instead of going into
the pocket of the individual, would
help to wipe out the $4,000 water
plant debt, which now hangs like an
incubus upon the business and pros
perity OF our city. With a light ex-
penditure, comparatively, the city can
add to its water works plant sufficient
power. to provide and own its electric
plant. The cost of fuel to operate the
pumps at the water works is $65 a
month, to which is to be added the
SOSo "a oA OdS PSO luOf03 duU
with the repairs, the expenditure is
nearly or quite double the receipts
from the sale of water. And there is
but little hope of its ever being any
more profitable as water plant, be
cause the supply of water from the
we'll does not warrant adding to the
water consumers and users. Hence
the water must be largely held to
meet the contingency of fires and con
flagrations. By enlarging our water
works plant SO as to provide for light
ing the town when change from the
present system is deemed expedient or
necessary, would involve the necessity |
of an engineer for night work, and
thus in case of fire in town, the
plant would always be ready to apply
whatever pressure is needed to force
the water through the mains and upon
the fire. And thus by owning its cleo
trio plant, the city will be in position
at any time to adopt and use the best
system of light in existence at the
time. All things considered, we be-
lleve it will be the part of wisdom and
prudence to adhere for while to the
system now in use, and to avoid fur
Their debt, which is now near the law
full limit, permitted by the statutes of
the state.