St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-26
I TO CUT DOWN ON Gas
SCHEME OFFERED by THE CouN-
GIL COMMITTEE ON STREET
LIGHTING
fo USE MORE ELECTRICITY,
THEREBY EXPECTING A SAVING OF
10000, PART OF THE
PLAN.
FoUR LIGHTING DISTRICTS.
A Systematic Diviston of Territory
Is ALSO Another Feature of the
Project.
TO USE MORE ELECTRICITY,
FOUR LIGHTING
DISTRICTS.

Both bodies Of the common council
net In joint session last night at the
call Of the mayor. and received the re-
port Of the board Of public works and
city engineer on the lighting question.
The report itself was not discussed, but
an hour and a half was expended in a
parliamentary Wrangle over the power
of the common council, upon this &C.
casion, to refer the report, or take any
action concerning it 1t all ended in the
reference Of the report to that body of
the council which meets first, and that
happens to be the board of aldermen.
The report is exhaustive, interesting
and concise. 1t represents labor on the
part of the board Of public works and
city engineer, that extended over a
period of nearly seven weeks. Day aft
er day the members of the board and the
city engineer were closeted together,
while they questioned experts on all
kinds Of lighting, and gained much use
full information and not few valuable
estimates of the cost of various kinds
OF lights and plants.
The entire report is contained in three
documents. The first comprises general
recommendations as to electric, gas and
gasoline lighting, and as to the advisa-
bility of the city owning and operat-
ing an electric plant. The second and
third documents comprise specifica-
items for lighting with gas and with
electricity. Thus the report conforms
fully to the requirements of the Brady
resolution.
The salient features of the report are
the recommendations concerning the
substitution of electricity for gas, where
by a saving Of 100000 is effected; the
further recommendation that for the
purposes of electric lighting, the city
be divided into four districts, which
will secure competition among the bid
derS, as the successful bidder will be
granted a ten-year franchise to do COM
nlercial lighting in the district in which
he shall secure a contract, and the rad
ical Improvement in the specifications
for gas lighting in case this system is
continued.
The report first disposes Of the gaso-
lire lighting by recommending that no
other system Of lighting can be profit
ably substituted for it at present, as
the cost Of laying gas mains or string
ing electric wires in the gasoline dis
trict would be greatly in excess Of
the present contract price which is
considered favorable to the city
The recommendations and sugges-
tons as to gas lighting are important
in view Of past experiences. The board
of public works and the engineer are
OF the opinion that st. Paul, In COM
parison with other cities, should obtain
illuminating gas for street lamps at
rate not exceeding $1S per year per
lamp, and that the lamp should not
furnish less than an eigbteen-candle
power light In the specifications for
gas lighting the board and engineer
have incorporated q section demanding
gas light of eighteen-cadle power,
whereas under the existing and past
contracts conference.-the power has
been considered sufficient
The other and most important change
in the specifications for gas lighting
provides that the successful bidder on
such a contract must not only furnish
the entire equipment, but pay the
whole cost Of lighting the lamps, in
stead of the city being obliged to pay
one-half the cost of lighting the gas
lamps, as is now the case This item
alone represents an outlay Of nearly
$1,000 a year. The bids for gas light
ing must therefore cover the entire
cost Of the work, for purposes of more
easy comparison with bids for electric
lighting.
The specifications also reserve the
right to the board of public works to
inspect the gas works of the success
ful bidder, to decrease the service and
discontinue such lamps as they may
deem proper. The specifications also
ask for bids for lighting the public
buildings. The contract is recommend
ed to begin April l, 1885, and continue
for one year.
The report next considers the sub
ject of electric lighting. and after
lengthy research and discussion the
following conclusions are reached:
First-That the average cost per
year for an arc light of 200O-candle
power in cities having municipal cleo
trio plants is SIS
Second-To light with electricity the
district now lighted by gas and the
twenty-eight electric lights now in use
would require $40 arcs, which at SIS an
arc would amount to $42750 These
$40 arcs would displace 3,031 gas lamps
which now cost $31.75 per lamp per
year, aggregating 500, 23425; % arc
lights at $50 each, aggregating 81 200,
and 200 gasoline lamps at $1176 per
year, which means 81, 352 Deducting
from this total of s102. 1926 the sum
of s42,750, leaves S60,056.25, the amount
saved by the change, besides securing
a superior light.
The important recommendation of
the report, which is embodied in the
specifications for electric lighting, di-
vides the city into four lighting dis
tricts,so arranged as to secure effective
competition. In considering this mat
ter the board and city engineer COR
Guided that as the law prohibited a
lighting contract with the city extend
ing beyond one year, that it would be
advisable for the city to give the sue
cessful bidder a franchise to do COM
mercial lighting for ten years in the
district or districts in which the bidder
shall have secured contract Such
franchise, however is not to be ex-
elusive, but by granting it the board
felt assured of competition and hoped
for reduction of perhaps so per cent
of the present cost of electric lighting
TO the city, or else such a reduction in
the price of gas as will preclude any
change in the present system Of light
ing.
The specifications for electric light
ing provide every safeguard for the