Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-12-24

clntu 10 Dt very eCpuunlClS
or to .tgard with much so'iousness tie
promises Of year age. Bat e Iarge
saving IL 10 bs Effected by municipal
lighting plant, then 1t may be sd.
vlsable 10 60 ahead with such plan.
On the other point, the experience
OF other cities is such as TO suggest that
The most careful Investigation be- made
before the step lie taken. Tue figures
end estimates Of engineers are not 10
be taken without question, any more
than the statements Of certain inter.
eeted parties. There may be san axe
to griuG" behind these, and when
the plsDt Is In, failure 10 meet pre-
Jlolod requirements would only In
crease The city's burden. Ga this
pniut the report Of Mayor John Mac.
Vicar OF Des Moincs, lows, on munic-
ipai lighting for that city, offers
somc suggestiore. Mayor MacVicar
is a strong advocate u such lighting,
and iovors 1t IN Des Moines, although
the statistics In his report do not fully
bear out his cinclusions. Among the
statements he received dutlng the
course of his inquiry, and which he
presents no figures 10 fl OF, Is this
from the General Electric company:
AS tho number OF lamps required by
| Des Moincs would be about one-third
the number in operation in Detroit. the
cost per lamp would be greater than in
| Detroit, and would be in the neighbour
| hood of $500 per lamp, which for 5i2
lamps would be s2Tl, 1000. should not
be NJ all surprised 10 have the figure
reach S350,OOO.
! Asto the cost of tho operation, the
| report by the city OF Chicago, publ he'd
| about year ago, showed that tho OK
pense OF operating each arc lamp was
| $50 Gj. To this snould be- added inter-
est on INVESTMENT, depreciation, insur-
ance, taxes, water, eIo., which would
readily bring the price up TO about 500
| per year.
understand that the price in Des
| Moines is 800 per lamp per annum.
II this IA the case. ii Is absolutely
hopeless for your city 10 undertake
to reduce the price by putting in plant
| and operating II on its own account.
There are plenty of consulting engineers
seeking employment who can figure out
that the lights VIII cost you $50 per lamp
1
secured either at Detroit or Chicago, and
these Two plants are The crack mLnicipai
plants of the country.
/ send you the above Information from
n disinterested standpoint entirely. II
your city determines to pu. in plant we
snail be very glad. indeed, 10 bid ON the
electric machinery and shall try and
secure the work. We shall be glad to
furnish you any additional information
that we have on tho subject Oar de-
hberate Judgment is, however, that 1t will
be very much cheaper, and more salts
factory to your city, to patronize some
one OF the local companies now doing
business in your city for such electric
lighting as it may require.
The DOnrd OF public works of st.
Paul, Minn., have Investigated the sub
ject OF municipal lighting, and have come
to the conclusion mat il would not DO
advisable to establish a municipal plant,
but IA her light the cty's streets by con-
tracl. The Btainurd Mimi municipal
plant was distinct failure, and has been
turned over TO private company. The
experience of other cities, even those
much larger than Des Moines, has been
that the cost of street lighting has been
greater when carried on directly by
municipalities than when furnished by
:. some private corporation and paid for at
, n&ed rate per annun. Tho reasons for
his are many. One important thing IL
: the local companies can afford to make
rates because of their income derived
from private Lighting,
All tins does not say that munich
pal plant would not be an advantage
to Salt Lake CITY, which now pays
Sl02 year per lamp on q moonlight
schedule. Bat II does cay that the
, greatest care is necessary in adopting
the plan, to be sure that there is ioun.
dstion Tor success; anu also that the
. oft-repeated assertion that Salt Lake
can light its own streets for $50 TO s6u
year for each lamp 10 to be- taken
with a grain OF sail, In the absence Of
, practical demonstration. In the com
E petition now in prospect, II is qui'e
= probable that hereafter rate OF SS4 Q
year uid be secured from local com
: panies, anu a municipal plan, ought 10
come below that to be safe invest
Z. ment under existing coniilions. ThI
/ suggestions here given are made solely
} with view to thorough investigation
' and discussion OF the subject, that thu
ipc.s may be fully understood,