The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-02-14
OUGHT TO BE MORE LIGHTS
PRESIDENT WILLIAMSON SAYS
THE LIGHTS ARE GOOD
ENOUGH BUT NOT
ENOUGH.
He Gives a Statement From the Report
of the Mayor--"lt is no Fault of the
Gas Company, But the City
Does n OF Use Enough
ofThen.

TO the Editor; Referring to your article
in yesterday mornings paper, entitled
mo More Gas Lights" we beg to call
attention to the mayors report for the
year ending February, 1896, which says
under the head OF Light Department"
This department, during the year, cost
So, T2S.30 There win, in all probability.
be- an increase in its cost for 1896 of from
3 to ~ per cent The lights recently
put in the east end of the market must
necessarily entail an additional cost OF
not less than 800. while each street
lamp, put in by the Board, viii average
$1,000 more. At a glance, the cost Of
this department seems ex0rbitant, but
it grows more reasonable as we investi-
gate it. The 16 arc lights at $4,000 per
year each comes, tits true, ut good
premium, for they are costing us thirty
three (33 1-3) and one third per cent more
than they should, but the gas, at $3.50
per 1000 feet, is pretty close to the alb
solute cost of production by plant of the
size of the Raleigh Gas Light Company's.
The years account was distributed as
follows:
Electric are arc lights( street and
mayors office. 80. ....... 81 $4,000
Gas in Metropolitan Hall. go. 67.95
Gas in market. .. 330.15
Gas in station house .... 12O.90
Gas in fire department buildings. 1870
1856 street lamps. ............. 1,S15.60
Total ............... .S3, l2S.3O
To get at he real cost of the 1876 street
lamps we must deduct the lamp-lighter's
salary of $500. This leaves S1,515.60.
These lamps burn on an average FIVE
hours per might, fifteen nights in the
month. A simple calculation gives the re-
suit
The average cost per lamp
per year is. .......... SILL
The average cost per lamp
per month is. ........... % cents
The average cost per lamp
per night is ......... .06 10 cents
The average cost per lamp
per hour is. .......... OF IA cents
/ have investigated the matter pretty
thoroughly, and ann satisfied the cost
in this bill is reasonable; j go into details
for the benefit Of those who may not have
had the time to investigate for them
selves. If Metropolitan Hall was open
its earnings would easily pay the cost
of lighting the market, the station house
and fire department buildings, thus leav-
ing S632.70 to be expended in improving
the street system, which would add So
more street lamps / trust this sugges-
ton may be utilized.
You will see from the above report that
the average cost of street gas lamps is
$1,000 per year, or S1.00 per lamp per
month, instead of $1,000 per year as per
your statement.
If the city wants better light it can get
it by having plenty of gas lamps. The
cost of one electric arc light is more than
six times that of "a gas lamp If the
city win put in five hundred 600 gas
lamps instead of ninety 600 arc lights it
will be the best lighted city in the State,
and the cost will be less with gas than
with electricity.
1t is no fault of the gas company that
the city is not better lighted The lights
are good enough, but the city does not
use enough of them.
b. 7. WILLIAMSON,
President Raleigh Gas 90