The herald., 1897-04-08
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! COST OF LIGHTING CITIES !
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The cost of street lighting in New
York city for 1897 will be in excess Of
one and one-fourth million dollars.
Philadelphia spends even more than does
New York for lighting, the total ex-
pense being $4,000 for gas and $647. 900
this year for electricity. These items
collectively do not foot up so much as
New York pays, but while New York
gets its supply OF gas from seven differ
ent companies, and its electricity for
lighting from ten different companies,
Philadelphia owns its own gas plant.
and since 1855 has had entire control of
1t. To the money actually disbureed for
gas. therefore, must be added, in the
case of Philadelphia, a reasonable inter-
est upon the original investment, and
some account must be made of the pub
lie property used for the works. Chicago
eXpends in a year $425, 900 for gas lamps
which illu;nine with indistinctness some
of her streets, the major portions of
which are unpaved roads separated from
the buildings which front them by
wooden sidewalks resting in the mud.
Boston Is an American city, which. in
proportion to its population and area,
makes generous provision for public
illumination. Boston spends in year
$3.50, 900 for gas and $270,000 for electric
lighting, a total of $3.50 900, the extent of
which may be best understood by COM
parison with the. expenditures for the
like purpose in Baltimore, city of the
same population. practically, and of
about the same area.
Baltimore spends in a year 5000 900 for
gas and $1t0,000 for electric current
Cincinnati spends in a year 5000, 900 for
gas and $4,000 for electric lighting. The
area of Cincinnati is about the same as
that of Boston, and about one-half of
the present area of New York, Wakefield
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1t is a fact, not known to some of the
most jealous and ardent of the Good
Government club reformers, that the
annexed villages on the Bronx are light
ed with neither gas nor electricity. but
with naphtha lamps. These lamps are
not expensive neither Is the naphtha
used in them. but the distance between
lamps is such that the travelling ex-
penses or mileage of those intrusted
with the task of communicating flame
to the wicks is a considerable item of ex-
pense. San Francisco expends in year
100000 for public Illumination both gas
and electricity, and St. Louis like
amount. In Pittsburg the advantages
of natural gas have BEEN utilized of late
years and the expense for public illum-
nation is one-quarter million dollars.
In Brooklyn 1t is $500, ,000-$160. 900 for
gas and SS60,000 for electric current
Washington, the local affairs of which
are under control of the federal govern
ment and subject to acts of congress.
spends in a year for electric lighting
$175,000. St. Paul, Mimi, expends as
much. and New Orleans 1925, 900. Two
American cities which show a distinct
partiality for electricity as a means of
public illumination are Denver and De-
troit, and there are, practically, no cit
les which have not utilized, to some ex-
tent, the benefits of electricity. Buffalo
expends in a year 100000 for the pur-
poses of illumination. and as the area
of the city is small. 1t should be one of
the best lighted of American cities.-
Boston Evening Transcript.