The Portland daily press., 1897-03-17
"summum jus summa 1niuria.n

"Summum jus Summa Injuria."
Hullo Censral-Please give me DIT
Portland Electric Co.
| Is that you Portland Electric Light
Cor Yes. o let me gee, what was that
you said in Friday mornings PRESS
about rates for motors at S12. So per yeal
per Fl. p? That hits ne myself a little
easy for am paying you at the rate OF
cents per b. p. per hour by meter and
your bill on b. p. ten hours each day
would amount to $3.50. This would be
about 50. 40 per day or $751.20 pei year.
Ii what you say In the PRESS is correct
| there will be something coming back to
me for the difference is quite enormous.
Let me see--how much will shat be-
four times SASS would lie SOL. 40, That
would mean a difference of 500 in a
sin gle year. These charges for a single
month would amount to MS much as you
saysyou have charged others for the same
| amount of power for whole year.
SASS, is this correct? Are you sure and
will you agree to furnish 1900 h. p. at
your lines and station as they areP Ii SO
and you are willing to execute bond to
| that effect for one year or ten you will be
| rendered SIS, 400 in cash In advance In
| side of "a hours from your acceptance
and the name of the party and the funds
will be furnished promptly enough, to
suit you. Six per cent on $25o.o0O bonds
would be SIS, 900 would it motif
Now, If your answer to "Cheap Water
Power was the whole truth accept thi 8
proposition and save yourself the trouble
and expense of collecting, taking your
| money in advance. According to your
own previous statements you cannot
produce h. p. less than 5000 year
paying the price you are for COAL and
how you can sell for S12.S5 and pay a
dividend on $500, 600 bonds and stock is a
mystery that dense Ignorance" cannot
solve to say the least, and If it is your
idea that Portland people are SD simple
AZ to take any such statement as You have
made in claiming that Fl. j. Bailey q
Co. and tine entire list you have named
are using motors of the size and capacity
stated to the full extent OF their power
for ten or "a hours day at price stated,
you are entirely mistaken for this is not
the lease in a single instance as We have
found by inquiry. The most OF them are
not running over one hour day as they
| are principally used for elevators, but the
time they do run, If under meter, they
| are pay ing at the rate of $lS7. 80 per h. p.
or more per year; the Portland Company
being the only exception, and as you
deny the truth of my statements in arti-
Gle referred to you should have used
more cafe in keeping closer to the fact
yourself in making reply. Several hun
dred people in the cities OF Portland and
Deering have petitioned this legislature
to allow the United Inundated Fibre
Company to invest thousands of dollars
in de veloping cheap water power and de-
| livering it in Portland forrrmanufacturing
purposes and if the electric light com
panies are successful in the lobby of the
legislature and prevent the people from
enjoying some of the benefits that would
| n suit from success of this scheme it ia
about time tosturn over the entire bust
ness Of legislation to the tender mercies
OF all the monopnlies that can be found
and if the. legislature denies the petitions
of several hundred of our most infuen-
tial citizens in this case they will make
a great mistake. for nos question is set
,, lied until it is settled right. The writer
has no objection, no i'll will in any way
| to the Portland Electric Company but
| the rats for electricity, as we have found
| by inquiry, are exorbitaDt and unsatis.
| factory and people cannot afford to use
| it on that account, and many have tnken
it out lighting by gas instead; recent
instances being the Prebls House, a
motor at J. B. Curtis gum factory re-
placed by steam engine, the Evening Ex-
press, and Academy of Medicine WIN
| have put in gas engines from which, we
are informed, a h. p. can be produced at
cost of one cent per hour. The 4 Ia
cents per horse power per hour, new
rate never before heard Of. would be ii
cents per day per b. p. or 1928 per day
for 5 h. p. or So94.25 per year ten hours
per day. MI. Peterson's price for same
would only be $3.50 per year % hours
per day. AS bearing upon the cost OF
electric lighting in this city it is well
| known that the Maine General Hospital
rather than stand the charges, put in
their own lighting plant and the new
theatre company are doing tho same.
No juggling of words or figures, can re-
flute facts which every user of electric
power in this city can vouch the above te
| Ee and as realized in their own expert.
ence. The figures given in the Electric
| Company's statement are meter figures,
| where power is used only part of the day.
Ny figures are based on 10 hour day
on that basis The Comyany's cleo.
| tricity costs, except to a few favored in
diyiduala. SO cents a. day per horse power,
| or Sl87. so per workin year, as against
Peterson S $50 per year. If lights burn
| four hours a day, the Electric Light
Company's price rs given in the PRESS
makes them, at "a cent per lamp hour,
| $I0.95 per year. In Deering and West.
brook, now lighted by water power, the
price for lamps burning 10 to Ia hours,
from sunset to sunrise, is So per year pei
| light. These figure speak for themselves.
| The cOnpany's figures show how little
their selected customers use of electricity
and emphasize the fact that it costs SO
| high thatonly the wealthy can afford it
AS Injury. Although we have had an
electrical light plant in this city since
1879, less than 40 houses are now lighted
by electricity. What flu rther comment is
necessary
"CHEAP WATER POWER -
Gilbert's Exhibition Ba IL.
The closing exhibition ball of Mr.. M.