The Opelousas courier., 1897-02-27
The Question of Water Works.

Iberia Enterprise, who has doubtless
given the matter mature thought, pub
fishes in its issue Of the 2Otl, inst, the
following interesting Article on the sub
ject of water works aud electric lights,
which the citizens of Opelousas will no
doubt tind instructive reading at this
time
THE benefits to be derived from sncii
a system OF water works as described I'D
our last lssne, will suggest themselves
to anyone who will give the matter the
least consideration.
Much greater security from fire will
lower the cost of producing and exchang
ing in the town, minimize the fire waste,
quiet the nerves, and promote sounder
sleep for every man aud woman in town
who takes any thonght for the borrow.
With water works it will be possible
for any man and his neighbor to turn
within very brief time IL heavy stream
OF water on fire where it now takes an
hour and the labor OF perhaps twenty
nVe men to get, sometimes. an unsatls
factory one. Water works would pro-
mote the growth of New Iberia, and in
| time lead to Il sewerage system That
pure water would promote the health of
The community who can doubt who re-
members The drouth and dust of last
summer, when the very trees bore ID pail
OF dust which changed their color. aud
the lnfrequent showers only served to
wash thick dust from roofs to dirty els
! tern bottoms.
Perhaps some of our physicians would,
aln the Interest of sanitation, consent to
uenarge upon the benefits OF water works
to our community from the standpoint
of ii medical practitioner.
The aHEaDtapAS nf a mnDIrirai 4aipat-
ric light plant ate also obvious upon
moments consideration.
| To maintain al Il high stage of etfici-
| ency IA water works plant, it Is necessary
| to keep steam up at least twelve hours
out OF tweDtyfour.
With an electric light plant in connec-
| ton, the expense of operating the water
works plant will be reduced to IL mini
mum, as the same help that runs the
| light plant can run the waterWorks, aud
| the added expense for fuel will be but
| slight, as the most OF the pumping will
be done during hours when but little
| steam is required to run the dynamos.
| There ls even more to be argued in
favor of a combined plant or rather in
favor OF municipal ownership of the
Ii! ,ht plant.
nThe information gathered by the
tw!terworks coI,"tt.tee has convinced
levery mem ber ,oohat there is only one
I right way for g+hy town to approach the
subject of wg'erworks and lights, and
that Is to oyT,,'and !}ye, operate the plant, and
nOsS-@'Ar.y sHiny corporation tn mDnopn-
Elze valuable franchises and collect an
nuaily such enormous profits as 30 to SO
per cent OF tbs cost OF the plant
We can cite towns like Alexandria,
serving the people with pure a,tesian
water at about $500 per anDum per
house, and electric lights at 30 cents for
homes and so cents for business houses;
lighting the town with 12O incandescent
lights and 8 arcs; furnishing Is double
service hydrants and making now net
revenue of nearly two thousand dollars
Il year, and all this without a dollar of
expense to the corporation. On the
other hand, we could tell of towns wi here
the people pay from S13 to $50 year
for water, and the lowest price charged
for electric lights is 500 81 month, and
sad to relate in this very town the water
works company gets free gift in the
shape of Il special II mills tax, as bonns
simply, and the city pays this altrustic
corporation $50 year for hydrants and
the same for arc lights, and the result is
that the town actually pays the W. w.
Il +. L.. Co. more annually than would
build and pay for the entire plant IN IA
few years, and more than is asked from
this town to entirely pay for the pro-
posed plant.
Last summer some merchants went to
this company aud asked what they
would charge for enough water to be
taken from the liydrants(paid for by the
town. to supply one sprinkler such as |
we have in New Iberia and what do you
suppose was the price asked for this
service2 $3.50 a month.
Another town not very far from New |
Iberia pays $40 year for hydrants, |
aud $9O year for arc lights. That !
town, too, is paying right along for a |
very poor system of waterworks and |
will never own it.
New Iberia was fortunate enough to
have acquired the experience OF some
other towns without paying for it the
usual price. Let her profit by it, aud in
few years she will have free street |
lighting and free hydrants, and her res
ldents will have water and light at
actual cost, and Il resultant measure of
prosperity which must materialize n in
creased land values.
To attain this end will only require a
very small tax which will hardly be felt
by the tax payer and which will be di-
rectly returned to him it he insures in "A
diminished premium, and Indirectly il
he insures himself in diminished risk.
Not to speak of better health and the
pleasures of seeing aud helping in the
growth of the town
lt Is also proposed to properly light
the unlighted portion of town wherever
1T will be required, and this means lights
on most OF the street corners for several
blocks back of the rail road and where
ever the town is buiIt up to anv extent.
Water Works and Electric Light Plant
to cost s450 900, including site, and plan
of payment.
$4,000 in 6 per cent call bonds in four
equal series, payable at OF before the ex-
plratiOn of three, five, seven and ten
years, with interest payable semi-ann
ally.
Bonds to be issued in January. 1889
to commence as soon as
The first tax to be collected in Decem-
Der, 1897.
About s1700 is to be raised annually
by the special tax, and retrenchment
by the City Council is expected to save
about $4,000 annually ON the budget.
$1,000 Is expected as an annual net reve-
nue. from the Electric Light and Water
Works Plant after the first years oper-
alton, nothing being expected from this
source the first year.
Table shows proposed method of
meeting the bonds, both principal and
interest, and covering expected avail
able revenue during the ten years sue
ceeding the bond issue. /
Reducing