The Portland daily press., 1898-02-08
GOOD DEAL OF TALK.
Continued from Second Page.

from SSCOuQ FdSos
| the superintendent at the works of the
Portland Gas Light company, and it is
through his efforts the following offers
We're made by his company, addressed to
the committee and signed by President E..
II. Davies:
"The Portland Gas Light company
offer to install and maintain in the base
N ent of th City building two Otto gas
engines and two dynamos, and furnish
| the gas to run them, sufficient to operate
all the electric lights now in use by the
city in the City building including the
| City hall, as per schedule attached, the
candle power to be fully equal to that
now in use, for the sum of three thousand
| five hundred dollars for the year, to be
paid in quarterly payments at the end of
each quarter. Any additional number of
lights or hours of burning to be paid for
in the same proportion.
"That if at the end of the contract year
the city should wish to purchase the en-
CINE and lighting plant, we will sell the
same to them at cost. Or if they do not
wish to purchase, that we will remove
the same free of expense to the city.
"That so soon as contract for the
same shall be made we will order the
engines and dynamos and commence
lighting as soon as practicable after they
arrive"
BY reason of conferences with Mr..
Yorke after the above offer was received
the following offer, dat ed January and
signed by President Davies, was received:
'tThe Portland Gas Light company de-
sire to submit another proposition for
furnishing the lighting of the City
building, notwithstanding it's proposal
of the 3rd instant, but leaving it optional
with the city to accept either. The new
proposition is as follows, to wit:
''We will install in the basement Of the
City hall building two gas engines and
two dynamos OF sufficient capacity to
maintain all the lights in the said build
ing as used by the city, to as high a
candle power as heretofore, and supply
the gas required for said engines at one
dollar per thousand, together with the
sum of five hundred dollars to cover ex-
penses incurred in installation of said gas
engines.
.tThis proposition, If accepted. will
pro baby result in considerably reduced
cost to the city for lighting City hall
building over our first proposal, and will
place tine city in the position of paying
only for what it receives, and saving to
itself all that may be saved by care and
the economical use of light
"For the Information of your commit
tee, and in order that you may be able to
determine the probable expense for light
ing under this plan, will say that an ex-
pert on gas engines has made a careful
calculation of the gas consumption, and
reports as follows, viz:
Maintaining all the lights in the City
hall building at the hours and number of
lights heretofore lighted, from sunset to
eleven O'Clock p. M, for period OF one
year, would require from one million to
twelve hundred and fifty thousand feet OF
gas, costing from one thousand to twelve
hundred and fifty dollars.
"Fcr the lights used during daylight,
we will furnish gas at the same price; for
incandescents lamps, or other lights.
eff at the expiration of the contract,
the city desired to purchase the gas-en-
gine-dynamo plant, it will be sold to
them at cost, as specified in our first pro-
posal. And as the risk of having the plant
thrown back upon our hands, which had
to be considered in our first proposal,
will be eliminated, the expense of light
ing for future years would be much less. "
By careful estimation 1t is found that
the cost additional to the second proposal
for LIGHTING from sunrise to three o'clock
D. M, will not exceed $3.50 for gas,
mantles, stc., if the Welsbach burner is
used, This added to the amount for light
ing between p. N. and sunrise will
make the cost amount to from $3.50 to
1880. 1t must be borne in mind, how
ever. that this does not include expense of
repairs, oil, depreciation, interest on
money invested, and other expenses in
cidental to such plants, which though
small in amount should be considered.
AS the engineers of the City building
corld easily attend to the running of
these engines, no additional expense for
engineers salaries should be reckoned.
The expense of installation of such a
plant is variously estimated at from $4,000
to $500.
Owing to the statutory exclusion of
other companies from the field, the COM
mittee canvassed only the Consolidated
Electric Light company for rates.
Then follows correspondence between the
committee and the company in reference
to the request for reduction of the rate
of incandescent lighting, whereby the
committee obtained a reduction Of 25 per
cent, the meter rate to the city on in
candescent lighting being lowered to Z 1-2
cents per 1000 Watts
At the new rates the entire reduction is
from IA 10 cents to Ia cents per