Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-09-20


be seen that the six cities with private
ownership have an average per capita
debt of 1888. while the three cities hav-
ing municipal ownership of water
works have an average per capita debt
of 1888. The three cities owning their
water works have in each case lower
municipal debt per capita than has any
one of the cities under private owner
ship. The average assets of the three
cities having municipal ownership of
water works is s1o.oS per capita, and, of
course, under private ownership there
are no assets. If the debt per capita of
The cities having private ownership was
no greater than in those cities having
municipal ownership the gross debt of
the nine cities would be 1884 less
than at the present time. If the cities
4 having private ownership besides hay
| ing the lower debt per capita of the
slcities with municipal ownership had as
y sets equal to the latter the gross total
of the difference in their financial con-
dition would be- over s1,o0o.000.
lit might be imagined that so long
las the financial 1ndition of the
q cities with municipal ownership is so
4 much better than those with private
Il ownership that the taxes must neces-
4 sariy be higher in the former in order
ito account for this condition But in
= the matter of taxation also the differ
& ence in the amounts collected per cap
liita is greatly in favor of those cities
With municipal ownership. In each of
the municipal ownership cities the
! amount collected in taxes per capita is
less than in any one of the private own
ership cities. The average amount col
lected in the former is s2.75 per capita,
and in the latter is $3.50 per capita. If
the tax collected per capita was the
same in the private ownership cities as
it is in the municipal ownership cities
there would be saved to the taxpayers
) in these six cities the sum of s2.15 per
capita, or a total of s146,316 per annum
The city owning both water works and
street lighting plant collects the small
! est tax per capita of any of the nine
cities.
!, The three cities that own their waite,
plants have total population of 3O4o3
J and have 324 hydrants, or one fire by
Grant to every ninety-four inhabitants
and do not pay anything for hydrant
! rental The six cities supplied by pri-
waite companies with a total population
of sO,247 have 952 fire hydrants, or one
Ito every ninety-four inhabitants, fol
which they pay s6S,054, or on an aver
? age of s71 per hydrant per annum.
$ THE average water tax in the cite:
2 owning their water works plants in 1885,
I was 81 mills on the dollar and in thu
! cities supplied by private corporation:
e 1t was $50 on the dollar. SO that the tax
: payers did not pay within nineteenth:
! of mill so much tax for water pur'
I poses as they did in those cities wher'
t the works are owned by private compa
, MES If all of these cities had owned
8 their water plants nine-tenths of mil
r on the dollar would have been saved II
!; taxes and the cities would have ex
: pended the s63,o54 paid for hydrant rem
: tai for other improvements
: lin the case of street lighting the diff
n ference in favor of municipal owner
: ship is even more marked. Marshall
: town. the only city owning its stree
: lighting plant, had 1903 arc lights oper
$ ated at an expense of $2,367 for operat
a ing expenses and improvements. 7
/ this amount add 10 per cent of $4,000
II the entire cost of the plant to date, TO
n Interest and renewals, and the total, SO,
: 967, will make the entire cost for tn
r year This is at the rate of S36 pc
d lamp per annum. The eight cities sup
: piled by private corporations paid to
n tai of $63.29 for the equivalent of 70
I arc lights. or about $50 per light per an
mum. Marshalltown did not levy light
ing tax, while the average tax for light
: ing purposes in the cities supplied b
n private companies was 2 mills on TIL
y dollar. Had all these cities had munic
l. pal ownership there would have bee
e about $40, 900 saved in taxes, and if the
If plants had cost no more in proportio
s, than the plant at Marshalltown for OF
j. Grafton. extension, interest and renew
l. lals, there would have been saved abo,
l. $50 on each of 7o6 arc lights. or $500
= making total Of $4,000 that woul
$, have been saved to the taxpayers.
II I'm nine small cities with a populi
n ton of less than 100000 there woul
ID have been saved to the taxpayers SOS
81 600 in hydrant rental and $4,000
lighting expenses, or a total of $145. 90
he had all of the nine cities had municip
r ownership Of both industries. This
lie 3l.45 for every man. woman and child
{. II these cities.