The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-17
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favored II, .arAA Griffith Davies added that
he thought the public was practically
unanimous in the same spirit.
One Thing NJ Time.
II believe in municipal ownership Of pub
lie utilities" said Mr.. Davies. ''but we
should have ono thing at a time. We shall
soon be through with the water problem,
and then should be prepared to use the
excess water for operating a lighting plant,
80 1t viii not 90 to waste"
II. r. elise, who was formerly MEM
Der Of the city council, favored repeating
that part OF the charter prohibiting the
council from letting lighting contract for
longer period than a year. and leaving
It to the councils discretion to let con-
tract 70 that the city would acquire in
some way the poles and wires owned by
private corporations.
Mr.. Prosch said he had paid ~ a month
for twenty years for poor water service.
and since the city had been furnishing him
he had an Infinitely better service for
$50. He believed something Of the same
result would come from municipal opera
ton Of lighting plant. He spoke Of Ia
coma, which has municipal ownership,
where incandescent lights we're furnished
In homes for % cents month each. and
the users could burn them all night II
they wished to. The price was too high
here, he said. ''The city would have a
large customer at once" he continued,
(which would be worth something like
$e6 900 year, for the street lights, besides
the lights in the public library and city
hall. ! never heard Of a gas works or
electric light company failing, and there
must be large profits in the business. The
ate fr,tt hA~
others.
II should be in favor Of the city owning
the street railways II It was possible and
practicable: but the expense would amount
to $3,000,00o or 100000, and we are IN no
condition 10 take up such a thing now,
though am satisfied that the city could
run them we'll"
J. W. elise spoke briefly in favor Of mu-
nic;pal lighting, but said the tax levy
should be kept down. II am interested
in bringing money into Seattle" he said,
''and find that the tax levy and the prob
abilities Of future taxation are most care
fully inquired into by intending investors"
Water First, Then Lights.
c. b. Bagiey said these municipal own
ership propositions could be extended in
definitely. and that the time might come
when all public utilities would be owned
by the city: but get those we need most
At first" he said. water comes first,
and then lights"
City Engineer Thomson has prepared
some statistics showing the possibilities Of
the water system as relating to the oper-
alton Of a light service. 1.-THE gate house
under erection at the Maggie reservoir Is
being constructed to provide facilities for
operating q little service to use all the
water flowing from the high service reser-
voir. This furnishes power enough to give
900 arc lights of 200o-candle power, (which
vxrA.s Tx - M
without trouble"
He elaborated on the use to which the
extra water to come from the new Cedar
river service might be put. ''If, when this
service Is installed. 100000 gallons day
goes to waste, which will allow 100000 for
consumption. or 100000 more than the
present average, we add a steel pipe for a
few hundred feet to the necessary wood
pipe to take care Of the waste, we shall
have power enough to furnish 1.27O arc
lights and 10000 incandescent lamps such
as are used on the streets. If later the con-
sumption should grow to 100000 gallons
a day there would be enough for 11OO arcs
and 5000 incandescent. and SO on. it's being
probably eight years before the power Of
this water and that at the Maggie station
would fall below enough for $50 arc lights.
Then, II It should be necessary an auxiliary
steam plant could be established on the
shore of Lake Union, where fuel would be
cheap on account of the sawmills there.
where slabs could be gotten"
Water Consumers Extravagant.
He went into the question Of the con-
sumption here, taking the position that
people were woefully extravafant. The use
in Seattle, he said. amounted to ninety gal.
Ions a day per capita, while in st. Pau.
and Minneapolis. where everybody had all
the water they wanted, 1t was only fifty
toseventy gollons. This one pipe line under
favorable conditions will furnish 1900 900
gallons day." he continued, land under
the poorest 100000 gallons Given 100
gallons a day to the population, and we
shall have enough for 200, 900 people"
On motion Of Castleman. which was unan-
imously passed, Chairman Gill, the cor
poration counsel and the city engineer were
instructed to draw UP resolutions covering
the three first propositions, which will be
submitted at the next meeting, to be held
next Saturday evening at 5 o'clock. The
city engineer and Attorney John X. Brown
are drawing up suitable proposed amend
ments covering the street Improvement
proposition. which will be submitted at
the same time. AT the next meeting the
committee will also consider other proposed
amendments.