New Iberia enterprise. (New Iberia, La.) 1885-1902, 1899-08-26
The Question of Light and Water.

The followinif extract. from ali article
written by a member of the committee,
who three years ago visited several Louis
lana towns to study their systems of
water and lights, is timely and we repro
duce it
New Iberia is the only town of 5000
population, or over, in the State without
a waterworks system.
1t is the only town in the South to the
writer's knowledge not protected against
fire and supplied with water by some
more or less effective system of water ser
vice, and it is quite possible that New
Iberia stands unique and alone among all
the towns in the United States, of like
size, and commercial Importance, so far
behind the modern progressive spirit as to
install that health giving, labor saving,
and property protecting triumph of the
mechanics art, the gravity system Of
waterworks.
Though the citizens of Lake Charles,
Monroe, Baton Rouge or Shreveport. or
even sleepy old New Orleans, may well
question the eXpediency of permitting
private ownership of such public neces
sity as waterworks though they may see
the valuable franchises of the town sold
for mess Of pottage, and feel that they
are completely in the grasp of monopoly
taxing them yearly to the extent of 80 to
so per cent of the actual value of the plant !;
yet hardly will you find, in a day travel,
a man who does not favor waterwOrks
When you find such a town as AleXan
dria, where the plant is the property of
4 o&nl 10,
serve, and not to gouge, and where every
one feels the interest Of proprietor in
the plant, you find men who will tell you
that In their ignorance, they at first OPP
posed the waterworks, but who are now
loud in its praise.
New Iberia is fortunate in having had
the benefit Of the aggregated experience
Of those other towns.
Now, her people will build for themselves,
and will own and operate. The most SER
ious of all mistakes, that of tolerating
private ownership of waterworks and cleo
tric lights, will, in this instance at least,
be avoided.
To maintain at a high stage of eff
cheney waterworks plant, it is necessary
to keep steam up at least twelve hours out
of twenty four.
With an electric light plant in connec
ton, the expense of operating the water
works plant will be reduced to minimum
as the same help that runs the light plant
can run the waterworks, and 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 is even more to be argued in
favor of municipal ownership of the light |
plant.
The information gathered by the water
works committee has convinced every |
member that there is only one right way |
for any town to approach the subject |
Of waterworks and lights, and that is to |
own and operate the plant, and not per-
NIT any corporation to monopolize valu'
able franchises and collect annually such |
eaesaaeus- ol1ts-ss 40 tn 50 pnr 4aent-z>E4
he cost of the plant.
We can cite towns like Alexandria, serv-
ing the people with pure artesian water
at about $500 per annum per house, and
electric lights at SOC for homes and soc |
Tor business houses lighting the town with
100 incandescent lights and arcs fur
nishing 65 double service hydrants and
making now net revenue of nearly two |
thousand dollars year, and all this with
out dollar of expenses to the corporation.
On the other hand, we could tell of towns
where the people pay from $l2 to $50 per
lnnum for water and the lowest price
charged for electric lights is $l.OO per
month, and sad to relate in this very town
he waterwork company gets free gift |
N the shape of a special \. mills tax, as
4 bonus simply, and the city pays this al
.ruistic corporation $50 per annum for
lydrants and the same for arc lights, and
he result is that the town actually pays |
,he W. W. & E. l.. Co. more annually than
would build and pay for the entire plant
in few years.
Last summer some merchants went to this |
company and asked what they would be |
charged for enough water to be taken from |
he hydrants (paid for by the town. to
supply one sprinkler such as we have in
New Iberia and what do you suppose was
he price asked for this service $3.50 per |
month.
Another town not very far from New
Iberia pays $40 per annum for hydrants,
and $50 per annum for arc lights. That
town, too, is paying right along for very
poor system of waterworks and will never
own it.