New-York tribune., 1900-04-02
cHICAGO'S STREET LIGHTS.
-,voRABLF RESULT OF MUNICIPAL
CONTROL OF ELECTRIC PLANTS

-.,.ago Aprtl (SpeciaD.-Single takers work
,nsnIv in Chicago than in New-York. yet
-. are probably more men here with political
.a,,s,ce in the ranks Of the political workers
- have leanings that way than is the case in
East Chiefly is this apparent in regard 10
.t,ic control Of public utilities Probably in no
~ rirv in the world is there more talk about
brc abuses by public corporations and less
-. IN the way Of sensible regulation This is
-. ether side Of the picture 20 the laxtty of
..,-Iss exposed last week in connection with
..a systematic blackmaiiing ano pulldozlng or
.o-,orations in the courts
7,o Chicago public has for several years made
landing Joke of the Inconvenience and
suffered and tolerated in travel over
..-ae. railway systems. Yet has in reality
= :, 1it,Ie interested as TO be ready to give
- .,-,o-ations owning the systems almost any
- and length Of franchise desired. Or, again
- gas trust Of the city has been protected in
,,lgb rates by the refusal of the public to give
.n opening 10 substantial competitors.
.r-vrcTPAL WATER AND STREET LIGHTS
+, otber cities experiments have been made
=. the way Of municipal ownership in many
s,,actions: so far Chicago public spirit has
1ned local municipal efforts TO the supplying Of
7rater and the lighting Of the public streets; the
a-e, named under the immediate supervision Of
re City Engineer. the last directed by the City
E1acrrfcian. The city's street lighting arrange
nnents are in fact the most extensive in the
world and inasmuch in proportion to their
r-owth the cost has been steadily reduced the
s1biect Of their successful management is worth
more than passing attention, not only from the
,oiut OF view OF the single taxer but a mat
ter OF widespread general interest
First Of ali. however. ii may be noted that
y all vents ara
much 10 the fore in this city as elsewhere, from
sewer repairs 10 street cleaning necessities Ref
erence here is had exclusively TO what the single
taxer would call public utility. viz. right Of
way a right Of water or right Of light, air or
pover In the case Of street lighting by the
municipality a saving 10 the taxpayers Of over
100000 has been effected in the cost Of opera
ton during 1899 compared with that in 1895,
in spite OF the fact that twice as many lights
have been installed in the last three years as in
the preceding ten years.
4 WELL LIGHTED CITY.
Taking the city as a whole, il is well lighted.
as notably as II is i'll cleaned There are in
operation 3.502 arc lights. thoroughly TO cover
She whole ground 5000 arc lights would be
needed. taking at least two more power plants
than there are at present. According 10
statistics furnished by the City Electrician, there
are only two European cities with decent sized
municipal electric light plants-Berlin and Bir-
mingham-and IN both those cases lights
sold 10 private individuals. whereas in Chicago
fhe power is used exclusively for the city.
Arrangements ara almost complete for bring
ing six hundred more lights into use here, and
there Is one new power house practically com
pleted and waiting only for the machinery AS
there is a possibility Of appropriation Of
$3.50 60 for electric light extension this year It
NAV be that TWO thousand extra lights will be
put into service before long. The actual figures
for street lighting during the last five years. in
Guiding gas. gesoene. rented electric lights and
the city plants. are follows:
1855 s. COS go ls9s sas4 e17
is97.............. l056.7l3
DECREASED COST TO THE CITY
The cost 10 the city for supplying its own
lights has in the same time decreased from
S96 76 light year TO 500 90. This is not as
low as il some other cities. In Detroit. for ex-
ample the cost last year was S4S. and in Ale
gheny City S4T 80. The territory TO be covered
IN Chicago however, is big-thirteen miles long
and four wide. This means many power houses,
each with its separate staff Of men, more work
for triumers and higher wages. this latter item
adds al least 8 year TO the cost Of each light.
For example. Lrimmers in Chicago are paid SOS
a month. as compared with $50 in other places.
Lnemen here get SO month instead Of $40
elsewhere. This fact Of higher wages is worth
dwelling on Tor moment. because in the re-
marks made before the newly formed local COM
mission 10 look into the better housing Of the
poor il was stated that the difficulty here was
not as Il was in the East 10 provide decent and
pleasant quarters for those able 10 pay 81 or IS
Z month but for those only able TO pay half
that amounr-a seemingly curious statement
II view OF the generally accepted belief that
wages in the West, even as far east as this
place. are higher than IN the East.
No MEDIUM IN POVERTY
The explanation lies in the fact that here
a5outs the respectable, decent poor are more
or less unknown; il is Sums or a fair income;
ana the higher wages paid by the municipality
o. Chicago are but an illustration OF this condi-
ton Private lighting companies pay lower
wages and run their plants continuously during
The twenry-tOur hours. instead OF the average
ten hours a day Of the cicy's plants. In summer
t"o snltts q men are employed in the power
houses. working each only four and a half hours
~ gettng ful pay, simply because the city
N1AaIces 90 not allow longer hours than eight
mean big saving in the cost. Al present II
: d question whether the city can produce lights
q eheapiy as private companies on account OF
J. Is = -snalcap, though az a matter Of fact S1O3
seSf is paid for any rented lights.
a. me present tine Chicago has Ss4 .O1S in
ssa-uescent lamps and "a .92l arc lights. These
tL-clude some lights maintained in shops and
1ses 1oeG besides the lamps used by the city In
lsS3 3E 649 inca csnd-scaD- 1igl,-s ,rare Installed
n the city
n The City Electricians report there are sev-
- rec concentrations by which the municipality
r.sAI improve its control Of this public utility
- Ie most welcome suggestion Is that the city
az a. the lead IN abstainiug from the use Of
80 lieaa wires, sending everything underground
- .eu-oTclng ordinances on private owners in
S.-i-s tne wires Of the fire alarm telegraph
rras. l his would mean the departure Of al
~ al the unsighrly poles and the removal
Ts - constant menace 70 public safety
n -1s & 1hlcago. IN the throes Of labor struggles,
dishonest
-i-.'iets and hindered by much private opposi-
A. AZ .a 4ha public Indifference. should conduct such