The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1900-09-20
A MELANGE Of
LIVE TOPICS
Penned for Journal Readers
by a Local Scribe.
Municipal Ownership of Public Utilities

Municipal Ownership of Public Utilities
Throughout the globe there is appar-
ent desire on the part of the people
of municipal corporations to control
their own public utilities such as water
and light agencies, etc. instead of de-
pending upon private companies for
such conveniencies. Wherever the plan
has been tried it has been found to be
uniformly successful both as to the
quality of the service and as to the cost
to the public and to the private con-
sumner; so that nothing could now in
duce those corporations who control
their own water and light plants to re-
turn to the old plan of contracting for
such service with private individuals.
That Marietta's greatest need at the
present time is water, an electric
light and gas plant owned and operated
by herself there can be no doubt. An
example of what has been accomplished
by other places, along this line, will be
of service. The town of Cuthbert, in
this state, is about the size of Marietta.
1t owns and operates its own water
and light plants, the two costing about
$4,000. The town has the use of 30 arc
lights and 81 water plugs, of course free
of charge. After paying the operating
expenses, taxes and insurance and in
terest on the bonds which were issued
for the purpose of building these plants
there remained enough profit arising
from the revenue paid by private con-
sumers, to turn into the town treasury
last year about LOO. Marietta can do
as we'll or better than this. We pay
now in the neighborhood of 81 600 per
annum for our public water and lights,
which amouns, under municipal owner
ship, could be LETT in the taxyers' peck
cts; and from the profits arising from
the revenue paid by private consumers,
a sinking fund could be created which,
in. a few years, would be sufficient to
discharge the bonds. With nothing
owing on these plants water and lights
could be furnished to the people at
minimum cost.
Probably it would not be to the ad-
vantage of the town to purchase the
present waterworks and electric light
plant. In order for such agencies to
be economically operated they should
be located together so that the same
leborers, machinery and fuel may suf-
flee for both. The waterworks plant is
too far away from the railroads to allow
of an economical transportation of coal
to that point. The town should there
fore build new plants, say on some
creek just above the place on or near
the A. K. & N. Railroad, so as to allow
siding to be constructed to the plant.
The paper mill owners would probably
desire to retain their water plant and
the mains leading to the mill The lat
teral mains they could sell to the town.
Most of the fixtures of the electric light
plant could also be bought-posts,w wires,
lamps, dynamos, etc.
To construct waterworks system,
an electric light plant, with a sufficiency
of dynamos to insure that the lights
would never fell, and n gas plant would
cost about $4,000, for which bonds
could be issued bearing interest at a
rate of from four to five per cent per
annum and running, say, twenty years,
with the privilege on the part of the
town of paying them at an earlier period.
OF course, the water would be properly
filtered.
The coke arising from the conversion
of coal into gas, could be used as fuel
for the electric lights and waterworks
engines. The public health impera-
lively demands that the town be sew
cred. This cannot be done until the
corporation owns the water.
The present mayor and council have
promised to have a bill introduced in
the legislature providing for an amend
ment Of the city charter so as to allow
the issuance of bonds for these pur-
poses, if the people desire municipal
ownership.
Let US have an election and instruct