Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-04-24
4 CITY lighting Plant
Some Facts Cleaned in 4 Letter from.
= Creston ofiicial Plant
Unsuccessful.
Incompetent Men Hired to Do the
Work and Result is That Ma.
chirery is Ruined.
Creston Officials Say a City Cannot
Operate as Cheaply as Private
Company.

The agitation in Marshalltown for a
municipal incandescent lighting plant.
and like agitation in other cities in the
state. has brought about more or less
comment from various towns on both
sides of the question.
Charlton, a progressive little city on
the %" between Ottumwa and Cres-
ton, owns its own lighting plant, and
from Its operation recent newspaper
article was published. This articteawas
brought to the attention of gentleman
of this city, who wrote one Of the city
officials of Creston, in order that more
might be learned, also to ascertain its
discrepancies. A reply has been received
and from the letter. which follows, 1t
would seem that at Creston, at least, the
municipal plant is rather much Of a
failure. The Creston plant is valued at
about 81, 200, including the franchise and
until last year did not pay operating ex-
Ipenses, altho $1,000 have been regularly
transferred from the city fund to the
I light fund.
The political feature. which was also
thought Of here when the municipal
plant matter first came up, is referred to
in the letter from Creston, which is, in
part, as follows:
The arguments advanced by Mr..
Wheeler in his article have proven true
here and in addition there is a much
worse feature, viz: politics. mean that
persons are employed not for their
knowledge or fitness for place, but be-
cause they have a pull. AS result we
have had our machinery injured by in
competent help. The first engine we
!. had lasted but a little over year. We
have had three dynamos burned out,
mud burns on boilers and, in fact,
nearly every kind of trouble.
II know the talk of cheap lights and
all that, but when any one claims that
| incandescent lights can be furnished
4 from coal for less than IS cents per
month for is candle power and ampere
arc lamps for less than S. to S. per
month. either conditions are different
from this place or those making the
claim are not informed.
Again a city can not operate plant
nearly as cheaply as a private company,
for the reason that it pays more for ev-
lerything it buys. All electrical goods
are in combinations. and municipal
/ pldlliS1 pay COlIlDlIldllOIl pTlCes,3 private
concerns do not, at least l am informed
they do not
Il can not think Of greater misfor-
tune that can befall a city than to have
la light plant voted upon it. for there is
no let go to it..
If you can get a private concern u
furnish you street lights for 81 per
month for 16 canGle-power and IS pei
4 month for 5 anpere arcs do not thinl
4 of municipal ownership Our taxpayers
have paid more ttanstwice that sum for
their light and had very poor light. too
"a large part OF the time. Our plant is
doing better now than it has heretofore,
but it is not a financial success now. We
Ihave got the $4,000 judgments against
1.-The city paid and our outstanding war
rants. but they We're paid by a special
taxof 10 mills levied by an order OF
i court.
There are various other reasons
against municipal ownership could
state. but my three years experience
with our plant has not illustrated a
single one in Its favor