Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-03-18


and intelligent attention to that class
of public utilities under which are
grouped gas making, electric lighting
and water supply.
Mr.. Bemis makes the point that
resort to more modern methods of gas
manufacturing would result in large
ly decreased first cost. His letter fol-
lows:
MOUNT VERNON, N. Y,
March Is, 1900.
To the Editor of the Register
Sir: / am a firm believer in munic-
ipal ownership of lighting plants If
you had not had this system, you
would probably be paying more for
light than now. But because of my be-
lief in the system, l am always eager
to have its superiority to private own
ership increased. | am frequently
able to visit, or get hold of the ac-
counts of gas companies, and in COM
pariag your gas works with others 1
am convinced that your city could save
many thousands of dollars year to
the people if modern, up-to-date gas
retorts were put in, SO that the labor
force could be largely reduced. 1t
seems to me likely that with such i'm
provements skillful management could
secure more return from residuals,
coke, tar and ammoniacal liquors, but
the greatest saving would be in wages.
Now, I believe in the eight-hour day,
in most lines of employment, and that
cities should pay little more than
private employers, but no true friend
of the people would desire to encour
age the employment Of more men than
are needed, or the payment of greatly
higher wages than private employ
ment gives, lest energy and alertness
be weakened, and municipal undertake
ings become so expensive that in some
sudden moment of weakness the city
will be tempted to surrended its pub
lie plant to a grasping private monop-
oily.
The facts seem to show that the
wages of the various classes of labor at
your works, for an eight-hour day, are
considerably higher than in almost all
private works on a ten or twelve
hour day, while, as indicated above,
the absence of modern machinery leads
is necessary. Very likely even with
the present apparatus some men could
be disposed or While at the works |
learned that the mere introduction of
a different kind of doors for your re-
torts, self-sealing doors, as they are
called, instead of style that have
to be plastered on to the retort every
time coal is put in, would save on the
average, the year round, the labor of
at least nine men, known as mud
men, who, at $3.50 a day, are receiving
nearly $4,000 a year. Yet this new
type of door, which is in use in Hamil
ton, Ohio, public works. cost no more
than the old ones, and you Rave to
renew your doors every three or four
years, anyway. | was informed that
the only reason why change had not
been made last summer, when a large
portion of the doors were renewed, was
because it was thought that it would
be unpopular to displace labor. Now,
in all this, | am saying nothing against
the management of the plant, for |
have an idea that the trouble lies much
farther back, with the people of Wheel
ing, and with the leaders of public
opinion like the newspapers, who ought
to render it possible for the manage
ment to adopt the economies which 1
believe they would be only too glad
to introduce, and which would mean
better, as well as cheaper, gas.
Of course, the displacement of labor
by machinery arouseS ones sympathy,
but the general experience of the world
has been that, on the whole, machin-
cry must be introduced if we would
keep up with the progress of the age,
and that especially in public owned
plants the people get all the benefit
of the machinery. And even the la
borers that may be temporarily dis
placed are likely to be called back into
the work if they have not in the mean
time secured better positions else
where because improvements so re-
duce the cost of manufacture as to per-
NIT large reduction in prices, and
thereby increase the consumption and
the need of more labor again.
The cost of gas manufacture in
Wheeling, without any payment for in
terest, since the plant is out of debt,
seems to have been 81 cents per thou
sand feet last year, l believe it could
easily be reduced to 40 cents, so as to
permit of reduction in the price from
rs cents to so cents. which reduction
might soon double the quantity of gas
used. | believe that Wheeling is more
unprogressiye in the management of
it's gas works than any other of the
dozen public gas plants in the country,
although the size of the city and its
unusually favorable relations to the
coal fields permit what would usually
be considered a low price even now
for gas.
The beauty of city ownership. even
under the present situation, is that a
group of disinterested citizens, of all
parties, coming together Independent
of party lines, could easily bring sufTl-
cient pressure on an educated public
opinion to bear, so as to work great
economies in your plant in a single
year. while under private ownership
weak or corrupt city council of sin
gle year could tie up the hands of the
city TO contracts and franchises which
it could not throw off for a generation.
Nv faith, therefore, in municipal own
ership is not shaken by what is shown
above. neither have | had any reason
to complain of the kind treatment and
apparent interest in the plant on the
part of the existing management. both
in the Office and at the works; but do
think the management needs the REIN
forcing of public opinion such as the
facts would surely create if the facts