The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-24


Reelected First Assistant Engineer of
the Fire Department
of land owned by Henry G. Fay, Ar
thur w Woods and others, containing
24S 1877 square feet. fronting on Hahn
stadt Street, at an expense not to eX-
coed $21.11374.
"A tract of land owned by the heirs
of JJriah Stone, containing about 80
acres. situated south Of the Boston &
Albany Railroad, at an expense not to
exceed $4,000,
A tract of land. owned by the heirs
of Frank B. Davidson containing
about 4S,000 square feet on Olive Ave-
nue. lat an expense not to exceed $4,000
A tract of land. $4,000 square feet
owned by Charles e. Bond on Olive
Avenue, $45O0
A tract of land owned by George
McAleer and John N. Akarman trus-
tees, on Grafton Street containing
10 acres, $4,000.
A tract of land owned by Charles b..
Bergman. containing IL acres on
Grafton Street, $4,000.
The order Of Chief of Police w. ]. F..
Stone was confirmed designating the
following streets for coasting: May
Street. from Woodland Street to Park
Avenue; Castle Hancock, East Shelby,
Westminster, Dix, Downing, Charlotte,
Mt Pleasant, BowdOin Streets: Cath
crime Street, east from Charming; Ken
dali Street, east from Claiming; West
Street. between Salisbury and High
land Streets; Union Avenue, from
Providence to Grafton Streets; Orange
Street, from Myrtle to Madison Street;
Chatham, oxford to Clinton Street.
Jacques Avenue, Washington Avenue,
William Street, Institute Road, Ger
main Street to Park Avenue. These
streets can be used for coasting from
2 to in the afternoon and Z to 10 in
the evening, for Wednesday evening
and Saturday afternoon and evening.
On motion of Alderman Edward j.
Mcmahon, the report of the committee
on street lighting relative to the NUM-
ciDal ownership of an electric lighting
plant went over for one week, to al
low the board a careful perusal of the
report. The report was as follows:
In considering the subject matter
under this order your committee mas
endeavored to discover first, the re-
suits attained by cities already owning
municipal electric light plants, as
shown by their cost per lamp hour of
street arcs; and, second, the probable
cost to the city of Worcester of the
plant of the Worcester Electric Light
Company and the cost of maintaining
this plant under municipal control.
AS the cost of fuel, hours Of burn
and electric energy used in the lamps
differ in nearly every city, as the items
of interest paid on account of the
plant, depreciation of machinery, etc,
and of taxes lost, ale usually ignored
in the printed reports sent out from
these plants, and as it is necessary to
figure these costs upon a Worcester
basis, in order to reach an intelligent
conclusion in comparing the results ar
rived at in other cities with our own,
your committee caused blank inquiries
sent to 80 cities and town owning and
operating municipal lighting plants,
outside the state of Massac husetts.
The territory covered by these in
quiries included practically the entire
United States, and the replies were ex-
pected to clearly indicate the local con-
ditions and cost of street lighting in
the municipal plants of this country
Unfortunately for this purpose, IT
cities only replied to the questions
asked, of this II the replies received
from nine were so incomplete as to
render the data of no value, leaving
only eight plants, outside the state the
data from which was sufficient to be
of use.
The cost of street lights as reported
by these eight cities, plus the differ
and in Worcester, plus the items of
interest paid, depreciation and taxes
lost (Which were omitted in every
case), show the average cost per lamp
hour would be "a cents if the plants
were located in this city.
Inasmuch as the price paid in this
city for street arcs is rs cents per
lamp hour, or 6 cent cheaper than the
cost of the same light, burned under
equal conditions, in the municipal
plants outside the state, your commit
tee abandoned this line of nvestiga-
ton and took up the municipal plants
within the state.
Massachusetts, cities and towns own
ing their own lighting plants are
obliged to keep their books according to
a system adopted by the State Board
ers and to charge items of expense to-
the general account designated by the
board.
This system is identical with that
prescribed by the board for the com
panies, and affords the only correct
basis of comparing the costs of produc-
tion by the municipal plants and the
companies.
The average cost per lamp hour Of
the street arcs furnished by the NUM-
cipal plants in this state, as shown by
she reports Of the board is 4.34 cents
while the price paid in this city is , 8
cents per lamp hour since July l, 1901
1t must not be forgotten that, with
two exceptions, the municipal plants in
achusetts burn a 300-Watt lamp.
while we use 500-Watt lamp in this
city.
Adding the cost of coal necessary to
produce a 500 instead of a 300 Watt
lamp. the cost per lamp per hour would
be increased from 4.34 70 ass cents, a
sum very nearly double that now paid
for street lights by the city of Worces-
ter.
II is undoubtedly true that the cost
Of street lights in cities Of this state.
operating municipal plants, is largely
affected by the amount of commercial
business done by the plant, as a large
deficit in commercial operation adds TO
the cost of the street lights. while a
small deficit, in commercial lighting,