Hutchinson gazette., 1902-02-06
THE WATERWORKS DEAL,
Committee navo Found About What lilo Com
pany Will Do and II Is Up 10 tho People,

water works company have shaken
Hutchinson snow from their feet ana
taken their departure for their east
ern homes,
They were not here so very long
but they did Il heap Of negotiating In
u short space Of time. After Engl-
neer Evans made his report the
water and light committee had sew
eral sessions with these eminent gem
tlemen, "dickerlng'' over u PROPOSE
tlon for the city to buy, The com
mlttee will not make any report, or
rather viii not make any recommen'
dations as to what the council should
do in the premises, Personally
however they think an opportunity
Is opcn for the city to buy at adyan-
taglous terms. The committee first
suggested a price Of $4,000 for the
plant. but the eminent gentlemen
spurned 1t quickly, So then they
diciered some more and the outcome
was that while they refused TO set
any knock down price, they gave such
IN lntlmatiOn that the committee
feel sure that they would accept three
hundred thousand dollars. The plan
upon which the deal was to be thus
consummated was also elaborated
upon considerably.
The plan Is about as follows Tlle
plant Is now bonded for S2l ZOO ana
these bonds draw four percent inter-
est. This Is u rate below what the
city could now float It's bonds for
The company will sell the plant to-
the city subject to those bonds, and
take the citys four percent bonds Tor
the balance amounting to 1000.
But this $500 90 will include $4,000
with which to make the improve
mentS in the plant recommended by
the engineer. Thus it would make
the purchase price of the plant in its
present condition about $2S0,OOO,
The whole question rests upon the
proposition whether this Is reason
able price and of this the average cit
izen is mighty poorly able to Judge.
According to Evans report, 1t Is not
an unreasonable price, 1t Is to be
sure some S13, 200 more than the APP
praised value of the plant alone, but
considering that the company has a
contract giving them u franchise
which does not expire yet for about
fifteen years which has a value based
upon its earning capacity, OF some
thing like hundred thousand dol
lars, this $1,000 may be considered
a very reasonable compromise OF a
controversy which II carried into
court in an attempt to prove the con-
tract void would only be terminated
after years Of expensive litigation.
The water and light committee, or
at least some of the members, figure
thao the city might purchase the plant
on the above terms and even on the
present basis of expense of operating
and the present income, 1t would pay
for 'its keep" and furnish the city
water free. This hydrant rental is
now running into $4,000 year. But
IL is only reasonable that with the
city owning the plant and changing
some of the expensive and oppressive
rules which allow no accommodation
to the patrons, the patronage and
therefore the income would be very
materially increased
With the Improvements which
would be made with the $20, 600 al
lowed as above it is also figured that
the expense of operating could be very
materially leSScncd.
or this twenty Thousand dollars it
is proposed TO spend fifteen of IT In
putting in another process for max
ing gas and bringing that part of the
plant up to date, and also elimnat-
inc the contamination Of the water
from the gas. The remaining i've
thousand would be used in putting
in new up-to-date dynamos for the
arc lights, which according to Evans
estimate would save about fifteen
hundred dollars per year.
There is Il suspicion among some OF
the people that the report of Evans
makes too rosy Il showing; that old
inferior machinery is clasScd as the
hest, and figured not the estimate at
twice or three times It's proper value.
Such suspicious are always to be
expected, but that neither proves
nor disprovcs the facts. 1t is under
stood that man who is we'll vcrscd
in boiler works has expressed the
opinion that the boilers are inferior,
will not stand the pressure of one
hundred pounds of steam, and never
cost originally more than u small part
of what they were listed for by the
engineer in his published report.
Such statements confuse the common