The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-09-19

| claI standing or the cities Will permit,
and the only reason why nearly all
our cities and villages in the state dc
not own and operate their lighting
plants as we'll as their waterwork
systems is because legal distractions
are put in the way so easily by the
parties who are interested financially
in the private plants which pay such
magnificent dividends to their stock
holdres. They generally have enough
of stockholders who are citizens and
! taxpayers of the respective city to be
| able to use the courts and enjoin the
city from making the investment,
and those injunctions being applied
for upon technical grounds the courts
are obliged to follow the letter of the
law although often very unwillingly.
| There is no reason why the munich
pal plan should not work in the mat
ter of lighting as economically and
satisfactorily as in the matter of water
supply where the private water rents
pay all the cost of operation and keep
up repairs and improvements. give
the city fire protection and water for
the city buildings without cost, and
the charges to private consumers are
80 small as to be hardly felt In their
!
between the operation of such light
ing systems and of the waterworks
systems is that in the former it costs
something more to keep up the plant
and the wear and tear of machinery
in the former case little lager sum
has to be figured for depreciation of
plant.
A few of the very many instances
where municipal plants have been in
and the cost of lights to the city are
given below:
Sleepy Eye, Mimi, arc lights cost
the city $4S year
Blue Earth City. Mimi, arc lights
cost the city $40 per year.
Wadena, Mimi. private consumers
are charged from So to So per month
for arc lights and ten cents per thous-
and watts for incandescent lights, and
the profits on commercial lighting
at those rates give the city lighting
free, using forty arc lights on the
streets.
Elgin, Ill, arc lights cost the city
$44 per year.
Marshalltown, Ia, population about
the same as Mankato. uses 1876 arc
lights with 1000 candle power each,
which cost the city per light $50 per
year. The cost of plant and extensions
$24, 600. Been in operation five years.
Msnkato with private plant pays
$74 per arc light.
A great many of the cities operating
municipal plants charge the general
fund with a reasonable price per light
and take that out of the current fund,
placing the sums in the lighting fund,
using the profits to pay for the plane
The actual cost of maintaining an
ordinary arc light such as sued in our
city, nominal 2, 600 candle power. all
night schedule, connected with plant
that has business enough to be run
economically, is $50 per year.
The municipal plant in every case
which we have Investigated has been
entirely satisfactory. and will be the
general thing before many years, and
new legislation ought TO be pushed
through the next meeting Of our legis-
laJure to enable all our municipalities
of reasonable size to install such plants
withourt being blocked by injunctions
issued at the instance of the capitalistic
corporations, and we recommend tha+
the matter be taken up next winter
when our lawmakers meet.
THE COOPERATIVE PLAN.
This is the plan that we would
recommend for Mankato under present
conditions. The stockholders are
guaranteed a dividend of six per cent.
The expenses of operation, including
insurance and taxes, are deducted
from the gross earnings and six per
cent dividend paid to the stockholders
who have furnished the money to
build the plant, and certain percent
age is placed TO account of the plant
for the purpose of replacing wornoEI
machinery, poles and wires. making
necessary extensions and keeping the
plant up to working standard, and
the balance of the proceeds returned
as dividend to the consumers in pro-
portion to the amount they have re-
spectively paid for light during the
year. The fixed charges for lights are
made reasonable, but are made in the
first instance higher than the actual
cost of the product so as to guarantee
six per cent interest on the investment
and that the plant will be kept up as
good as new but at the end of each
year each patron, large or small, has
rebated to him all that he has paid in
over and above actual cost of the pro-
duct that has been furnished him. and
the man who has bought 50 worth of
light during the year will get his pro
rata dividend as we'll as the party
who had paid 5000, and in exact pro-
portion to the amount he has paid.
Capital is plentiful for any invest
ment which insures six per cent, and
it can be guaranteed in such way
that no government bond will be any
better security, ana the users of light
in this city will get the benefits of all
profits and savings over and above this
guarantee.
This principle can be applied to city
lighting as we'll as. commercial, as the
city will get it's rebate as well as citi,
zens and in proportion to the light il
uses. The city authorities can encour-
age such an enterprise without run
ming up against such obstacles as are
ordinarily placed in the way of impor-
tant public improvements No in
debtedness is incurred or contracted
by the municipality more than paying
for the light that it uses and as it
uses it, and thu city may be given
the option of purchasing the plan. at
the end of certain period if thorght
best, and such option will not be in
curing an Indebtedness on the part of
this city as there is no contract COM
polling the city 70 purchase. The pro-
posed company would have no objec-
lions to selling out to the city because
the city could continIe the policy of
furnishing light at actual cost as
water is now supplied to the house
holders and business men.
The cost of establishing a suitable
electric plant at Mankato, the dyna-
NOES to be direct-connected alterna-
tors, a complete marble switch board
with instruments and system of