The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-04-14
MUNICIPAL LIGHTING.

'ear or more municipal electric lighG
ing has been the slogan of Mayor Win
ter, and while he has claimed that the
present lighting company is charging
anormouB and outrageous prices t.
he city, he does not present any de
allied or tangible statements TO the
public to uphold his arguments
merely assertions.
Any fair minded business man
Wishing % 20 into or start any enter
Prise, frat informs himself rs to the
cost Of such enterprise, and the oper
atoms of the same, by some thorough
and systematic method based on &C
tual experiences, either by himse.
" others, and tabulates most thor
1ughly each item entering into ant
composing all costs of investment ant
operation of same, comparing these
/ With what he may be able to receive
for his manufactured commodity, be
I it light flour, lumber, ice or any other
article of public needs. and by sucl
method he feels reasonably sure Of
What may be the financial result o.
his investment Apparently, Mayor
Winter does no; regard it advisable
Or necessary to furnish to the public
1t large. true facts and figures, hu,
demands that they should accept his
word for IT, that the present lighting
corporations in our city are robbine
the people He becomes ang2rod l.
asked to give any detailed statement
such as are required by every c0nser
vative and thorough business man be
fore embarking into new enterprises
His so-called Investigations of elec
trio lighting, now extending over Z
period Of twelve months or more dc
not successfully yield him the argu
ments he has claimed. SO he only re
torts in his usual old way oh, that't
got nothing to do with it, OF coursC
1t hasn't, from his point of view am
his own personal feeling towart
others in the matter, but our citizens
and tax payers want more than this
before plunging into unknown safe in
vestments. or allowing him 10 lea
he city into debt. which might ana
probably would prove total loss,
Mr. Neff the candidate for alder
man of the First ward, Is making his
race as an advocate of municipal light
ing. regarding it as good subject &c
slide in on. A few weeks ago, at the
solicitation of Mayor Winter he ac
companied the mayor TO Nashville
Tenn, to obtain information on cleo
trio lighting.
Mr. Ncff ought to know som thing
about electricity for he was, for sew
eral years, the superintendent anc
manager of the Delta Electric and
the Egypt Electric properties, now
defunct, but operated for many years
in Cairo. SO It is reasonable to as.
sumo he ought To know what he
writes about II not. then he must be
willing TO occupy the same position on
municipal lighting as does Mayor
Winter
Mr. Neif, in his newspaper articles
just published, presents an address
which he says was made by eX-Mayor
Head, Of Nashville. Tenn It is IN
substance the same as Mayor Head
issued in circular letter form 10 the
voters OF Nashville when seeking re
election las fall. Mayor Head was
an earnest advocate Of municipal
ownership. and II was during his al.
ministration that The lighting plants
we're installed. He urged II as his
campaign document and why the pcO-
pie should rc-elect him If all he says
Is true, does ]. not seem strange that
the voters and tax payers OF Nashville
did not re-clect him, but elected
another man advocating more judi
ciou5 economy? The real question
wa not 80 much what he had or
claimed to have saved the city, com
pared with former costs IF lighting.
a3 the present cost cntailed in own
ing and operating a municipal plant
The fact is that the cost Of opera
ting and maintaining a municipal
plant IN Nashville is much in excess
~ many cities for furnished nights
by private companies. and equally so.
applies to the price offered for all
lights in Cairo The figures given by
SIR Nen for the operation. etc. Of
the Nashville plant for the year 1905.
DO not dispute or differ from those
contained In the statement AS made
by the Cairo Electric and Traction
company as published IN The Bulletin
short time ago. and which show that
it was costing the city of Nashville
some 75 per cent more per candle
power than the price offered by the
local companies in Cairo for oil night
lights. Mr. Nelf cites the folio wing
My opinion regarding ;he ac1uiSi-
tinn 81 city street lighting pl1n..
another proposed project favored. III
that same would prove profitable 10
the city and of 'incaiculable" benefit
in the way of regulating prices to
ligh: users generally. as may be de.
tprmined by the following list Of ciiios
in Indiana and this 81 lte. owning cleo
trio plants. a fad Of the times install
led within the past few years. ccnia ain.
~ demonstrating that such enterpris
cs arc practicable and of general Htil-
ity. viz. In Illinois. Aurora, Clayton
Tlrin Farmer CITY. Jacksonville. Mar.