The Topeka state journal., 1905-10-10
TAKES FIRST STEP
Edison Company Wants to Light
the City.
VIII Supply Current for 81
Lights so Days.
ABANDON THE PLANT.
Topeka Nay Find Itself Without
Municipal System.
Councilman Hughes Calls 1t a
White Elephant.

CITY council and supplant the eity's
municipal system. It secured the per
mission of the city council last night
10 furnish lamps and current for light
ing circuit of 80 lamps extending
from Gordon street on Kansas avenue
southwark, as a trial for a period of
ninety days of the service which they
are able to furnish 1t is to also fur
nlsh an estimate of what it will cost
the city to secure its street lighting
done by the Edison company.
The gas and electric lights commit
/ tee of the city council IN recommend
! ing to the city council that the offer
of the Edison company be accepted
said by way of explanation that the
city plant was now carrying all the
/ load It could possibly carry. That
Ihere was clamOr for more lamps.
Ihat unless the city purchased an ad-
! dluonal dynamo they would be unable
TO take care of this demand. That by
/ making this temporary contract with
the Edison company thew would be
able to alleviate the conditions and
staVe off the purchasing of new ma
chlnery until the council decides what
move II VIII take. L. z. Myers, vice
! president Of the Edison company, ap-
/ peared in behalf of his company J.
/ W. +. Hughes and c. K. Holiday of
the council urged the members of the
council to accept the offer of the Edi-
son company.
The city council also decided to pur-
chase subject to trial 80 Warner lamps
from the Warner Electric company of
Muncie, Ind. The 30 lamps will be
put on to the present dynamos for a
period of 30 days. If they are salts
factory they Will be purchased. The
lamps are of the enclosed type and are
supposed to run on 6.6 amperage, while
the present machinery is speeded for
SO amperage lamps. BY speeding up
the machinery it is claimed that the
warner lamps can be used on the
present dynamos without rewinding.
They claim that the machinery will not
suffer in consequence and back this up
With guarantee bond. J. +. Schaefer
of the General Electric company, C.
X. Maunsen, superintendent of the
Edison company, and L. E.. Myers of
the same company, claimed that the
Warner company could not attach
their lamps to the dynamos at the city
plant without reWinding, or if they at
tempted to hook on without doing so,
the machinery at the plant would be
injured
The Warner company in Offering it's
proposition last night offers to sell the
city $50 lamps for $4,000 to be paid in
monthly installments of $3.50 each.
The factor which induces the city
council to make the change is the poor
condition of the present city lamps t
They are antiquated and of a type that
is no longer in use. They are in bad
repair with few exceptions and quite a
number of tn EN- have gone out of serv-
ice. They burn UP more carbon and /
take more labor to trim than the en- |
closed type of which the Warner lamp
is one. In accepting the Warner prop
OsitiOn the council rejected the prop
osition of the Fort Wayne Electric /
company and also that of the General |
Electric company. The former neces-
STATED the rewinding of the dynamOs
at an expense of several thousand dol
lars. the latter meant the expenditure /
of $4,000 for ne wdvnamos, new
lamps and rewriting.
Green's Plan Rejected.
Councilman William Green at /
tempted to have the city call into |
consultation three expert electricians
before making a contract with the
Warner company. to advise the city
council which of three lamps con. !
tanned the most merit This was re-
jected.
An attempt was also made to send
Supt. H. K. Goodrich of the city cleo
trio light plant to Muncie, Ind, where /
some of the Warner lamps are in use. /
on a trip of inspection. But this failed
to pass.
After the gas and electric lights
committee had made It's report in IA
yor of purchasing the Warner lamps /
Councilman Swendson said; "I don't
think that we should bind ourselves J
to purchase an entire new lot of
lamps. I believe that we should
repairing those which we can. We
can't sell them. and they are too good
to throw away believe that we
ought to repair those that we can
and use them along with the new
ones"
]. w. F. Hughes said: "I am told
by Supt. Goodrich that it win take |
from SO to "a to repair these lamps |
and the Fort Wayne company says |
from "a to s7.'
l. E. Myers was then invited to ad- /
dress the council. He said: You I
will all remember that the Edison /
franchise contained a section that pro-
vided that the company should be pre- {
pared at any time to furnish the city |
with current for its street lighting /
The ordinance is very clear, and if (
there is any prospect of such a thing I
coming up we want TO know it now. I
because we are rebuilding the plant I
now. It would seriously Inconvenience /
us to have the demand made at SONS I
later time. We heard this afternoon /
that there was some prospect of the T
Edison company taking over some of /
these circuits We would be glad to
take off some of this burden from /
the city's shoulders We will be will. /
ing to furnish current to the city at I
a price lower than that stated even
in the franchise. We would be glad /
cult on Kansas avenue for that string
of lamps.
''I would like to ask, said c. K.
Holiday, Mr. Myers what he would
be willing to furnish lamps and cur
rent on Kansas avenue for the %
lamps
Mr.. Myers: 'I would be willing to
say off hand. not to commit myself.
that we would do it on an all night
circuit, every night in the year, for
SIS a year per lamp It MAJ be lower
than that, ccnsidera bly, Iower-T am
giving you the outside figure We
viii furnish the lamps, enclosed -tv
wiring and all 1 want to say this
rich, that If the city is getting its
light at some of the prices 7 have
heard of. am willing to furnish the
current and lamps for nothing. I am