The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-27

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 1895 the number of new stations reached 7s, increasing in 1898 to s2. The returns for 1902 indicate that the ratio was fully maintained in the census year.
 In 1902 there were in the United States 3,620 central electric stations. with cost of construction and equip ment of $50s,740.352. Employed were 6,S96 salaried officials and clerks with salaries amounting to s5.sss.5sO: and 23,330 wage -earners with wages amounting to $14,9S3112. The gross income was $S5, ,700,605, comprising $S4.1S6.605 from sale of current and $1,514.0e0 from other sources. Total expenses were $6s,0s1.375. The total output of stations for the year, in kill owatt hours. was 2.5o7.051.115. The number of arc lamps was 3S5,69S and of incandescent lamps 1S,194.044. There has been a striking change in the character of service in these sta tions. In the earlier days of the industry nearly. all tho stations were installed for the purpose Of furnishing current for arc lighting, while today the bulk of current is supplied for incandescent lighting, motor power, and miscellan- eous service. This last includes charg ing telephone exchanges, batteries for boats and automobiles; pumping, hot water. steam, and electric heating, electric current and nickel plating and electroplating.
 Private stations form by far. the largest portion of the industry, con- stituting 77.5 per cent of the total number of stations in operation du- ring 1902. Their income from sale of current was $7S,735.500, or 91.9 per cent of gross income. the expenses of oper- ation 92.3 per cent of the total while they gave employment to s9.4 per cent of the total number of wage -earners engaged in the industry and paid 90.5 per cent of the total amount of an- nual wages. The primary power plant equipment of these stations formed 91.3 per cent of the total horsepower of all stations. while their generating | equipment formed 90.6 per cent of the total horsepower of all dynamoes The kilowatt hour output of private sta tions formed 92.2 per cent of the total, and the arc lamps in such stations formed s6.s per cent of the total num- Der wired for operation.
 The comparison of the income of the two classes of stations Is not fair in dication of their earning capacity. be- cause of the gross income reported for municipal stations. Of this gross in l come. $6,S3s.S S66 resulted from the sale of current and included income from
 
 largely. If not wholly, a matter of es- | timatlon. The private stations employed 20.s63 wage -earners, who were paid $13,560, | I'll. and 6,046 salaries officials and clerks with salaries amounting to $5,- 206.l99; while the municipal stations ! employed 2,467 wage-earners, who were paid wages amounting to $1422,341 and $50 salaried officials and clerks who were paid S4573g1
 The cost of construction and equip ment of the municipal stations was | only A per cent; their expenses, 77 per cent and the horsepower capacity of their power and generating plants, S.7 and 9.4 per cent. respectively. The | output of such stations was 7.S per cent Of the total kilowatt hours pro- duced by all the stations, while their arc lamps were l3.2 per cent and their incandescent lamps, S7 per cent of all the lamps reported for the country. In addition to controlling practically the entire industry. the average pri- vate station is much larger than the average municipal station. Consider ing the total of 2s05 private stations, 1t appears that the average total ex- pense per year per station was S22,40t, | as compared with S6,43T for municipal | stations. The private stations gave employment on the average to "A wage-earners, while the municipal sta
 tions gave employment to B. The av-
 craze private stations reported s23,e3S l kilowatt hours per year, as compared with 240.37S for the municipal sta | tions
 1 It Is found that TS2 municipal sta. tions operated in that number of com munties in which there was no cor,
 petitive private service. It would ap- pear that in all probability a great many if not all of these places would have gone without electric lighting had the supply been left to private enter prise seeking return upon it's invest ment The population served by these stations was 2,O52.4S5. an average of a little over 2S00 per station, and towns of this size rarely offer induce ments to private capital, regarded from the per capita basis of consumption of current. These stations also represent total cost of construction and equip ment of $5,369. 3S2, or about $2I ,00O per station, whereas the average cost of construction and equipment for the B. 62O central stations of all classes was slightly short of $14O.00O. The larg- est average population per community Is shown for Massachusetts, having IT stations, with an aggregate population of l51, SOY, or an average of S,9O6 The smallest population per community ia shown for Colorado, with two munich pal stations supplying 1,4O2 people, or