The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-03
C0STOF CITY LIGHT
Averaged $40 Per Lamp Annual
u Under City Ownership.
This Is the Actual Outlay for
Operation.
mir. GOODRICH TALKS.
Superintendent Shows More
Fallaeies tn Squires' Figures.
City Clerks Effort to Discredit
System Falls Flat.
MIR. GOODRICH TALKS.

THE operating expenses Of the cleo
trio light plant are about $40 a year
per lamp and if you charge $40 extra
FOR depreciation and interest and have
a contract Of that kind I would ad-
wise you to get a hold of that plant
just as quick as you can, for it Ger
tainly is a a stemwinder," said H. X.
Goodrich, superintendent of the city
electric light plant. Il don't think that
there is an electric light plant in the
country that would charge or that
much for interest and depreciation.
The trouble with Mr.. Squires is that
he is dealing with something that he is
not acquainted with. In 1886 Mr.. Mar
shall. who was superintendent then
made a report which showed that the
operating expenses We're $40.0S per lamp
for the year, and the cost has been
about the same since.
Il see that Squires has got the num-
Der Of lamps wrong too-that helps out
though when you figure the cost at
$50. Before 1901 we had 2S2 lamps, then
we added so more lamps when We in
stalled the new dynamo. we had 342
lamps up until nine months ago when
We took ten lamps off of the circuit and
made a contract with the Edison com
pany to furnish the current for that
many for the Melan bridge, the city
under the new Edison franchise gets
this free.
The right way to get at the num-
Der Of lamps is to average the num-
Der Of lamps. taking the number in
service each month but I guess Squires
took the number of lamps that we had
just before we added on to them and
after we took off ten of the lamps nine
months ago and got an average that
way"
When asked for a statement as how
he arrived at his figures in the report
submitted to the council, Mr.. Squires
said. i figured under rather than
above. If I had figured the compound
interest and all in like I might have
the cost would have been 800 a lamp
per year instead Of $780, Why did I
figure 8 per cent? Because the city
had a floating Indebtedness q few years
ago and was paying 6 per cent interest
on the money. I figured on the depre-
citation this Way-the plant has been
going down more rapidly now than it
do you mean to say that all of this
depreciation has come within the last
seven years2"
Yes, most Of it. As for the interest
I took one-third Of its value and reck-
oned per cent for taxes That gives
me the amount of taxes
Have you got your figures here that
show you arrived at this? '' was asked.
NO, haven't. L destroyed them.
was afraid that they might get out be-
lore had presented the report to tn >
council so I tore them up. It took me
four weeks to get this and I wouldn' t
90 through this again for the best man
alive"
II know that there is one thing that
is Of said Mayor Davis. speaking OF
the report. and that is the amount
Of taxes lost. That has been figured
too high. The assessors usually figure
a public piece Of property of that kind
lower than If 1t was owned by a private
individual. I wouldn't suppose that the
taxes came near that estimate by sew
eral thousand dollars"
The city will place this report on file.
AS record of the management of the
electric light plant the city colBlcil is
as far from learning anything as they
were before the report was asked for.
AS far as having any effect upon re
modelling and rebuilding the city electric
light plant it will have none. All of
the councilmen believe that the plant
should be rebuilt and then turned over
to the board OF waterworks commits
sioners to handle.
1t out Of the hands OF the council that
plant will materially be bettered. It
has had some bunglesonne mana cement
with the city council more or less in
terfering with it, said Councilman ;.
T. Howe.
L. i. Overton Of Kansas City, for.
Enerly Of Topeka. is talked of as the ex-
pert who viii be brought to the city
TO advise with it regarding the expen-
diture Of sufficient money to entirely
rebuild and re-equip the plant.