Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1906-07-20
CITY OWNERSHIP GROWS.
FORTY-SIX MUNICIPALITIES AT
PRESENT CONTROL THEIR ELEC-
TRIO LIGHTING PLANTS.
BAYFIELD, FIRST IN 1899,
In the Nation the Number Has Increased
from to 1850 in the Last Tween
ty-fve Years.

MADISON, Wis, July 14.-[Special.l
Statistics on municipal ownership OF
electric light plants compiled by Edward
Bradford Smith for the legislative refer
ence department of the Wisconsin Free
Library commission are of interest. Mr..
Smith is a graduate of the university IN
the class of 1897, and during the past
year he has been a research scholar III
political science.
The first municipal electric light plant
IN Wisconsin was established at bayfield,
in 1889, five years after the beginning of
the electric lighting business in this state.
At that time there were thirty private
plants in operation. The latest figures,
those of last March, show forty-slx
municipal and 1913 private plants in the
state, indicating a growth of municipal
ownership in the past seventeen years
from one-thirtieth to one-third of all the
plants in the state Of the 1913 private
plants, thirty eight are in places OF less
than 1000 population, which is true, also,
of thirteen of the forty-six municipal
plants.
City Ownership in Wisconsin.
The cities and villages of the state
having municipal plants are as follows
Bayfield,, Columbus, Fort Atkinson,
Marshheld, Mazomanie, New London, Ocon'
Two Rivers, Algoma, Arcadia, Maroon,
Black River Falls, Blair, Blanchardville,
Boscobel, Cedarburg, Clintonville, Elroy,
Colby, Cumberland, Elkhorn, Evansville,
Lake, Greenwood, Independence, Hudson.
Jefferson, Kilbourn, Monticello, New Glar'
u.s. Princeton, Richland Center, River Falls,
Sank City, Shawano, Spring Green, Stur-
Raw Thorn Whitehall Waunun
OF these the first eleven have the cleo
Gric light plant operated in connection
with the municipal water works. Only
one plant, that in Hudson, is leased to a
private company.
Other States and Abroad.
The strength of the municipal owner
ship moVement is in the cities of from
1000 to 10000 inhabitants. Wisconsin is
one of the twenty-fOur states of the
union which have no cities of over 10000
population with municipal electric plants.
In the past twenty-five years the number
of municipality owned electric light plants
has increased from 1 to 1850, and the
number of private plants from Z to 1884 :;
that is, in 1881 the municipal plants We're
nearly 10 per cent of the whole number of
plants, while in 1905 the municipal per-
Centage had arisen to over a.
This is materially increased in the six
months of 1906 now elapsed. During the
last twenty-five years, too, thirteen plants
have changed from municipal to private
ownership, but the balance was more
than made good by the change of over
ITO private plants to municipal owner
ship. Among these latter were the plants
of nine Wisconsin cities, Oconomowoc,
bayfield,, Cedarburg, Florence, Fort At
linson, Jefferson, New Richmond, Plym-
Outh, and Two Rivers.
Canada has eighty municipal electric
light plants, ana in England about two
thirds of the electric light plants are
owned by municipalities. In the entire
United Kingdom there are 4S1 municipal
plants, and 297 private ones.