The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1906-01-04
Francis A. StrattOn.

J TIohNio "a pildltOhs
: The handsome souvenir supplement
: of the New Rochelle, N. Y, Paragraph
issued Christmas has the following tC
say about our former resident:
OF all of the public service corpora
tions of Winchester county there is
none more essential to its growth and
progress than the one which supplies
the important elements Of heat, light
and power. 1t is a matter of congratu-
lation that we have in the Winchester
Lighting Company corporation which
is keeping pace with our rapidly in
creasing population and giving the
people of the county service satisfac-
tory in every particular. Undoubted-
ly this corporation has been responsible
to large degree for the marvellous
increase of population just shown by
the new state census. Under the in
telligent and progressive management
of its present head, Mr.. +. A. Stratton,
the company has won the good will
and appreciation of the people to de.
gree seldom attained by any corpora.
tion doing business with the public.
Seven or eight years ago the towns
and cities of this county we're supplied
with gas and electricity by a group of
small concerns none of which were up
to-date or equipped to givean adequate
service. These corporations did the
best that they could under the circum-
stances, but they lacked capital to
make improvements and their poor
service was source of constant COM
plant. 1t was through the efforts Of
Mr.. Stratton more than those of any
other man that they were brought to-
gether with sufficient capital behind
them to make the enormous improve
ments that the county now enjoys.
From series of inefficient corpora
tions which were generally execrated
by the citizens of the county Mr.. STRAIT
ton and the stockholders of the West
chester Lighting Co. have brought
forth one splendidly organized concern
which is conducted to the satisfaction
of every one of the thousands of people
of the county doing business with it.
Today the service is unequaled any
where throughout the country and the
rates both to public and private con-
sumers are lower than ever before.
After what has been said of the West
chester Lighting Company may also be
said of the Northern Westchester
Lighting Company, the corporation re-
Gently organized by Mr.. Stratton, to
supply gas and electricity to the villag-
es of Ossining, Croton, Brier Cliff Ma
nor and Pleasantyille.
The people of the northern part of
the county speak in high terms of this
company which has spent hundreds of
thousands of dollars supplanting their
antiquated plants with modern gas and
electric stations. These improvements
can not help but result in q marked
growth of manufacturing and popula-
ton in all of the places in which they
have been made, and particularly in
Ossining, which is soon to have day
current.
We do not know of a man in West
chester county who has been so great q
factor in its progress as Mr.. Stratton.
His success and the success of his COM
pany has been due to the fact that he
has listened to the people and striven
to give them as nearly as possible what
they wanted.
Besides putting the lighting service
of the county on better basis Mr..
Stratton has also devoted himself in q
commendable way to public improve
ments. He has been instrumental in
obtaining much needed improvements
in the harbors. Through his personal
influence in Washington he obtained a
$40, 900 appropriation for dredging the
harbor at Eastchester. His company
is also spending $4,000 to deepen the
J channel in New Rochelle and it has re-
Gently rebuilt a steamboat dock at Os
q shining.
The outings given by Mr.. Strattor
= each year have served to make the off
cials OF the Westchester Lighting Co
acquainted with the leading citizens o
the county and have undoubtedly re
: suited in mutual benefit.
In this city the company has givel
a us an electric plant of which we Cal
q we'll be proRd. 1t is the largest in th
county and has the capacity for supply
% ing all of the light which the city an
70 vicinity demands at present and it
Is ample to meet the demands of the fu
ture.
At Big improvements are now under wa
st such as the construction of a tunnel fo
n bringing water from Echo Bay fc
" cooling the dynamos. An Allis-Cha
N mers 1900 kilowatt turbine is bein
v installed and the building is being Ell
b, larged
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