Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 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 1869 in the Last TWEEN
ty-fve Years.

MADISON. Wis, July a.. Special
Statistics on municipal ownership Of
electric light plants compiled by Edward
bradford Smith for tic legislative refer
cucc department of the Wisconsin Free
Library commission are Of interest. Mr..
Smith is graduate Of tie university in
the class Of 1891, and during the past
year ne has been research scholar in
political science.
Tie first municipal electric light plant
in Wisconsin was established at bayfield,
in 1889, five years after the beginning Of
the electric lighting business III this state.
At that time there were thirty private
plants in operation. The latest figures,
those af last March, show forty-SX
municipal and 123 private plants in the
state, indicating a growth Of municipal
ownership in the past seventeen years
from one-thirticth to one-third Of all the
plants in the state Of the 1913 private
plants, thirty-cight are il places Of less
than 1000 population, which IL 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:
EayGnoled' Columbus, Fort AthiRsom'
OmoWOc, plymouth, Rccdsburg, StOughtOn,
Two Rivers, Al2oma, Arcadia, Maroon,
Black River Falls, Blair, Bianchardvillc,
Boscobel, Ccdarburg, CIintonyiiic, Eiroy,
Colby, Cumberland, EIkhorn, Evansville,
Fennm0rc, Florence, Grantsburg, Rice
Lat, Greenwood, Independence, Hudson,
jefferson, kilbourn, Monticello, New Glar
us Princeton Rchland Center, River Falls
Sank city, Skawano, Spring Green, Stur-
geon Bay, Thorp, Whitehall, Waupun
OF these the first eleven have the cleo
trio light plant operated i'll connection
with the municipal water works, Only
one plant, that III Hudson, is leased to a
private company.
Other States and Abroad.
Tie strength of the municipal owner
ship TOVement is in the cities of from
1000 to 10000 inhabitants. Wisconsin is
one of the twenty-fou!r 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 ] to 1850, and the
number Of private plants from to 1924
that is, in 1881 the municipal plants were
nearly ~ per cent of the whole number of
plants, while in 1908 the municipal per
centage had arisen to over "a.
This is materia lily 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
l1O private plants to municipal owner
ship. Among these latter were the plants
of nine Wisconsin cities, Oconomowoc,
bayfield,, Cedarburg, Florence, Fort At
kinsOn, Jefferson, New Richmond, pIym-
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 251 private ones