Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-08-09
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP.
Some Projects That Have Failed-Costly
Experiments in Lighting.

Among recent municipal ownership fail
ures may be enumerated:
Muncie, Ind, plant abandoned and
bonds not paid off.
La Grange, ILL.,, plant sold to com
pany.
Elgin. H., municipal costs so high that
contract was let to company.
,Ionesboro, Ind, plant turned over to
bondholdcrs.
Alexandria. Va, plant leased to a COM
pany for thirty years.
AShtabula. O.. $SS,000 plant depreciat-
ed $4,000 in fourteen years, advertised
for sale
Brunswick. Mo, plant sold for thirty
five cents on the dollar, city taking pay
III light and water.
Casselton, n. D., plant sold for two
tifths cost.
Sloan Springs, Ark. $4,000 plant
leased for $500 year.
Peru, Ind, council investigating com
mittec found arc lamps cost 500 year
and advised that the city abandon the
business and sell the plant.
Linton, Ind, plant leased for five years,
Hamilton, o.. gas plant shut down and
state examiner reported deplorablc imam
cial conditions and abnormal costs due to
faulty construction in electric light plant.
Bloomington, H., increase from sos to
$50 in yearly cost of arc lamps i'll ten
years, although cost should have been
less.
Easton, Pa, mayor favors letting of
private contract if city cannot MAINTAIN
better service, and business men petition
for such a contract.
Lakewood, O., expert accountant found
cost of arc lamps about double the price
offered by a private company.
In Massachusetts, according to the
1905 report of the commissioners, TWEEN
ty-four of the fiftysiX private electric
light and power companies in the state
paid no dividends; one paid dividend
of > per cent; one dividend of 4 per
cent, one dividend of 40 per cent;
four a dividend of 5 per cent; elev-
en- q dividend of 6 per cent; three a divi-
dend of per cent; eight dividend of
3 per cent; one dividend of 9 per cent.
and two paid dividends of 10 per cent.
In some states with some kinds of
corporations these statistics on dividends
would give little indication of the per
cent. of earnings on the actual invest
ment because of the common practice
of issuing watered stock for which but
a small per cent. of the face value has
been paid. In Massac however.
where securities for many years past
have been issued only upon approval of
the commission, to pay for actual I'M
provements in plant, these figures can
safely be accepted as indicating very
nearly the true state OF affairs
This statement as to dividends, OF
course, does not show what earnings may
be put back into the property in the
shape Of new construction and extensions
In this latter connection it is of interest
to note that the combined balance sheets
of the Massachusetts, companies show a
surplus of 1916 per cent. on the entire
capital stock in the 1905 report, but this
is less than the surplus showed the year
previous
These figures simply demonstrate what
is known to every well informed man
in the BUSINESS, namely, that electric light
companies when we'll managed and if in
sufficiently large towns can be reason
ably expected to pay the usual prevailing
rate of interest on investment, and in
some eases Il little more than that, but
that there are plenty of companies which
either for the lack of good management
or for some local reason are earning
practically nothing. There is certainly
nothing in these figures to Indicate that
enormous profits are to be pocketed by
taxpayers as a result of municipal cleo
trio light plant.-The World Today.