Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1907-11-08
ITEMS NOT CHARGED
Strange Omissions In the Chicago
Lighting Plant Report.

"
Lamp at s52.39-No Account Taken,
However, Of Lost Taxes. Water. De.
probation, Rent or of Half a Dozen
Other Important Elements of Es-
pense-Bispest M. o. Plant In the
country-lts Service as Poor as Its
Report Is s,isleadins.
The largest municipal electric light
plant In the United States is that OPP
Grated by the city Of Chicago. Natu-
rally students OF municipal ownership
turn to its reports rs one Of the prln.
cipal sources Of Information Oh the
subject. Unfortunately. however, these
reports have been SO worded as to
give the false impression that the
municipal lights cost the city much less
than II they We're supplied by contract
with private company.
Newspapers all over the country have
announced that Chicagos street lights
during 1906 cost only 5000 per lamp
and they are not 10 be blamed for max
Ing this assertion, for twice on page
II of the report for that year $3.50
Is given as the total cost per lamp
1t is true that elsewhere in the report
this statement is modified by the ad-
mission that this cost doesn't in
clude interest, lost taxes, water. de-
probation, rent of offices and poles,
tuiDn,nntl n,,uinSt fh. Of Mt
Of accidents, proportion OF the cost
| of the Offices of the comptroller. audi
| tor, business agent and other branches
of the city government, etc. but the
| edge Is taken off this admission by
| the further statement that the cost OF
| $3.50 includes all expenses actually
borne by the city" Il statement. by
| the way. which Is not even technically
| true.
The report admits that there is some
justice in the contention" that these
items should be charged against the
| lighting cost, but 1t makes this admls-
sion only after years Of refusal to do
SO, and does SO now because of an in
vestigation into the workings of the
plant that has recently been made and
the findings Of which will soon be pub
lished
| Six years ago the Reform club of
New York employed well known
firm Of accountants to find out what
Chlcago's lights We're really costing AT
that time the city claimed cost of
5000, but the accountants reported
the real cost as $99.SS and made NO
allowance for damages street repairs
rent of Offices and poles or the lighting
departments share of the expense for
auditing, purchasing and legal eX.
penses and very low allowance for
depreciation. But the city authorities
totally ignored the findings Of this dis.
Interested and expert investigation.
The unfairness Of the report Is fur.
Their shown by its comparison Of the
per capita cost Of lighting Chicago and
five other cities that do not operate
municipal lighting plants. In the first
place. the street lighting Of Chicago is
VIGOROUSLY inadequate, and in the sec
ond place. while the rates in the other
cities cover the entire cost Of lighting
in Chicago they include only fraction
Of the cost.
Perhaps the most misleading feature
OF the report Is Its comparison Of the
alleged cost" Of the municipal lights
with the rates charged by the private
company with which the city contracts
for TAG Of Its lamps. These sre In tn.
outskirts Of the city. where the cost o.
maintaining them Is very high on ac
count of their long distance from the
generating station and their remote
ness from each other That Is why thu
city contracts for them Yet the report
assumes that the company would
charge just US high rate If it had til,
contract for all the lights. This as
sumption is not only manifestly absurd
but is directly contrary to the facts, u.
one Of the companies offered a reduc
ton OF more than one-qusrter Of it!
contract price If it were given the en-
tire lighting contract.
In making comparisons the quality
or the service is an important consid
GRAFTON, and the service of the Chicag,
city plant Is bad. 1t cheats the publ,
both 10y the frequency Of outage.
lamps going out and staying out til,
rest Of the night and by stealing it.
own CURRENT. e.. reducing the amper
age below the point at which the cur
rent Keeps the lamps up to their rated
,'andlepower. In many cases observer
have noted that, especially after mid
J night, the lamps give only dull GLOW