The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-14
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP. PROJECTS THAT FAILED According to the Anti -Mu- nicipal Own leerisship Press
 Bureau.

Among recent municipal ownership failures reported by the Anti-Municip al Ownership press bureau may be enumerated:
 Muncie, Ind, plant abandoned and bonds not paid off.
 La Grange, H., plant sold to com pany.
 Elgin, H., municipal costs so high that contract was let to company.
 Jonesboro, Ind, plant turned over to bondholders.
 Alexandria, Va, plant leased to a company for 30 years
 Ashtabula, O., $38,OOO plant depreciat- ed $5Oo0o in II years, advertised for sale. F
 Brunswick, Mo, plant sold for 35 cents on the dollar, city taking pay in light and water.
 Casselton, N. D., plant sold for two- fifths cost.
 sloam Springs, Ark, $3O,oOO plant leased for $500 year.
 Peru, Ind, council Investigating com- mittee found arc lamps cost $207 a year and advised that the city abandon the business and sell the plant.
 Linton, Ind, plant leased for five years.
 N Hamilton, O., gas plant shut down and state examiner reported deplora- ble financial conditions and abnormal costs due to faulty construction in elec- tric light plant.
 Bloomington, H., increase from $58 to $65 in yearly cost of arc lamps in 10 years, although cost should have been less.
 Easton, Pa, mayor favors letting of private contract If city cannot main tain better service, and business men petition for such contract
 Lakewood, O., expert accountant found cost of arc lamps about double the price offered by private company. In Massachusetts, according to the 1905 report of the commissioners, "A of the 56 private electric light and pow CT companies in the state paid no div idends; one paid a dividend of 2 per cent; one a dividend of 4 per cent: one a dividend of 4.5 per cent; four a divi- dend of per cent; Il a dividend of 6 per cent; three a dividend of [ per cent, eight dividend of per cent. one dividend of per cent and two paid dividends of 10. per cent
 In some states with some kinds of corporations these statistics on divi- dends would give little indication of the per cent. of earnings on the actual investment, because of the common practice of issuing watered stock for which but small per cent. of the face value has been paid. In Massachu- setts, however, where securities for many years past have been issued only upon approval of the commission, to pay for actual improvements in plant these figures can safely be accepted as indicating very nearly the true state of affairs.
 This statement as to dividends, ot course, does not show what earnings may be put back into the property ir the shape of new construction and eX- tensions In this latter connection it is of interest to note that the combined balance sheets of the Massachusetts companies show a surplus of 10.76 pei 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-informee man in the business, namely, that cleo trlc light companies when well man aged and if in sufficiently large towns can be reasonably expected to pay the usual prevailing rate of interest on in vestment, and in some cases a little more than that, but that there art plenty of companies which either fol the lack of good management or fol some local reason are earning practic. ally nothing. There is certainly nothing in these figures to indicate that enor nous profits are to be pocketed by tax payers as a result of a municipal cleo tric light plant.-World Today.