The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-05-28
Herbert Hackney Says That 1t
Would Be Bad Business.
COFRAN GIVES FACTS.
Original Plant Cost the City
But $50, 900.
Should Be Put in Repair and
Kept That Way.


which nearly every one has opinions
but not all are in a place where they
can speak with authority. The opinion
of men who are engaged in a similar
business is of greater value than the
guess of inexperienced persons in re-
gard to a matter they do not understand
Mr.. Herbert Hackney. the president of
the Topeka Milling company. says: Il
am in favor Of municipal ownership if
the plant is run on a business basis such
as the waterwOrks is There is no rea-
son why the city cannot do better fur
uishilg its own lights than 1t can by
renting them of a company If the city
viii Just run its light plant as a priVat
business man would and take ii entirely
out of politics The city has a good
superintendent in charge of the plant
and il they would give him a chance
and not keep hampering him with poll
tics the light plant would be a success
The talk about the present plant being
all junk is nonsense There are five
milling concerns in Topeka and every
one Of them uses the same make OF en-
gine that the city has in its plant The
CorIiss is known everywhere as the best
and most economical engine. The facts
of the matter are that the present plant
is in need of repair and could be fixed up
and would be if owned by private com
pany. into a good plant; While II they
undertake to sell the plant and machtn-
cry it will only bring the price OF junk
If the city lets the contract TO COM
pany there Is nothing then to keep the
price where it is As soon as the munIc-
ipaI plant is out Of the way then there
will be many ways of increasing the cost
or decreasing the value of the lights
The same fellows put UP exactly the
same kind of talk about the city owning
the waterworks and yet no one would
think of suggesting that the city sell
out the plant and buy its water OF some
corpora ton No man in business Tor
himself would sell his plant and 60 10
buying of another company when he has
q plant in such shape that it can De flx-
ed into good shape
Ex-AIayor COfran Speaks Up.
Ex-mayor R. L. Cofran. proprietor
of the Western Foundry works IS i
man whose opinion IS very valuable in
the matter for two reasons: nrst be
cause Mr.. COfrau was mayor OF IOpe-
ka when the present plant was put in
to operation and he is therefore well
acquainted with the early history or
the plant; and second because Mr.
Cofran is engaged in a business which
uses machinery similar in most re-
spects to that in use by the city When
asked his opinion concerning the hght-
ing question, Mr. COfran said:
why there is only one thing to do
and that is to get the plant into good
shape and let the city keep on furnlsn-
ing its own lights A business man
as good a plant as the city has to
start with but he would fix it up with
good modern machinery and put it
into first class shape. Just because the
plant had naturally run down ne
would not sell out and go TO buying OF
some other company Why suppose
Mr.. MacLenuan should allow MS
printing establishment to run down
Would he say that because his plant
was run down he guessed he would not
fix it up but would go over to the
Capital and have the paper printed
Certainly not He would put his own
plant into good working condition and
go on doing his own work
The city can do the work and fur
nish the lights just as cheap as the
Edison com pany can. No company Is
in business for philanthropic pur-
nose The figure that the company
offers lights 70 the city for counts in
the cost of the lights and then inter-
est and profit Now the city can save
the difference between the cost OF the
lights and the price that the company
asks for them
Mr.. Freeman has given estimates
of the cost of repairing the plant and
putting it into good shape and this
can be done for about $4,000 and
then the lights will cost the city.
counting interest and depreciation,
about $50 a light per year The con-
tract with the Edison people would
cost S27.500 a year or III two years
We would have paid out enough TO
have repaired our plant and at the
end Of that time. under the contract
we would have absolutely nothing to
show for il while if we put the money
into our own plant the money our
lights would cost US for the first two
years under the contract would pay
for the plant and We would be getting
lights cheaper than the offer Of the
The talk about the lights costing
the city so much is nonsense While
I was mayor. I Instituted the plan of
having q report made each morning
OF the cost of running the plant the
preceding night 1 have these figures
vet The plant cost the city $50
4479S. 1t has given good service and
can be fixed uD to give good service
again. The attempt to give the con-
tract to q company and give away the
cfty's plant is the plan of schemer.
who has almost always succeeded IN
his schemes
There is only one thing to do and
that is the plain business way that any
business man would take: Fix the
plant up and let the city furnish its
own lights.
4'AIoreover the city could pay the
expenses of operating its plant IF the
plant was run during the day to fur
nfsh electricity 20 the plants near it
here where il could reach them
easily the commercial work thus done
would easily pay the expenses of the
plant The city has no use for the
plant except at night for its own use
and il might just as well be run dur
ing the day TO pay for itself
Gov Little shows Improvement.
Ft. Smith. Ark May 2s.-Reports
received here this morning from his
home at Greenwood stated that the
condition of John F. Little was cOnsid-