The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1908-03-27

SOSt III operation II a NunCTpdl LjSHtiHS FIdht'
With reference to voting $780, 600 bonds for the purpose of installing
an Electric Light plant for the city of McCook, whether or not it would be
possible to build a lighting plant suitable for the city of McCook for this
amount of money.
The writer has spent the last eleven years at installing and operating
Electric Light and Power plants, and in my opinion and after figuring on
1t Tor some time, l find that $4,000 would be the least amount that could
be expended for a proposition of this kind, that would any way near fill
the requirements for the city of McCook.
There would be some little advantage in installing an Electric Light
ing plant in connection with a Water Works system, but the amount
saved over a separate installation would not exceed $4,000. IS the only
apparatus that could be used jointly would be the boilers. Some people
seem tt have advanced the theory that a Electric Lighting plant al be
built in connection with a Water Works system for one half the price, and
water. This, however, is not the case, at it requires altogether different
very p@n" small M Of Of t the pu nsts aPH one 0'nsF Is al engine iD''' however "
For example to show something regarding the cost of building and
e 70 IT. 59 aS MGco o%oh E6sot r Light Plant a since s tine e present eshare company "a c i1f * h tqEi
ing to vote bonds for $4,000 to build an entire light system.
some one, claiming ss to be 1 n electrical H%a'% engh pas' but ' really y'I having e. little
very low, trying to show the people how cheapIy a system Of this kind can
they ye expected tie causing ISL the p'p psoplo 0 to oi fe mut that 1f they Oh had sis been V buDeoe @Ie
and md they probably were, by the party who was trying to feather his own
cost f SSn that that s shs a ssi%sss, p ssiss has is,. S wee a ss" that at a t Ss,y n msss ssss5i s
along the same lines, the municipality wanting a plant that can be much
Dr. or p Or p? TITS, bo~ev san is is ee1RS 1y'D N srPer .G IS q the e' mSn isiniGi
cannot buy coal, oil and other materials nor labor t o u the plant any
less than a private corporation, provided they get IS good material and
extensive engineering and technical education and experience, and it
tho SS" 5000 g 'P pep saf aa tt SSfs5a E S" Is"o G %e9sEs' m OF i s1P sss"s 5ss &c
ps III ar " ooos fSS%iiVs g p @ the LOOKOUT do?ss5 'i fo' this 1' ea sa' o s@ %en a ss arr
picking them up a. fast as they are developed.
With reference to the Mayor and the City Council looking after the
Interests nnr est Of a munieipaly owned plant, it is hardly probable that he
In case they should try to perform both duties; they certainly will neglect
one OFT the other, and L believe that [ am safe in saying that they will
MayoF Re a nds' c%s Council on ihf to oi pesfo hnnd at it i sh ssasy d aft59f fo a ere sbsn ns sssi glory Eds
s snde oi RSt o . u me- Is salaries MsS9 so lo a 0 sfssr tHs sn class Il p9 Of basi fo s' 4 Sei MsyG is
the City Clerk i a position to devote his time to keeping these books and
making collections.
So 1h i've had occasion at different times to inspect acknowledgement
occasion to take charge of a municipal plant and only did SC after a con-
siderable length of time of "chewng the rag as to what the salary would
be; HowsysI' the city finally consented to pay the salary I asked. This
lighting plant, by the way, was losing about $500 per month. and if
placed 1t o n a paying basis inside of a year, l al to have $500 extrap per
1t ina time l. as replaced by q ma at $50 per month,-and eight
months later the plant was sold to a private company. The reason for
thlsw a that the city could not make it pay, and it is today operated by
a private company. This is another caeo of cheap help operating a prop
oslhon that requires experience and technical education. This is one ota
great many cases of municipal failures.
The people certainly need not think that the rates could really be any
cheaper under a municipaly-owned plant than they are with the present
company. We will suppose that they might be a little cheaper, for the
reasons that a municipal plant never figures o making any profit and do
pairs. These small savings are generally more than eaten up in poor, K
trayagant o dishonest management. The plant is maintained by taxes,
some repairs and extensions. In order to do s o W e must again vote bonds
for this purpose, and levy a heavy tax to keep up the interest. Probably,
however, the legal limit of bonded Indebtedness has been reached, so the
plant must worry along without increase, betterment o ave necessary
repairs, goes tic rack and ruin, and is finally sold or leased o a private
company.
Figure your extra taxes over and above what they ar under the priv
find that your light bill itself might be a few cents less, but IN the other
hand your tax receipt shows that you aep paying one-thlrd to one-hat
a piece of property and do not care about using electric lights. Your
neighbor acrosst the street does not own property but uses electric lights.
light bill. He is getting the benefit and you are paying the extra taxes
for the sake of living in town. The property owner and heavy tax payers
art the people who get the blunt end of municipal ownership; but even
the non-tax payers derive n o real benefit, but a disadvantage in the long
run.
l believe that the people of McCook will look at this from a business
and after thorough examination and consideration, I'LL d
what they can ain their power to defeat municipal ownership.
Very respectfully yours,
A. R. SCOTT.