The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-03-29
BY CHAS. c. CASEY.
Written for The journal.

S.. Louis, Mo-, March 2S.-Munici-
pa ownership of light plants for pub
lie buildings has been given a trial
in St Louis and pronounced a sue
cess BY city and civic Off ialS. The
city was paying Is cents per llilowatt
when the first of several plants were
installed and started in July, 1903.
i is now making current for , cents
for the use of about twenty of its
larger buildings Nght and elevator
serviceD and has brought the lighting
company down in its rates until light
for public buildings. not served from
municipal plants is being purchased
al - cents Per kIlOUatt, Il reduc-
ton of 60 per cent.
The city is operating four small
lighting plants. three of them with a
capacity Of about 100000 kilOwatt
hours per year and the other, used
by the wafer department in its plants
Ca.so municipaD and TO operate sew
en- miles OF municipal railway, has
a very much larger capacity. Be
sides these four successful plants, two
others are being installed, the fifth.
which j. now operating in a small
VA prGiiug' further equipment, is To-
rated az the industrial school, from
whore It Will light that institution.
IN" workhouse and several stations of
the fire department. One plant is 10
Gated AZ the New City Hall and lights
that building. the Old City Hall, new
Central District police station, four
Courrs. courthouse, the Jail, and sew
oral engine houses. Another is locat,
81 a. the insane asylum (the only
" institution of the kind in the
country. and besides that building,
lights the poorhouSe and female hos
nital, all immense buildings, and sew
erll fire engine houses. Another is
located al the New City Hospital, now
comprising seven of a total of fourteen
large Buildings to eventually comprise
the institution. and also lights sta
tons of the fire department. Police
stations in different parts of the city
are also lighted where convenient.
The sixth plant Is now being installed
a. the Quarantine Hospital, an extern
s.ve but isolated institution outside
Of the city proper.
So successful has been the opera
ton Of the several small plants that
business. civic and public improve
ment asSOciations have been agitating
the municipal ownership Of an i'm
menSe plant to light the streets and
parks, now costing half a million dol
lars year under contract. So popu-
Tar has this feeling become that
some of the present city officials
were elected On a ticket with a NUM-
cipal lighting plant as one of the prin
ciPal planks in the platform. BY pop
u.ar consent of the people a fund OF
$4,000 a year has been set aside to
pay the expenses of installing such
a plant. which would cost a sum
equal to the contract price Of lighting
the city for three or four years.
HAS BEEN PROFITABLE.
The city was practically driven to
municipal ownership as a protection
n Itself and is now finding the ven
tlre so popular, SO profitable and so
easy under the administration of the
past few years that it is officially con
Sdering the much more important
venture mentioned. Prior to 1901 the
cry was paying the unreasonable sum
q IL cents per kilowatt hour for its
IgR' in all of its public buildings.
there was not a semblance of cOmpe-I
nt'on in he contracts, the Lighting
company having absorbed all it's com