The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-13

per year for the very lights hung from
the c1ty's own poles.
have said nothing about the con-
uILioH OF the machinery at the plant"
writes President Myers January 80,
because 1T is generally admitted that
IS completely worn out and practi-
cany unfit for service The general
aom1sslon is wrong. This other writer
cnlnery men like Herbert Hackney, r.
L. CoIran and Joseph Bromich will
lestlfy to the excellent condition of the
Dig Corhss engine at least.
In one of his letters Mr.. Myers saws:
About three-fourths of the city's COP
per Wire has no insulation and what
insulation there is is not good" Well
now much insulation has Mr. Myers
forty miles OF heavily charged trolley
wires? None at ALL / observed a good
deal OF the Edison's wiring with insula-
tlon gone In chunks and ragged shreds
OF 1t huttering in the breeze-down near
Lincoln school for instance. There is
mucn rake about insulation. 1t gets
worn or unreliable in a couple of years,
but copper wires last indefinitely and
lighting corporations don't braid on
new insulation, but let it go.
Mr.. Myers said in the discussion. not
IN writing, that he did not want the
contract bad enough to quarrel about it.
that he liked Topeka and wanted to
upbufld the city in every way, but did
believe the municipal plant was a heavy
tax on the city. that the Edison COM
pany was tax payer and was interest
ed In keeping down taxes and would
| help in that direction by this $55 pro-
position as they were well equipped
makers of electricity at the low figure
| by which the citizens would be big tax
savers The writer replied that he too
| was Taxpayer. He paid last year
over third as much as the big Edison
company-which Is bonded for 500, 900
and stocked for $1,250,000 and paid
taxes last year on a valuation Of $107,-
| 70000-the taxes being $5,S62.60. The
Edison company has no complaint to
make on high taxation.
This is undeniably a good time to
buy machinery and material including
the miles of copper wire needed for
| the outlying districts which require
500. The demand for these supplies
has fallen off heavily recently and
dealers are anxious to sell and the
copper wire has dropped a half since
the estimates were made by Freeman
and by Brill a year ago. Mr.. Myers
will be needed.
Electrician experts this year are adj
vising cities against any long time
contracts for lighting, saying that i'm
provementS are constantly being made
which are reducing cost of lighting;
that lamps have been adopted within a
year that require only a third of the
energy to produce given light. Let
Topeka get the benefit of all this in
stead of giving it to company.
AS an example showing how Mr.. Ny
ers' figures, however Internationally,
have misled the public, the following is
quoted from the Topeka Capital, Of last
Cofr Ior fo11 M
ers' talk before the council the evening
before:
1T now seems certain that the coun-
Gil committee on ways and means will
include in the city electric light plant
bond proposition the alternative of
abandoning the city plant and purchas-
ing current from the Edison company
for the street lighting system. The
committee did not take final action on
the matter last night, but it was given
wide discussion. The Edison company
has made an offer to furnish all night
service, every night in the year. for $50
per lamp per year. Figures were pro-
duced at last nights meeting showing
that, since the establishment Of the
plant in 1889, it had cost the city an
average of 1857 per lamp per year, OPP
Grating on a moonlight schedule.
1.-THE statement showed the total op-
Grating expenses since 1889 to be $685.
857.97. The original total investment of
$S9, 263.06 has suffered a depreciation of
$61. 763.06. In addition, an enormous
amount has been paid out in interest
on the investment. The average cost
per lamp per year is divided as fol-
lows: Operating expenses, $49.0S; inter-
est, $13.69; depreciation, $12.S0; total,
1857. 1t is estimated that this cost
will be increased 45 per cent on an all
night schedule, so the saving to the
city IL the plant is abandoned will be
considerable. Whether the contempla-
ted extension of the plant, to cost from
$4,000 to $4,000 would result in a re-
duction in operating expenses per lamp
is only problematical'
The State Journal would not dispute
the fact that the Edison company can
mechanically now produce light cheap
er than the city does, provided the Edi-
son company could. do business without
a profit; If the Edison company had no
capital invested in q franchise, or in a
going concern. 1t must be remembered
that the city can figure no profit, no
investment on going value or on the
enormous Investment capitalized in the
matter of franchise. These are the rea-
sons why the city, with plant handi-
capped by politics, and with the city
council afraid to spend money asked by
the superintendent of lighting, for
economical lamps and machinery. yet
can still furnish lights cheaper than
the handsomely equipped and finely
managed Edison company will propose
to do.
1t must be taken into consideration
that another great advantage to the
CITY in maintaining control Of its own
street lighting lies in the fact that by
dismantling its plant now and going
out of business it is at the future mercy
of the Edison company. and could do
nothing at the end of the period in the
way of refusing whatever proposition 1t
bod RI make on a continuance of its
performance, unless it again commenced
anew and decided to go into the munich
pal lighting business, which In the year
of 1908 it had decided was failure and
had abandoned.
1t has been reported by some of the
enemies of municipal lighting that the
city has about $4,000 worth of bonds
out against the city electric light plant
and had only $3.50 In the shape OF
LIZ xalaxat ~