Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-11-14
concession would be the $4,000 cut on
electric lights.

that the consumption of illuminating
gas is SO small as to affect the com
putations immaterially. The big bus
mess is In electric lighting and fue
gas. We have the companys admis
lights plus cents off on illuminating
gas reduces revenues $500 and tina
5 cents Off on fuel gas amounts to tn
same as 5 per cent on electricity. W.
also have the company's willingness t.
cut revenues $4,000 five. years from
now. Why not make a counter propo
sition to even the thing up lttl'
better by putting into effect imme
diately the gas rates which thu
company offers as fair in 1914 will
a further reduction Of 5 cents three
years from now and cents five years
| from now? These last reductions
would no more than equal the decrease
in cost of production as the total send
out increased. Then let's accept the
/ 5 FER cent reduction on electric lights
! in this manner, viz: not to apply II
on the present Z cent rate after the
turning point but to make it say JIG
per cent on the present IA cent rate
I
say another 10 per cent to make II fati
| to the consumer. In a tlicker or horse
/, trade no one likes to compromise ex-
actly at the other fellows figure. and
no one wants cheaper electricity than
the present cents above the turning
point. BY making 20 per cent re-
duction on the present IA cent rate be-
low the turning point. we would have
II cent lights and the additional cut
in revenues as estimated by the com
pany itself could not be more than
81, 900 or $4,000. With gas rates grad
uated from s1.20 to $780, practically
all of the company's business would be
collected at S1.15 to s1o5. With 20
per cent off on electricity we would
be paying II cents below the turning
point and the present I cents there
after. BASED upon present business
with no allowance for increase of pat
ronage and accepting the company's
own estimate which may be presumed
to be liberal revenues would be cut
from $4,000 to $4,000 annually. This
would still permit the company,to take
out of the business 10 per cent an
nual dividends on an amount which
would replace the plant in it's present
condition and it would give the people
of this city rates to which they are
entitled. AS the company extends its
plant according to its promises patron
age will increase and the drop of 5
cents on gas two years hence would
not cut off any net revenue. In fact the
necessity of hustling for more business
in order to sustain needed revenue is
probably the only thing this side OF the
supernatural which will ever galvanize
life into the present management OF
this company and remove the ring
worm from about the growth and de-
velopment of this city.
.S
How about the coal bin? Don't wal.
until everybody else is out and then
cuss the coal man because he can't
deliver yJur coal the minute you order
1t.
While this IS not exactly California
weather. we can take comfort in the
record of past Novembers, and look for
a few more weeks of nice weather be-
fore the winter comes to stay. 7
Other Iowa cities, Marshalltown in
cluded. might follow an example set by
a Des Moines court the other day5Swhen
a fine Of $40 per day was imposed on
a father for every day he did not COM
pei his son to attend school. Marshall
town has it's grief in enforcing it's COM
pulsory school attendance law the same
as other townsJ and it's safe to say
that q fine for the parent would have
as much to do with keeping boy in
school as any other one thing
9
Now that winter closes in for a three
siege the annual troubles of
the travelling public thru this import
ant transfer point will again be aired.Al-
ready the murmurings of discomfort
can be heard about the union station.
where hundreds daily wait for trains
that are sometimes on time but more
often late. To glance at the interior of
the fine passenger station stranger
might imply that he was at a cross
roads village rather than a progress
sive city. The air of neglect is appar-
ent in every quarter, despite the fact
that the building is owned by a COR
poration that has the reputation of be-
ing the finest railroad in the great
west. The sign of Don't spit on the
floor" with its SIS penalty attached for
violation Of the order, Is conspicuous
on the wall Yet not cuspidor of any
description is to be found. This is ex-
planned by the fact that there is no
ianitor for the big station, hence no
one to clean spittoons. But the travel
ing public may complain) until gray
headed, and when the railroad company
gets ready to provide conveniences it
will do so, and not before.
From the office of state auditor there
has been compiled list of fifteen Iowa
cities, showing the Indebtedness of each.
and Marshalltown is at the bottom Of
the list which includes several towns
Of smaller population, and with neces-
sarily lesser property valuation and,
assets Figuring the per cap
tia Indebtedness, however, and making
a comparison, is of little real value,
showing the value of the prop
erty on which taxes are paid, the pop
ulation, assets and assessment. In 9TH
err words city with a larger popula-
ton, having more taxable property, and
more municipal assets, is able to stand
a greater Indebtedness than the smaller
CITY. Hence there is no good COMPARE
son obtainabe unless more figures are
shown relative to what the city owns
and derives from taxes. If town
known to be smaller, and with less
l1,1