Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-12-15
Franchise Granted

The Mayor and Council of this
city met in adjourned session on
Tuesday evening of last week and
granted twenty year electric
light franchise to Moxley & Dob
son of Nortonville, Kansas to put
in and operate an electric lighting
plant.
The franchise is handed over to
the company With few strings tied
to it, except as to maximum rate
limits. l. is drawn on the same
terms as those submitted to the
city by Mr.. MoXley when he was
here several weeks ago, at which
time the franchise was agreed up.
! on.
| The maximum rate for ordinary
residence lights is IS cents per
month for the first light and 65
cents for each additional light.
The minimum meter rate is $3.50
per month. The graduated rate is
determined by the amount of cur
rent used. From seven and one
half to ten kilowatts, it is twenty
cents per kilowatt per month; from
ten to fifteen, nineteen cents; from
fifteen to twenty five, eighteen
cents; from twenty-five to fifty, six
teen cents, and over fifty kilowatts,
the maximum rate is fifteen cents
per kilowatt.
The company is not bound to
furnish light after 1890 p. m. but
, will do so to any person who de-
sires it for one dollar per hour.
The rate for arc lights for the
city is fixed at S. per light per
, month.
: Every person who uses light will
! be required to wire his house, put
in the fixtures and meter. The
company furnishes poles and wire
up to the house but bears no part
of the. expense beyond that.
1t can not be figured with any
degree of accuracy by anyone who
is not we'll versed in electric light.
ing business, what the cost of light.
ing will be, but from the best in.
formation available, it is conserv'
i ative to say that family using a:
many as three lights on the meter
: system can figure on minimum
expense of three dollars per month
'' If one figures on using only three
lights, he had better get under tht
f1at rate AID n,t use saeter, but
: if he desires to use some sixteen.
candle lights and some eightcan
: die he could not afford to use then
on the fiat rate. Generally th'
/ smaller lights are used in bed room
e and bath rooms, ETC., and burr
Il only short time in a night.
AS we understand it, the "watt
8 is the unit of measure and a kilo
'e watt contains one thousand watts
le A kilowatt burns from fifteen t.
le twenty hours, depending on tn
% kind of lamp used, the more ex
g pensive the lamP,the longer a wat
q burns.
10 The company agrees to deposi
& forfeit of five hundred dollar
L conditioned that the plant shall t
&C in operation not later than July
=, 1910.
". In the winter months-fror
r. October to April I, light is to b
p furnished from 5 a. m. until goc
daylight, in addition to lightir
Yer until 1890 in the fore part of Il
night.
As we look at the matter, Il
only serious objection is in Il
bv hours of service. To have no ligl
of after 1890 will not be satisfactol
70. and it will be the cause of mar
refusing to patronize the compan
The rates stipulated are high
nd than those in force in most tow
D. of this size, but as the law now
re. no city can grant an exclusive fra
ng chise and any other company m;
MS come in and compete at any tin
on if the city so wills. Then, ais
eft the city can at any time take ov
.ey the plant at a fair appraised val
he so that it appears that the cor
,ch pany is taking all of the risk.