The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-10-15
The Truth About OWenSbOrO'S Mu-
n;ciDal Plant.

me Efutn ADOut ONenSDOfO Hu
nicipal Plant.
Editor Caucasian: In late issue
of the Journal there was published
a long article purporting to give the
facts in regard to the Owensboro
Municipal Electric Light Plant. |
knew they were not facts, but for
fear the report of the Journal would
go uncontradicted, | wrote to the
mayor of Owensboro, requesting d.
rect information. Mr.. ]. B. Pickett
also wrote to Owensboro and re-
ceived the information which | will
mention laters The mayors letter is
as follows:
mir. Russell P. Moore, Shreveport,
La: Dear Sir-I received your let
ter of the Ord inst and have been so
busy could not find time to answer.
Il am sending you a newspaper IN
which one of the commissioners
gave his opinion about the matter.
1t seems that several like clippings
were sent In mere.
"Your people are being deceived
about this city and her municipal
plants. I am sending you report
which shows plainly what we are
doing. OF course in this report the
city is charged up with the estimat-
ed cost if we had to pay an outsider
for this light; it would have to go
down in its treasury and pay this.
But not a cent is paid for it--only
estimated so as to see what the plant
is making. Could you arrive at it in
any other way?
mir. Ewing has gone over all this,
and I hope you will see that we are
not in need of funds or up to it. We
are selling the citizens cheap lights
and making money, and will in fews
years reduce. it from five cents to
three cents per kilowat. We have a
few, very few, here who are always
ready to do some knocking, and it
seems from the clippings you send
me they are not stating facts. The
citizens here almost to a man ap-
prove our course and appreciate the
city's ownership of all public utili-
ties. If we had to pay for our street
lights and all other uses you can see
what it would cost us.
We are adding to our plant out Of
its own earnings, and the people do
not have to go down for it. Yours,
IS. LAMBERT, Mayor"
The report referred to above is a
ten-year balance sheet, which shows
that the plant started in 1901 with
$50, 255.56, and has paid its own way,
furnished city lights free, paid for
extensions to the amount of $780,
525.33. and has cash on hand De-
cember 81, 1910, of s4O,278.42. AS the
rate charged consumers is less than
bali what it was under private own
ership, and as the cash income in
their individual light bills has been
not less than $4,000 per year.
In Mr. Ewing's reply to Mr.. J. B.
Pickett, he says:
you will see from this statement
that we started in small way, only
100 kilowat capacity At the pres
ent time we have 900 kilowats ca
pacity, and are now installing 1000
kilowatts additional, a complete re-
futation of the assertion in the clip
ping that our service was poor and
unsatisfactory.
"All of the revenue from the plant
goes into the city treasury, so, of
course, for any addition built the
money would have to be appropriate
ed out of the city treasury.
1--WE are furnishing our citizens
excellent service at five cents per
kilowat, and even at that low price
we are furnishing the city's light
free, furnishing the churches at
2t-2 cents per kilowatt; that we are
maintaining the plant up to the
highest state of efficiency, and that
we are turning into the city treasury
over and above all operating and
maintaining expenses, about $4,000
per year."
J The above is only portion of the
letter to Mr.. J. B. Pickett signed by
S. R. Ewing, Commissioner. would
like to reproduce all of it, but do not
wish to make this article too long to
be read by a busy man.
1t does not seem to me that any
citizen who has no strings tied to
him would fail to vote for the bond
| issue r. p MOORE