The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-13
I,5OO Lighting Plants Owned By
 Municipalities
Albert B. Winchester, Super intendent of South Nor walk Lighting Plant, Re cites Value of Municipal Ownership.

South Norwalk. Jan. 1s-With Bridgeport, Waterbury and other Con- necticut cities seriously considering municipal ownership of one or more public utilities, the United Press to- day secured a statement on the sub ject from Albert E. Winchester. gen eral superintendent of the city of South Norwaik Electric works, a pub licly owned plant. He is a national authority on municipal ownership and an inventory of electric improve ments by which the whole world has benefited by, MT. Wino hester having reused to patent his inventions.
 (By Albert E.. Winchester)
 When South NorwaIk was only a budding munlc4pality, not very long ago. it established a water. system Of its own Today this one great asset couldt be sold for more than the en- tire city debt.
 Not content with the electric ser vice of the company which lighted its prospect, the little city also took this matter into it's hands and nineteen years ago on Friday; October !S. mark the day-established the first electric lighting plant owned by a municipality in Connecticut. Though opposition tried hard to strangle out its very tender young life, the little electric works of the people strug- gled on. keeping it's lights and hopes aglow. And it thrived- First, only street lighting was supplied, then came electric lighting for homes. bus mess and all other purposes; next fol- lowed electric power for manufactur- ing. Its rates, always the lowest in the state for the service rendered, homes to shine with it's pure light and the wheels of industry to spin with it's silent force.
 Naturally factories were attracted fn 10 oft fndaU the electric motors connected to its service equal about HOO horse power, with no end to the demand for more in view. As for the lighting service, it is grow tant day no habitation in South Nor walk will be without its electric light: plant has been enlarged six times within twelve years. Financially It started with nothing. And it Is not likely to cost the city, a cent. as it which it has paid the interest from its own income. It has never cost the citizens anything by taxation. other than the very low, estimated cost for at fixed rates. In fact it has saved them many thousands of dollars, the difference between what they would have paid a private company at fair rates and the charges of the cfty's plant
 the commercial anu. POfNG have paid all but $42, 500 of the near ly $2OO 900 invested in the plant, and this small balance fares well to be liQuidated within two or three years. and to- it's private customers, a fur ther cut in them was made this year without any agitation, and in a short time, when the debt is entirely paid. to the city treasury and greatly lower the tax rate or aid in financing other public improvements.
 Since South Norwalk estahHshsd it's electric plant. five other Connecticut municipalities have followed suit; Wallingford, Norwich, Jewett City G ton and East Norwalk. Norwich also owns it's gas works. These well man aged plants render excellent service and are he in high esteem by the communities to which they belong and by all who have investigated them without negative prejudice.
 Twenty years or so ago there were only 300 ,municipally owned electric plants in the United States and Can statistics at hand, there are over 1,500 in these two countries. The present rate of increase in the United States Is about one new municipal plant per week Ohio has III; Michigan, 10S: s9; Illinois, 9S; and Indiana 72. Chicago has the largest one. Many of these p ants are fine examples or good management and economic ope- II. regrettable to note that some of them show the direfuI results of shameful political management And these in stances the opponents of municipal ownership have naturally lost no time in holding up to the public as strong arguments against municipal owner ship, which they certainly are. In Europe the great majority of gas, e ectric and street railway plants are owned by the municipalities. They are almost without exception splendid ex- economic operation Why there should be such a contrast between the two sides of the Atlantic, does not re- fleet creditably upon our systems Of municipal administration.
 Municipal ownership, in my opinion, is the public's just alternative against the temptation, too often yielded to by private corporations engaged in public service, to abuse and depre- ciate valuable exclusive privileges en- trusted to them by the people. When es rates beyond reason, because it feels safe in doing so under the pro- lection of it's franchise, or because Of bad management, or supplies unreli- a bIe or inadeQuate service and will not heed the public's just appeals for rights,-then I am out for nun cipal ownership. But if the local company exhibits a willingness to make fair closely approaching the good conditions practically obtainable from a municipal plant, and keeps its then hold off the municipal ownership alternative, as means within reach to fall back upon if the company, when given a. fair chance, fails to make good.