Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1912-01-29
CITY LIGHT COMPANY
Alderman Parkinson Has a Plan
For Consolidation of Water
and Electricity Plant.
MEETS WITH APPROVAL.
CITY Which Pays Lighting Company Six
thousand Year Would Be the
Gamer.

In addition to having a munieipally
controlled water company, the City of
annapolis is shortly to enter the field
against the privately owned and con-
trolled Annapolis Gas and Electric
Lighting Company, which for wears
has held monopoly in it's line here.
if the plans of Alderman Elmer E.
Parkinson, of the First ward, mature.
The city recently purchased the
States interest in the Water Com
pany, and this block gave the munich
pality the controlling vote of the stock
of the company. In view of the fact
that there has for years been a war
waged against the Water Company
and the gas and electric light con-
cern, and the complaints against the
lighting company have been more
marked and apparently better found
ed than those against the water COM
pany, the plan of Mr.. Parkinson is
meeting with encouragement.
Mr.. Parkinson announced this
morning that after conceiving the
idea he first looked into its feasibility
ard consulted with experts, who have
assured him that it would be perfectly
possible for the municipality to in.
stall at the plant of the water COM
pany sufficient dynamos to supply as
much and as good current as is now
given by the privately owned concern.
This could be done without loss or
harm to the water service, power for
which has to be generated anyway.
An additional factor in favor of the
plan is that the city is far and away
the largest subscriber the electric
company as, its monthly bills amount
ing to over $500 each month.
AS this sum, amounting to approxi-
mately $4,000 yearly, is almost ex-
clusivelY paid for ele .tric current for
street and municipally-owned or con-
trolled buildings, the amount might
readily be invested in needed machin-
cry and the running of feed wires
from the water company plant Just
beyond Camp Parole to Annapolis for
year or two without any loss to
the city or the taxpayers.
One drawback in the way of the pIan
is the fact that the charter of the
water company would have to be
amended before it could enter the
lighting field, and to do this it would
be necessary for the city to 90 to the
Maryland Legislature.
The Electric Company is a concern
in which the family of Arthur P. Cor
man, Jr., is largely interested, and as
this gentleman has some power in the
State General Assembly, any effort to
curtail it's dividends would probably
meet with active opposition of a
kind that it would be hard to combat.
This opposition, under the guise
of plea that the then about to be ap-
pointed Public Utilities Board would
look into the alleged abuse the COM
pany was charged with, led to the
shelving of two bills introduced in the
House of Delegates two years ago by
Delegates Renjamin Watkins, of Anne
Arundel county.
Since that time the Public Utilities
Board has been appealed to and the
lighting company has been under in
vestigation by this board for some
months. In the meantime the cry of
poor gas and electricity, of low IL
Eliminating power but expensive price,
has continued to be raised by the con-
sumers of Annapolis, but no relief
has been given them, although they
pay rate as high as is paid any
where in the East.
Under the plan of Alderman Park
inson, as at present developed, the
only consumers of Annapolis who
would benefit would be those who use
electricity exclusively, but it is gener-
ally felt that if the city would enter
the field with cheap and good grade
Of electric current, the gas-using
patrons of the monopoly would have
their pipes taken out and wire for
electric lighting installed.
This would, unquestionably, have
beneficial effect upon the gas com.
pany it is felt, provided the franchise
Of the company from the city does
not interfere with the planting ot
| poles and the stringing of wires by z
rival concern. This, some people
urge as an objection to the plan
while others say that the city itsel.