The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-09-12
For Municipal
Light Plant Given Set
Back By Committee
From tuesdays Daily.

Agitation in favor of a municipal
lighting plant was given little favor
in the report submitted to the coun-
Gil today by the mayors committee
which was appointed two weeks ago
to confer with the Consumers Power
company relative to rates for cleo
tricity and gas. The committee turn
ed down the proposition of the Con-
sumers Power company, recommend
ed that the present contract for
lighting be continued, frowned upon
the installation of municipal plant
and suggested that if the city so de-
sired it could acquire the present
plant through condemnatory pro-
ceedings
According to ]. R. Brandrup of
the Mankato Commercial college and
a member of the Commercial club
committee which was appointed to
investigate the lighting question, this
committee and the mayors commit
tee which was appointed to confer
with the Consumers Power company
relative to rates, do not agree in
their summing up of conclusions.
Judge Cray, who is member OF
both committees, wants to wait the
outcome of the special session OF
the legislature which will probably
be called next month in order to
see if a state public utilities COM
mission will be appointed. Mr..
Brandrup wants to go ahead at once
with the employment of an engineer
to, find out how much a plant will
cost to build and maintain.
Added to Report Verbally.
After reading the proposition of
the Consumers Power company and
the report of the mayors commit
tee, which consists of Mayor Meyer,
Judge Lorin Cray and c. E. Wise,
Judge Cray added to the report ver-
bally, saying: I'VE have had sew
eral meetings, and some of them
with the Commercial club lighting
committee and it was generally agreed
that we should have lower lighting
rates for the private consumers, and
that if these could not be gained,
then it was time to talk of mu-
nicipal plant. We now have a local
public utilities commission which is
in full power to investigate the rates
of the Consumers Power company and
find out whether the rates charged
are eXhorbitant or not There will
probably be special session of the
state legislature next month, and it
is understood that the question of
having state public utilities COM
mission will come up for discus
sion. If this commission should be
appointed, it seems to m that it
would supercede the local commits
sion appointed for this purpose In
other words, this commission would
not only regulate the rates charged
by the Consumers Power company in
Mankato but in other cities also.
Thus, if this commission were APP
pointed and the local commission
shoul denforce certain rate, then,
if the state commission should deem
it advisable, this rate could be
changed in favor of the Consumers
Power company as well as in favor
of the city. If an engineer were
hired today and set to work, it would
take him some time to get his part
of the work done. Then if it was
decided to build a municipal plant, it
would take more time to bond the
city for the required amount, still
more time to advertise for bids, and
by this time it would undoubtedly be
freezing weather, and if conduits
were to be laid under ground, the
work would in all probability be put
off until spring. By this time at
least, the outcome of the special
session of the legislature would be
known.
City Would Not Be Eenefiting.
I'VE wouldn't be benefiting the
private consumers any if a plant
were installed for municipal lighting
only, and to put up one that would
furnish-light for the entire city and
all the private consumers, would re-
quire higher bonded Indebtedness
than the city ca ,nstand at this time
Another thing that has been over
looked | believe, is the fact that the
attorney general has ruled that mu-
inequalities must pay an income tax
on their concerns as well as if they
were owned by private corporations.