South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1913-11-12
Two Bids Are Now Before the
Board of Works and Coun-
CiI-Are For Either Five or
Ten Year Periods.
BIDS LOWER THAN IN
FORMER CONTRACT
Indiana & Michigan Electric Co.
and the WeISbaCh Street
Lighting Co. Want Job of
Lighting South Bend.

Bids for lighting the city streets /
for a five or ten year period were
considered all Tuesday morning in
closed session by the board of public /
: works and copies of the bids sent to (
: the members of council during the I
afternoon.
The bids will be considered by the !
council in executive session Tuesday I
night.
Two companies sent in bids, one
for electric lighting. submitted by the |
Indiana and Michigan Electric Co., |
which is now supplying the lights and /
one for gas lighting, submitted by the
! Welsbach Street Lighting Co.
/ The electric company agrees TO I
furnish lights on underground con- /
strUctiOn at SIS per light per year.
I It's present rate is sos per year.
! 1t agrees TO furnish 400 lights /
overhead construction at S65.25 per !
light. as against $7S.25, the present
rate.
/ In addition the electric company /
/ bids on four ampere direct current !
lights at $72 underground, and $6O.75 /
overhead construction. The present |
! light is 10 ampere alternating cur
rent.
Will Give More Light.
direct current gives considerably more
light than the present seven ampere I
alternating current
The electric company also furnishes 4
bids on five-light clusters and three !
light clusters such as the downtown !
merchants are now paying for in the !
downtown streets also the five lights !
on Riverside drive which it offers at
S21 as against the present figure. $22. /
and for 80 candle-power lights OF J
which the city has 10. paying $32 per
light, the new offer being $40.
These figures are for 400 lights and /
ten-year contract.
The gas company, which is a for 4
I eign corporation and Will furnish the
equipment and keep it up, supplying I
the gas through contract with the /
Northern Indiana Gas & Electric Co.,
offers light on a different basis
on the theory that it take two and /
half of It's 60 candle-pOwer lights /
To furnish as much illumination as
one of the electric street lights, it ,
submits a figure of $24 per light or
if the CITY furnishes gas il will put /
in the lights for $14. These are fig
ured on a 50O-light basis and a ten
year contract For less lights and /
shorter time contract the rates are
somewhat higher.
/ If the ratio of two and a half is |
correct this would mean a figure OF /
d
| against the electric cOmpany's best 1
figure of $60.75 for overhead con-
struction four ampere direct current /
lights.
Present City Lights.
The present lights paid for by the !
! city are as follows:
1900 lights, overhead construc-
! ton, rs ampere alternating
81 lights, underground con
! structiOn, rs ampere alter
! mating current ......... $500 I
/ 81 lights on Riverside drive,
! 40 watts ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 22.OO
lis 5O-candle-power lights $50. $500 !
II three-light posts in How
ard park .............: SO.OO
Underground construction work.
ordered throughout the downtown /
districts by the council several years
ago, is about half finished. and the
rest of il Will probably be done next !
year. This means about 200 lights at
the underground construction rates
instead of 81, as at present.
I OF the gas company offer II is ar /
gued that all its construction is un-
derground and that this will mean
quite a saving.
on the other hand it is expected /
that some serious discussion will I
center around the gas cOmpany's es-
innate that two and a half of its [
=
Experts may be called in on this point
and testimony taken from Philadel- [
Iphia. St Paul. New York and other /
cities where gas is used for illumin-
ating purposes on some streets.
Would Need Man.
Gas lighting necessitates man 10 /
light the lights every night, and IL !
: is estimated that the one man can
take care OF 100 lights. This service /
/ is To be taken care Of by the COM :
pany River Park is lighted by gas
\ at present.
The bids are all figured on the basis /
| of 1000 hours Of light a year. This !
means all night lights. which are
shorter in summer of course. than I
in winter. but average up 1000 hours
for the whole year.
The city asked bids on the three 1
+ and five cluster lights now used down /
town BY the merchants. The electric /
company gave figures ranging from I
one 100 watt and four 90 watt lights I
/ burning all night for $3.50, 10 one /
/ 100 watt light burning all night and /
four 40 watt lights from 1880 10 u. !
at $3.50 for the five cluster lights. 1
and for the three cluster lights bids |
/ OF $3.50 for three SO watt lamps all |
/ night and $3.50 for three 40 watt
\ lights from 1880 10 Il. These were
on the basis OF 80 lights.
AT present the cost Is assessed .
against the various merchants on the F,
basis OF the front foot lighted by the
| lights. !