The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-08-22
Three Cent Price
Held To Be Good
From Saturdays Daily.

Tor less than three cents per
kilowatt, not to speak of placing
it on the street, and that this city
would be foolish if it did not &C
cept the proposition made by the
Consumers Power company.
There is a report afioat this
afternoon to the effect that there
will be some new developments
in the electric lighting matter
Monday which will tend toward
an adjustment of the question
1t is said that representatives of
the Consumers Power company
will come here from Chicago.
1t is well known that efforts
are being made by citizens to /,
bring the council and the Con-
sumers Power company together
with view to having the rate
question settled. E. L. Callahan,
representing the Consumers Pow
er company, will return to Man
kato tomorrow night for an in
definite stay here.
F. NJ. Otto expressed the follow
ing opinion on the lighting question
this morning: 81 feel about the
same as the others who expressed
themselves through The Free Press
the other day. | think that the
city council should go very slow
in embarking in the municipal plant
enterprise 100000 is a great deal
of money to bond the city for, and
every other plan should be given a
trial before this one. | think that
the municipal plant should be built
only as a last resort. The three
cent rate to the city, as offered by
the Consumers Power company
seems to me to be a very low rate,
and much less than the city could
produce electricity for. There are
so many other things we need more
than this. For instance, the
detention hospital, white way"
more and better fire apparatus, or a
city hall. | cannot see how the mu.
any cheaper than the Consumers
Power company, because this com,
pany has the advantage of water.
power. | would suggest that the
municipal plant be more thoroughly
investigated before it is built. /
would like to know what would be
the cost of production and delivery
and maintenance of the plant with a
municipal plant, and then it would
be easy to tell whether or not we
are getting fair rates from the
Consumers Power company
How II Is Done in Fergus Fails.
Harry Iverson of the firm of liver.
son and Son, gave the following in.
terview to The Free Press yesterday
concerning the lighting system, and
prices for Juice" in Fergus Falls
Ole H. Lee of the firm of Iverson
and Lee at Fergus Falls, who is one
of the four councilmen of that city
and Mr.. Straub, another one of the
CCuncilmen, were in the city not long
ago. They say that consumers of cleo
triCity in their city are not paying
as heavy a rate as we do here. II
seems the city buys the electricity
from the Ottertail Power company
a local concern in which mostly local
capital is invested, at the rate of two
cents per kilowatt. The city had an
electric light plant but it was washed
out, leaving the city only the wiring
and installation on the streets. The
juice is delivered to the city switch
board for two cents, and the city in
for residence lighting for GO cents
net. For stores and window lighting
five cents net is paid. For this
amount, the city is able to stand the
cost of keeping the wiring in repair
selling Tungsten lamps at less than
cost, and the depreciation in current
as it passes over the wires. Mr.
Straub says that the Ottertail Power
company can let the city have cleo
tricity for one cent, and still make
is charged. Fergus Falls is city OF
1000 souls and has a commission
form of government. The electricity
is produced by water power in almost
the same kind of a plant as is used
at Rapidan dam.
S. H. GranniS: | do not think we
can compete with the Consumers
Power company in electricity. They
can make electricity cheaper by water
power than we can by steam power
But we can make gas just as cheap
as they can. AS | understand it, we
have a right to purchase the gas
plant. We ought to do it and turn
in the profits towards paying for the
plant. The time would come when
we would own it free from debt.
Opposed to Plant.
81 think the city would be foolish
to put in municipal lighting plant,
said w. T. Warwick, "and the coun.
Gil should certainly see if they can't
get right prices from the Consum-
ers Power company before they do
anything further about having a
municipal lighting plant. The city
should give the Consumers Power
company square deal. The Con
sumers Power company has a large
investment here and if the city puts
in a plant that company will no
doubt get the commercial business
anyway, and the city would only do
the street lighting.
Rates Are Satisfactory.
Chris Zotalis of the Mankato Candy