Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-29
COST Of LIGHTS
CONSIDERED HIGH
Charges in Other Cities Are
Lower, Commissioner Bier
tuempfel Says.

Contending that $12O year for an
arc lamp was in excess of what other
cities were paying and that the Pub
lie Service Corporation should be made
to understand that the city would
build a plant of it's own if conditions
were not met by the corporation,
Commissioner Albert II. Biertuemp-
fel made a report to the Board OF
Works yesterday in which he showed
that the city was paying $50 a lamp
more than any other city in the
country and proposed that the new
contract with the Public Service Cor
poration be for one year only. Com
missioner Charles P. Gillen moved
that the report of Commissioners
Biertuempfel be concurred in and
contract of one year only be given
to the corporation. The motion when
put to a vote was carried unani-
mously.
The lighting of the city at present
costs $3.50, 900 a year and 1t is thought
that a municipal plant will greatly
reduce this figure and at the same
time give better and more satisfac-
tory service. There are 1850 arc
lamps at present in the city at
cost of about $65 per light. The
present lighting system on Market
street costs $500 lamp, but when
the new General Electric flaming
arcs are installed the cost will be
$120 a light which in itself is $50 IN
excess of what the city should pay,
Biertuempfel said.
There will be twenty-four arc lights
on Market street whereas there for
merly was forty-eight thereby de-
creasing the cost to the city of one
half of the former cost of lighting
this thoroughfare after midnight.
Commissioner Biertuempfel had
given much time in gathering sta
tistics of the cost of lighting of other
cities and the conditions existing and
was highly commended by his col
leagues yesterday afternoon on his
report. The commissioner also said
that the Welsbach gas lamp in his
opinion would be better and cheaper
for the city in the residential sec
tions,, and can be used at a cost of
but s26.50 per light. The report of
Commissioner Bierteumpfel follows:
After years study of the lighting prob
statistics and examining the very latest
reports of various municipalities and
other independent reports, as well as
utility corporation reports land when l
Il
which have no relationship to either
municipalities or utility eorporations). /
have come to the conclusion in order to
be Just in the matter, due consideration
must be given to all concerned, the utility
corporation as we'll as the municipalities
and a fair treatment to both should be
the fundamental principle in filing a re-
port which might go on record.
And III IL Is true that very little reduce
ton in prices can be made any more on
the old style system of lighting for mu-
inequalities, and in order to receive an
economical system of lighting for NUM-
cipalities, we must insist that we receive
an -to-date system Of lighting which
Is our duty to demand as representatives
OF the people, and If a utility company
for the sake of the first expense re-
fuses to install such an up-to- date sys-
TEN within reasonable time such utility
company does not act in good faith with
the municipality; therefore 1t does not
serve In the capacity as. a public service
which seems to be the case in the city
of Newark.
Therefore. to safeguard our city, we
must adopt system to meet them and
ground. but we can more than beat them
IL the proper course Is followed and that
is to follow the footsteps of our success
full sister cities and grab the bull by the
horns and build our own municipal plant
which win overcome all those technical
arguments for good, and which will save
our city large sums of money and also
save us from going over the ground, over
and over again, so well covered.
Let us take hold of the practical end
of this question and IL will save us many
future controversies, as 1t will carry with
IL all those technicalities practiced to
prevent the building of such plant Let
us make up our mind once for all; the
public have approved of 1t by their vote
when they voted with large majority
for It. Let us build plant at suitable
section IL 1t does not take care of the
entire city at once. Let us show them,
and / assure you that In O very short
time you will increase the capacity of
It, the same as many other cities have
done.
| herewith like to state the following
reasons: Our city does not get the full
benefit out of the money paid for light
ing our city for various reasons. First,
the tabulation of cost furnished by a
utility corporation to the utility commits
sion In furnishing a certain municipality
with light Is based in most cases for n
larger zone than that which is covered
by a single municipality, Therefore, the
distribution cost is greater in many In
stances, and their losses are greater.
Other charges are created through for
eign conditions not concerning q GER
tain particular municipality, which are
in most cases charged up against the
overhead charges and through that util-
ity commissions have given decisions
against municipalities strange to under
stand to those who know what the cost
of production is. There are other rea-
sons of charges municipality has not to
contend with and that Is dividends on
over. capitalized concerns, etc. And I'M
der the supervision of the present utility
commission You can expect that true
facts of figures will be brought forth to
the public. ] have considerable amount
of reports and true fncts of figures on
hand which ] will gladly, furnish and
which I can assure YOU will satisfy any
fair-minded person that is not convinced
as yet that fairs municipality plant
can do better than any of those large
utility corporation plants on account of
their own created condition of affairs.
Their own statement of not being able
TO produce a General Electric Company
flaming are light for less than S120 per
lamp per year is a plain proof that they
are not able to compete with a well con
structed municipal plant. Any practical
power and current producers will sub
stantiate that such price Is exorbitant.
Neither is there city In the u. s. A.
that pays such high price. The high
est any city in U. S. A. pays is less-than
500. Why should we pay S120. There Is