Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1915-07-02
FIGHT OVER LIGHTS GETS MORE LIVELY 7
CONTINUED from page H.

Continued from page H.
$1,000 a year for lights, declared
for the city TO have street lights from
now on:
"First--Either the Olympia Light
& Power company must furnish US
light for $3.50 year.
"Second-The city of Olympia must
condemn the Olympia Light & Power
company's plant the same as we did
the water plant.
"Third-The city must inaugurate
municipal light plant"
Discusses These Plans.
Discussing the first, he said that
1.-The entire plant earns, by reason OF
monopoly which the company en-
Joys. I per cent net on 100000, &C.
cording to its own statement; with
reference to the second, he said 1t
would be good business investment
for the city to condemn the plant "if
we can eliminate from the considera-
ton of the value the errors and mis-
takes made, which are carried on the
books of the company as part Of
their investment and for which the
public service commission Of the
state Of Washington allows the COM
pany to earn interest" With refer
ence to the establishment Of a mu-
nicipal plant he said the city had
assurances it could buy power for $50
per horse power per year. that 1t
would need $50 horse power. to be
used to pump water during the day
and to light the streets at night, "be-
sides giving the city 100 horse power
to spare to sell either as power or in
the shape Of domestic and business
lighting and the sale Of this 100
horse power will wipe out the cost of
the street lights entirely and leave a
handsome margin, besides cutting
our present light roll in two in the
middle"
The city proposes to buy its power
on q Wholesale basis, delivered at a
given point, to be delivered on dis
tributing system estimated to cost
$3.50 or less than $40 a lot, pay
able in 10 years, on the 1000 lots
within the proposed lighting district.
This being the situation, the local
company, he said, has the privilege
to bid three ways:
II. To furnish light at price we
can afford to pay.
"2. To furnish power we can az
ford to buy.
IS. To rent US their poles and
street wires at a rental not to exceed
. reasonable price,"
Company's Reply Sarcastic.
Responding to this communication,
Manager Faulkner Of the Light &
Power company. after sarcastic ref
erence to the mayors estimates. as
serted that, after adding 8 per cent
interest on the $4,000 investment
An . distributing system, 8 per cent
more for replacement reserve. $e66
. year for lamp renewals and $500 .
year for labor on the system. the
total annual cost under the city's
plan in its restricted lighting district
would reach 5000, to which the cost
LOT power would have to be added.
This district. he claimed. was so per
cent Of the city previously lighted BY
the company, from which he deduced
the statement that it would cost the
city under the mayors plan $5.111
plus the cost Of the current to light
the whole city.
1 Possibly II Mr.. Bigelow can in
duce the city Of Tacoma to furnish
the power cheap enough" he said,
land the lighting equipment IL pur-
chased from Sears. Roebuck & Co., or
some other mail-order house. cheap
lighting might be secured. but It does
not seem possible that the taxpayers
OF this city would approve the PLAN"
| He also INDUCED in some sarcasm
with reference to the Foshay enter
prise. spoke Of Foshay - the ''philan-
thropist who would be likely to en-
courage the mayor in this hallucina-
ton" and declared the mayors state
ment that he had vetoed the lighting
clause Of the Foshay franchise - in
correct. In conclusion he said:
mayor Mottman's ultimatum IL
that II We won't sell the city tho light
It requires at price fixed by him
that either our plant will be con-
demned or . municipal plant built.
Naturally. we have some feeling
about doing business on Just that
basis. The manufacture and sale Of
electricity II lust A legitimate and