Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1916-12-01

gains in all departments.
The Merchants State bank, although
having the smallest amount of total
resources, $547, ,606.59, had the biggest
gain Of any, $113,464,24. The loans
and discounts total $449,379.15.
idence rate and to 4 cent business
rate;
winnipeg with a cent lighting
rate. -
Sixty cities in Ontario, Canada, in
which the average house lighting rate
is ; cents and after nominal amount
Of current is used the rate runs to
one.half cent per kilowatt hour.
Springfield, ILL.,, where the rate is 6
cents per kilowatt for the 6rst 80 Kill
owatts hours; and then drops to 8
cents, and the city claims that current
is delivered at the meter as low as two
cents.
+ AS to the Fergus Falls rate, the CITY
has promised q further decrease IN 4
few months, and hopes to make a third
reduction some time later. A PROPOSE
ton from the Otter Tail Power COM
pa1y has been made to the city of
Fergus Falls whereby they propose to
buy the city plant and to furnish pa
irons the first year with current at a
rate running from S cents per kilowatt
hour to 21h cents and after the first
year a rate Of AZ conts to 2k cents.
The owning Of bot1 the power plant
and the distributing plant BY the Otter
Tail company world put It in the same
position as the local light and power
plant.
In making comparisons, he said, it
was not fair to simply take the pub
1ished rate Of community, as it did
not in many cases show the real rate,
because profits of municipality owned
plants went not only toward improve
ments of the city, but toward main
ta1ning the expense of furnishing the
city service free. For example he
took the city Of Thief River Falls.
That city has a rate of 81 cents per
kilowatt hour, but furnishes free to
the city 70 five-light white-way posts
and 200 arc lights of 100 kilowatts
each, and furnishes it's public build
ings at q rate Of cents rer kilowatt
hour. Ut also might be stated that
during the month Of April, this year,
which is considered an average month
this plant made net profit from its
light and water plant for the city of
$1,761.)
In relation to service he said the
citv was entitled to that, because a
public utility agrees to give service
when it is granted franchise, and a
franchise could be nullified if it did
not give good service.
IF, as has been stated, the commit
tee was simply appointed to eliminate
the drop system and replace it with a
schedule that would give to the COM
pany the same aggregate amount uu-
der a new schdule, it appeared rather
0neer tn Mr. Vaealv thct the matter
of comparison with rates in other
places should have been gone into by
the commit+ce at all. The fact of the
matter is that it was not positively
known that the city had no right to
make rates until an orinion on the
matter was given by the city attor-
two reports were submitted to the
council.
The manner employed by the COM
pany in figuring the reduction under
the proposed rate. Mr.. Vasalv said,
was incorrect. Rates Of increase or
decrease should be figured on the total
amount Of. business done instead of on
that part of the accounts which either
show an increase or decrease. He said
that according to his figures the 1umr
reduction on residence rates would be
9.8 per cent, instead Of IS per cent
and on commercial lighting 8.5 per
cent instead of 9.5 per cent. In the
commercial class five customers take
nearly all Of the decrease and eight
others take the balance, he said. and
the others just about Offset each other.
If the proposed rate is a reasonable
one, sharp decreases under it would
ONLY tend to show that those patrons
receiving this strong cut, were, under
the present system, paying too high a
rate. he said.
Tn reference to the reduction Of rev
erue to the company, Mr. Vasaly read
from letter bv E. L. Bennett. secre-
tarv Of the League of Municipalities,
wherein it states that the reduction OF
gross revenue to the company is OF no
considerable value in considering rates
as reasonable or not. 1t further SAYS
tsIt is also true that among the resi-
dence consumers most Of those who
would suffer increases in Ihelr light
bills would be the small consumers and and
this might be construed as an mius.
tice. Certainly 1t is to be considered
as hardship. ''sll
Il Mz ths making of ratsll = not + the the