Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-29

4
| dence In the city. The electric light
company was charging n rate OF IL
cents. He ana others asked bond Is
sue Of $3.50 900 for a municipal plant
| guaranteeing 8 cent electricity.
The Kansas City plant was started
] ak years ago and today has $4,000 con-
| sumers. Last year the plant made
| 100000 net. Outstanding bonos
| amount to ssS6,000. bearing per cent
| interest. The rate is six cents.
In 1905, he said, Pasadena, Cal, was
paying 10 cents for lights. The city
| today has a plant valued at S6so,ooo
with a total bond issue OF $4,000. The
| city has put into the plant however
| A total of S925,000, much OF the added
cost being COR depreciation. The pri-
vate corporation was forced to BRING
| its rate down to IL cents, and the city
plant sent its rate 10 cents. The city
plant made 80 much money that the
rates were again lowered to cents.
| The old company never went below b
| cents. as 1T had contracts to furnish
current to cities nearby.
He did not venture to estimate the
cost of municipal produced current In
sAA"iSi N'N'N''
usually we're able to furnish light at
about cents. one OF the creates.
arguments used against the municlpai
owned plants, he said. was frequent
| failures. These he attributed 10 poor
equipment and quick depreciation.
Experience in Kansas City was that
| three years operation was necessary
before 1t was a paying venture Dur
ing the first three years the plant OPP
Grated at a loss, but not dollar was
asked thru taxation. The first bona
issue was for SS0.000, the second TOT
5000. 900 and the third for $45o,oOO. The
| increased issues. he said. were due 10
the great increase in applications lof
| service.
Experiences at Webster City.
Mr.. Long told of the experiences III
lSnupicipal lighting at Webster CITY,
| altho he spent most of his allotted tlihe
to replying to the Iowa Railway ana
| Light Company's brief on the Webster
City case. The company, he said, has
done everything possible to discredlt
the Webster City plant, and the peopie
| of Marshalltown have helped 10 pay
the advertising bill. He quoted iroin
| a statement of the city clerk TO snow
! that in the period from April !, 1919
to Feb. IS, 1919, the plant had peeh
operated at profit of about S2,loo'
Mr.. Long urged the voters to pear
| in mind that If they supported the
| $3.50, 900 bond issue the people must
pay back the principle; and If cor
poration issues bonds the consumer
must pay them, but in the one case the
| people own the plant and the otaef the
plant is owned by the corporation. me
dividends, whatever they may be, ne
continued. must be paid for the private
corporation by the consumers, nut III
the municipal plant the people get the
dividends in reduction of rates.
Long argued that depreciation was
an empty name, that the people OF the
present generation, who must pay on
| the bonds, should not have to make
good wear and tear Of the plant put
that more bonds should be voted
Nj. NJ. O'Brien, socialist, who had
filed the bond petition asked several
questions in order to bring out points
that he thought of advantage.
Herman Runs Wild Again.
In opening the meeting Chairman
Hawley announced that as the COM
mittee had access only to cheap hand
bills to carry on propaganda 1t had
been necessary to educate the voters
thru mass meetings. He said the
speakers would indulge in no personal
tiles and would not speak in the in
terests of any candidates for office.
George Herman was announced as
| the first speaker and the former alder
man consumed thirty minutes in re-
| latinS his experiences on the council
| when the Iowa Railway and Light
Company franchise was granted, in
paying his respects to the old firm OF
Jones & HQyey ard in attacking the
editor of the Times Republican.
Mr. Herman had found his electric
| light bill to be ~ cents higher than it
| was before Judge Wade granted the
| corporation an increased rate. That, he
said, amounted to a tax Of 1870 mills"
He believed, he said, there was
quite fight against the proposition.
especially from Fritz" Norris.
DO you blame Mr.. Norris" he
asked. HE is stakeholder. If we
| start plan it may cut off another Z
per cent. Whenever anything like this
| is started a man like Norris opposes
| it unless he is in it,
A Denial.
Herman is either ignorant or he is
| lying because Mr.. Norris has never at
any time owned any stock in any pub
| lie utility company nor has he ever
loaned any money to any such COM
pany. Herman as city councilman
voted for the Iowa Railway and Light
Company's franchise and went about
town boosting for it with pamphlets
under his arm.-Ed.]
Election Judge Inquisitive.
At the conclusion of the addresses
an open meeting was held at which
time questions, Of an unpolitical char
acter, were permitted. John Kurtz,
one of the auditors, inquired If the
people thoroughly understood the
issue. Mr.. Long replied by asking Mr..
Kurtz II he fully understood them. The
latter answered that he did but he
thought the proposals for a bond issue
Of $3.50, 900 and for an issue of 5000
might be confused.
Mr.. Long suggested that Mr. Kurtz
make it a point to see that other citi-
zens understood 1t as he did.
IL can't" replied Mr.. Kurtz, II am
a judge Of election"
"sElPTEM1ER MORN"