The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-23
CONDITION OF
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PLANT TOLD
WORKS BOARD
Members of Committee Rep
reseEting Business Interests
Meet With Board of Works
and Mayor.
WILL INSPECT PLANT

Members of the board of public
works. E. M. Campfield and W. n.
Johnson, members of n committee rep
resenting the business interests OF
tne city. will make IN inspection Of
the Richmond Municipal Electric plant
wednesday morning. Such repairs
and improvements as the plant re-
cures will be noted carefully and later
the committee and the board will con-
Ter with the members of the city coun-
Gil. The councilmen will be asked TO
cooperate in the movement for the re
habilitation of the municipal plant bv
authorizing such appropriations as will
be required for plant improvements.
Mr.. Campfield, and Mr.. Johnson
who was formerly president of the
board of public works, and who op-
crates factory which is the third
largest power consumer the city plant
has, met Informally Tuesday with
the board and Mayor Zimmerman
They founr the mayor and the board
members willing and anxious TO as
sist in every way in saving the munic.
1pal plant from further decay and 10
restore it to its former position. the
model municipal plant of Indiana.
May Increase Salary.
1t was represented to the city of.
fiicials Tuesday that one of the pub
hes principal demands for the rehs-
bilitation and reorganization of the
municipal plant is the employment OF
a superintendent for the utility who is
thoroughly familiar with the work. IT,
would occasion no surprise if council
is asked to increase the salary of tn,
plant superintendent from $2,400 to
sible to employ an experienced eloctri.
cal engineer to direct the plants activ-
tiles.
1t is also understood that counci.
will be asked to make an appropria-
tion for the installation of an interior
coal conveyor for he plant. An extcr-
ior coal conveyor has been in opera
ton for some time. Stoking at the
plant is now done by hand. Three
shifts, 10 men each, are employed for
this work and, it is stated, the cost
of this work alone is over $100 per
day, which amounts to about S36,500
per year. 1t is understood that an in-
terror coal co1veyor could be installed,
to be operated by two men on each
Shift, for approximately $4,000.
Appropriation Not Provided.
Council was asked three years ago
to make an appropriation for an in
terror coal conveyor but such an ap-
preparation has never been provided
Describing to the mayor and the
board an inspection Of the municipal
plant made Monday evening by sew
eral business men and Earl Carte-,
assistant engineer of the Indiana Pub
lie Service commission, Mr.. Campbell
stated that the electric equipment of
the plant was in fairly good condition
He said. however, that the plant op-
Grating machinery. particularly the
boilers and steam pipes, was fierce"
The stokers, he said, did not operate
properly. He St~ted that there were
so many boiler and pipe leaks that
enough steam was wasted to operate
any factory in Richmond That
means a very heavy loss" Mr.. Comp
field remarked. Mr. Jeffries, the
plant engineer. is doing everything he
can do to operate the plant properly
and don't see how he stands up un-
der the work. The plant does not
have the right kind of management
That is apparent, for there is some
thing radically wrong with plant op-
erations."
Steam Is Wasted.
hci 10 'oo huSA steam going ID
waste to operate the plant properly"
said Mr.. Johnson. I'VE found the
same conditions to exist at the plant a
year ago. Jeffries is a capable man
but he does not seem to have the
proper encouragement. He has too
much help for that kind of work
which should be done by machinery
and not enough help for work which
cannot be done by machinery"
Mr. Johnson pointed out that local
power consumers were losing consid-
cradle money by frequent plant shut
downs. He estimated that his factory
had lost $1,000 this year because of
plant accidents. He added that by the
employment of a thoroughly expert
Continued on Page Twelve)