Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-25
KANSANS LEARN
HOW OMAHA GETS
AHEAD OF H. C. |.
R. B. Howell Enlightens Peo-
Pile Of Neighboring State
On Work Of Munich
pal Plants.

From the Kansas City Times is
taken the following account of the
address made there on Wednesday
night by r. B. Howell, when he and
Mayor Smith were guests of the City
club:
The addresses of Mayor Ed P.
Smith of Omaha on "Law and Or
der" and that of r. Beecher Howell,
manager of the Omaha water plant,
on Municipal Ownership" before
the City club last night, were an edu-
cation to the men and women who
heard them.
when Omaha acquired its water
plant in 1912" said Mr.. Howell, "16
years after Kansas City took over
its plant. we were paying IS cents
per 1000 gallons of water. A mid.
dleman had been standing between
the people of Omaha and the Mis-
souri, river, which always had water
in it. In the seven years we have
operated the plant rates have been
reduced eight times, the last reduc-
ton of S per cent being in 1919,
when privately owned concerns all
over the country, through public
service commissions, were obtaining
increases over the outrageous rates
then in force.
I'm Omaha now we are selling
water at 10 % cents per 1000 gal
lone, reduction of 52H cents per in
seven years. We found that our
packing plants were getting water
for AZ cents per 1000, while the peo-
pie paid IS cents. And the packers
were better able to pay than the
people. - We doubled the packers
rate. In Kansas City, though you
have owned your plant since 1896,
you are paying rs cents per 1000
for it, and your packers and stock
Yards get it tor 4 cents because it is
taken from the flow line.
"Muny" Ice in Omaha.
'In connection with our water
plant we built an ice plant and last
summer supplied ice to the people
at 80 l-3 cents hundred. The plant
cost us S275,000. We sold wholesale
and also established II retail jitney
stations, where Is pounds of ice were
sold for 5 cents. We furnished 32,-
900 tons of ice last year. but / am
ashamed to tell you the result. We
made $4,000. This was applied to
depreciation, to interest and sinking
fund. But / think we'll have to re-
duce the price this summer.
1T cost us ST ton to produce
the ice; adding $l.50 for depreciation
and sinking fund brought the cost
to $3.50 a ton. You paid Sc a ton
retail for your ice here last summer.
' I'VE found that the farmers in the
vicinity of Omaha were getting E
cents a quart for their milk, de-
iivered there This same milk is
being sold at 10 cents quart. We
now are making an effort to pay the
farmer little morel for his pro-
duct, as he was making nothing, and
sell it to the people at price less
than 10 cents a quart, so the people
will save something.
Pasteurizing Plant.
Farmers have organized a CO.
operative association. The wafer
board has built a pasteurizing plant
where the milk will be delivered
and pasteurized.s Refrigerators are
being installed in all of the fire sta
tions and the firemen will act as
statesmen.
':.We are going further than this.
We expect to take over the gas
plant; the appraisal will be COM
pleted in February. And when we
do the city will manufacture coke to
sell to the people as fuel in competi-
tion with coal which sells at SIS =
ton"
Mr.. Howell told-of test the
water plant made to ascertain the
cost of producing electricity. 1t was
found that it could be produced for
Vi cent kilowatt.
"This was published and the peo-
pie were advised to talk" he said.
"In two weeks the rates came down
| cent. Then we went to the legis-
lature and got permission to vote
bonds for municipal light plant.
The only method to reduce rates
and stop profiteering is public COM
petition. Despite the fact that the