San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-01-28
futile Says People Own
. Public Utility Companies

cred that combustible gas, which in
its burning would furnish light, could
be made by heating .bituminous coal in
alright retorts. The light which could
be obtained in this way was better and
more convenient than that furnished by
the tallow candles and sperm lamps
then in use.
"The manufactured gas was first
used in individual buildings, but the
increased convenience, better light and
economy which resulted from the use
Of gas led to its soon" being conducted
through pipes so that a number OF
buildings could be Supplied and the
modern gas distribution system was
started.
"Still later IL became evident. as
cities increased in size, that the irregu-
lar and uncertain horsedrawn trans
portation furnished by cabs and buses
did not meet the requirements of the
public. Someone conceived the idea of
having the buses run on tracks so that
better service could be given by the
reason of always having a good road
bed to run on, and so that regular, de-
pendnble service. controlled by single
responsible agency could be given. This
developed the horsedrawn street car.
"Still later. Thomas Edison discov-
cred how TO turn electricity into light
and the first electric light plants came
into existence. With the development
of the electric light plant came the cleo
tric motor and the street car was
changed into an electric driven vehicle.
"All of the various branches of what
we now term public utility service were
developed. not because any one of them
supplied service which could not be
supplied by the individual, but because
each Of them supplied service TO groups
of individuals which was cheaper, more
economical and better than the individ-
ual could supply for himself.
sour great modern cities, built as
they are today with a commercial center
surrounded by suburban residence dis
tricts, could not have come into exist
ence without the development of the
utilities. The very increase in popu-
lation itself early made the necessity
of obtaining an adequate community
water supply a most important thing.
"TIe development of the gas indus
try. after the use of gas for fuel as
well as for lighting had been developed,
made it possible for thousands of peo-
ple TO conduct their households without
the continual inconvenience and labor
of Transporting fuel TO their residences.
and without the additional labor OF
disposing of the ashes which resulted
from the burning of solid fuels.
"The development of electricity made
il possible to illuminate the streets and
homes in far better way than ever be-
fore and also made it possible by reason
of the use of electric motors to estab-
lish great manufacturing plants in the
communities themselves and not at some
distant point where fuel could be more
readily obtained.
"The electric street car made it pos
sible for thousands of people TO work
in the business centers where work
could be obtained, and at the same
time to enjoy the comforts of living in
the suburbs where there was plenty of
light and ventilation and freedom from
the noise and traffic of the business
centeTs.
"The very growth of the communi-
ties was dependent on the continuous
development of the public utilities. 1t
is fact that no community can pros
per without adequate public utilities
and that no community can grow uplesS
the public utilities are developed as fast
os the need for them arises. "a
I'm San Antonio. in 1900. there was
a population of 53,321. At-that time
about S1.500.000 was invested in the
utilities operated by the Public Service
Company.
"In 1910 the city had grown to n
population of 96,614. The investment
in the utilities operated by the Public
Service Company was about S4,5OO,OOO.
I'm 1920 the population had in
creased to 161, 30S. and the investment
in the public utilities was about S12,-
100000.
at will be noted that as the city has
grown it has been necessary, to increase
the public utility facilities faster even
than the population increased. This is
because of the fact that while a small
community can exist with little or no
public utility facilities, a large COM
munity becomes more and more de-
pendent upon them. In what way was
the increase of the public utilities made
possible?
Engineers familiar with public util-
ity matters are constantly forecasting
the requirements of communities and