r
Some Recent Failures of Municipal Plants
Aloxuntlriii Va Sold to private company bud condition service ioor
Atilli Ali Cost T0000 unsuccessful sold to private parties
Ballard Wash Leased because run at loss
Beverly Ohio Leased because run at loss to get belter service and
economy
Brunswick Mo In private hands bad management and service
Buena Vista Va Sold because manager says It was too expensive
Carrollon Ga Light plant bought but on account of protests of
citizens resold to private parties
Casselton N D Sold to private party
Chehalis Wash Leased municipal operation dishonest and unsat
isfactory
Dunkirk Jnd Turned over to bond holders Political changes in
control
Dunkirk N V Turned plant over to bond holders to run Bitter
experience
East Grand Forks Minn Burned not rebuilt People voted to take
light from a private company Town while running plant compelled
saloons to take municipal juice instead of from private plant under
penalty of revocation of license
Flgin 111 Leased to private company Bad management and service
England Ark Leased to private company A losing game and
could not airord it
English Ind Sold to private company unsuccessful and losing
venture
Escanaba Mich Cost 70000 contract made to close plant and take
light from private comyany Mayor says Excessive rates and unsatis
factory service
Frankfort N V Made contract with private company
Fulda Minn Mayor says Not sold but given away account runn
ing behind sa badly
Galena 111 Sold to private company bad service run at losspolitics
Gravesend N Y Light plant 120000 sold for 31110 to private
company
Greenwood S C Plant shut down and light taken from private
company bonds still unpaid
Hamilton Ohio Gas leased to private company
Harvard 111 Sold to private company plant deteriorated service un
satisfactory and expensive
Hudson Wis M O plant built but never run by city leased to pri
vate parties
High Point N C Sold and light taken from private company for
economy
Iuka Miss Leased account the mayor says Of difficulty in keep
ing a competent electrician
Jonesboro Ind In private hands M O tried but proved failure
Kansas 111 Council voted to sell but unable to find purchaser
LaGrange 111 In private hands Cost 160000 sold to private part
ies who assumed out standing indebtedness
Lakewood Ohio Sold to private company expensive people twice
voted down bonds for improvement
Lebanon Tenn Plant shut down light taken from private company
Lehighton Pa Sold because the chief burgess writes it was run at
a heavy loss too much politics
Leon Iowa Mayor says sold for half cost Because the city was
getting in debt more every year on account of the plant
LeRoy N Y Plant bought from private company but turned back
as city made a failure of it
Linton Ind Leased to private parties run down and expensive
Lowell Ind Sold because run at loss
Madison Ind Sold for better economy
Middletown Pa Discontinued and light taken from private company
for economy
Milford Center Ohio Light and water advertised for sale expensive
and white elephant
Millers Falls Mass Discontinued light taken from private company
for economy
Mooresville N C Discontinued light taken from private company
for economy
Mohawk N Y In private hands M O expensive and deficit
Moline 111 Sold plant antiquated no funds for renewal
Montpelier Ind Turned over to private parties who assumed bonds
citizens lost money contributed to make repairs
Muncie Ind Unsatisfactory and expensive politics private contract
getting better economy
New Hampton Iowa Advertised for sale unsatisfactorj
New York Bridge Lighting Abandoned current taken from private
company
Northfield Vt Plant burned taxpayers voted not to rebuild
Park Ridge N J Town failed to pay plant seized by U S marshal
Peoria 111 Water works sold to private company In shear disgust
Philadelphia Pa Gas leased to private company for better manage
ment and economy
Portsmouth Ohio Sold to private company worn out city unwilling
to spend money for renewal
Pullman Wash Voted to sell electric light plant expensive and bur
den to taxpayers
Santa Clara Calif Shut down and light taken from private company
for economy
Souix Falls S D Cost 75000 shut down and light taken from priv
ate company Unsatisfactory and expensive
Shepherdstown W Va Sold account poor superintendence too low
rates no fund for renewals
Souderton Pa Discontinued light taken from private company for
economy
Tipton Iowa Unsuccessful and when burned not rebuilt
Trenton Mich Votes 142 to IS to sell plant at one third cost run at
loss
Valley City N D People voted three to one to sell but council trying
to hold on
Vancouver Wash Cost about 70000 sold for 11000 run at loss
Waddington N Y Sold by vote of people for less than half what it
cost five years before Manager says The village was sore on property
Washington Ind Trying to sell on account of bad operation and con
dition
West Newton Pa Sold to private company for improvement and
better service
West Seattle Wash Electric railway sold to private company ser
vice poor and expensive
Wilmington O Plant sold for less than one third its cost unsatis
factory and expensive
Wytheville Va Leased to private parties citizens pronounced it a
Public scandal of costliness and inefficiency
Xenia Ohio Plant discontinued and light taken from private company
The following municipal light and water plants have been severely crit
isized investigated and in most cases sale recommended by city officials
boards or citizens
Ashtabula Ohio Bellingham Wash Columbus Ohio Greenfield
Ind Herington Kan Kirkwood Mo Marshall Mo Medford Ore
Montpelier Ohio Peru Ind Sleepy Eye Minn
The following towns have turned down municipal ownership by re
ports of investigating committees action of councils and in most cases by
direct vote of the people
Baltimore Md Bellevue Mich Berrien Springs Mich Benton Har
bor Mich Bryon Ohio Colorado City Colo Canon City Colo Coun
cil Bluffs Iowa Covington Ky Cridersville Ohio Dawson Mich
Elyria O Faribault Minn Falls City Nebr Hancock Mich Hend
erson Tenn Holland Mich Lake Forest 111 Lynchburg Va Mani
tomae Wis Marengo 111 Natchez Miss Negaunee Mich New Lon
don Mo Omaha Neb Patchogue N Y Pella Iowa Pine Bluff Ark
Pittsburg Kans Potterville Mich Richmond Va Roswell N M
Rutherford N J Shelbourne Ont Shullsburg Wis Sioux City la
South Framingham Mass South Sharon Pa Sparta Tenn Staw
berry Point Iowa Superior Wis Syracuse N Y Towando Pa Wash
ington Ind West Orange N J Wilksville 111 Winchester Mass
Syracuse N Y Instead of leaving the question to be settled by
public clamor appointed a committee of representative citizens who
devoted eight months to investigation of twenty two cities having M O
and unanimously recommended against it
Ruthford N J decided to keep out of municipal ownership on the
advice of a committee who investigated for a year and reported adversely
stating that there have been more failures than successes
MOVEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE
William Zint is down from Denver
Mkb Emeubon Hanson was down
from Denvor Sunday
Miss Sadie Evkkist is in St Joseph
Mo this weok
J L McPukkly the Minden lawjor
of note was a city visitor last Satur
day
Mrs F M Kimmkll returned home
Tuesday night from visiting her parents
in Wellington Kansas
Miss Stettek and Miss Gertrude
Kenagy of the teacher corps wore Lin
coln invaders Saturday
Miss Edith Waite is home from
Crete where she is attending Doane
college on a vacation
Mus A R Scott is visiting at her
former homo in Geneva and other
points in eastern Nebraska
Miss Mary Dunoan teacher in the
Hastings public schools was a guest of
her brother Will and family Tuesday
Mrs E J Kates camo up from Lin
coln Saturday night last and has been
a welcome guest in the Campbell home
this week
E U Gallatin of Bartley was in the
city Monday on his way homo from
inspecting land in Rawlins and Chey
enne counties Kansas
Mr and Mrs Water Stokes enter
tained the Thursday whist club last
week Albert McMillen captured the
honors tho consolation falling to Mrs
F W Bosworth
W M Morrisey of Jacksonville 111
arrived in tho city today His father
and Mr Keating had preceded They
own and occupy tho Soliday farm in
southeast McCook
Evangelist Lyon who conducted
services in McCook about a year since
was in town Monday He is just well
started on a campaign in Holdrege
where 40 responded to tho first gospel
invitation
Mr and Mrs Vanie Modrell Mrs
James Spaulding and Miss Ethel
Stephens went up to Beverly Thurs
day morninng to visit their brother
Colonel Stephens now engaged in bus
iness there
General Irvino Hale of Denver is
spending a few days in the city in the
interest of the McCook Electric Light
Co of which he is secretary and
which is now involved in the municipal
campaign the question of city owner
ship and bonds being at issue in next
Tuesdays election
Mrs L A Brown has returned from
her visit in Chicago and other points
east She states that she hopes soon to
recover her private property replevined
by J H Grannis recently during her
absence and to place same in her home
and resume house keeping That she
will continue to rent of Miss Alice
Jones She also wishes to state that
she has no standing bills with anybody
in McCook That her son H S
Brown will soon join her and go into
some kind of business in McCook
Weber Companys Claim Challenged
McOook Electric Light Co
McCook Nebraska April 3 1908
Weber Gas Engine Co
Kansas City Mo
Dear sirs The Water Consumers
League who are working for a munici
pal water and light plant have publish
ed your letter claiming that with your
apparatus they should you do not guar
antee furnish electric current to the
switch board with anthracite coal at
10 per ton including attendance at less
than one cent per K W hour
As you know your guarantees to us
on coal only for the operation of your
plant under our conditions greatly ex
ceeded the above claim while the act
ual consumption greatly exceeds your
guarantees
To give you an opportunity to make
good your statement we submit the fol
lowing proposition You can send your
best engineer and run our Weber plant
for a week with the assistance of our
men or others whom you may furnish if
you prefer Wo will jointly measure all
coal water and oil used adding the wag
es of the station men whom we have to
employ to operate the Weber plant only
omitting repairs and any other station
incidentals and divide the total by the
number of K W hours passing through
the watt meters on the switch board ob
taining the cost of these items per KW
hour
If this cost does not exceed your figure
we will pay you 100 if it does you pay
us 100
Additional similar offer based on dou
ble your claim
Additional similar offer based on tre
ble your claim
Additional similar offer based on
quadruple your claim
If we do not win ALL of these propo
sitions we will contribute 100 to any
charitable fund named by the mayor of
McCook if we do you pay this contri
bution
for the benefit of the public as well
as ourselves we will take pleasure in
publishing the results of this test in tho
McCook papers and engineering public
ations throughout the country and you
will be at liberty to insert them in your
catalogues Very truly yours
Irving Hale
Secretary McCook Electric Light Co
Copies to McCook papers
Letters Regarding Results of Municipal
Ownership
Mr W P Hackney lawyer Winfield
Kan writes as follows March 31 1903
Somo years ago the city of Winfield
embarked in tho enterprise of and built
an electric light plant and water works
The electric light plant has been losing
the city about ten thousand dollars a
year and tho end is not yet and tho
water project is in worso shapo still
Wo have voted bonds twice to keop tho
electric iight alive and are now about
to vote tho Heeond time for additional
bonds for tho water works Tho whole
scheme is a horrible failure and can end
oaly in disastor to the people
Beverly O March 50 100S
To Whom It May Concern
The electric light plant at Beverly O
was owned by private ownership was
taken over by tho village It was oper
ated by the villago forsevoral years at a
considerable loss tho tax payers at last
rebelled and tho plant has been sold to
privato parties
Municipal ownership was clearly a
failure hero C R Appleoatk
xVnother Beverly citizen who would
prefer not to have his namo published
for evident reasons on account of criti
cism of the board of public service
writes as follows
Replying to yours of March 2G I will
say that at no time during the munici
pal ownership of tho plant was tho busi
ness carried on satisfactorily The
board of public service was composed of
business men that knew nothing what
ever of electrical engineering Tho city
purchased this plant soveral years ago
and it has been a continual expense
Three years ago tho plant was purchas
ed by Mr Geo Walker since that time
the service has improved
I would sum up the difficulties in a
municipal plant thus
First It must have an experienced
man at its head
Second This man must be invested
with power enough to do what he thinks
is right and under no circumstances to
let the B of P S force him into doing
something that he knows is against the
system This you will find being done
in a great many places
The third great fault is letting re
pairs go too long and then putting in a
new machine instead of repairing the old
one I have been in a great many
places and I can truthfully say that I
know of very few successful municipal
plants
A prominent citizen of Souderton Pa
who desires his name omitted writes as
follows
The plant is managed by the council
and they believe that it does not afford
a manager which is very true under
existing circumstances All matters re
garding the plant such as line construc
tion repairs and additional machinery
etc must naturally come bofore the
council for final consideration and they
decide if the work is to be done also
how it is to be done Our experience
is that these councilmen are all good
and conservative business people but as
a rule know no more about the electrical
business than the electrical man would
know about selling calico and for this
reason no practical electrical man would
lend his name as manager to a small
municipal electric plant
He then explains at length how the
plant being over loaded and the city not
haying money to build the proper in
crease installed a 50 H P crudo oil en
gine finding it much too small this ex
perience costing tho town 5f 00 addi
onal The council then concluded it
would be cheaper to buy current and
therefore made a contract with a private
plant He concludes as follows
Kindly note that our councilmen are
of our best and most conservative citi
zens and do not believe we ever had a
case of graft The writer used to favor
municipal ownership but through ex
perience can readily see why a municipal
electric light plant can not be made a
paying proposition in a small town For
the interest of your town I sincerely
hope tho citizens will investigate thor
oughly before they vote for municipal
ownership of your electric light plant
A Baknett arrived home last Friday
night from the Omaha hospital quite
recovered from an operation and im
proved in health
Jack for Sale
Good record will trade for horses
cattle or land I M Smith McCook
Neb 2 28 tf
Dont wait until you are notified call
and advance your subscription up to
January 1st 1909 April 1st 190S all
subscriptions delinquent one year mct
be discontinued Thats the law
We have no choice
There was only one objection to that
snow last Saturday mornincr there
wasnt enough of it But it was help
ful
New Carnegie Library post cards at
Tribune office
Scott has strawberries Fone 30
Successful Painting
can be done by using Lincoln A
P Paint and at less cost owing
to its spreading capacity
A McMillen Druggist
u
Do You Read Our
Advertisements
We try to tell you about good goods and from
time to time about
SPECIAL BARGAINS
For instance we now have
Sewing Machines 1600
and warranted And then our
with all attachments fully
SPECIAL GRANITE WARE SALE
Cooking utensils of all
kinds with
EA KETTLES 53 CENTS
and WASH BASINS 15 cents Other articles
accordingly that you generally have to pay
twice as much for And then
Warm Weather
will soon be here and you will need a
REFRIGERATOR or a GAS or GASOLINE
RANGE
We will fit you out with a DETROIT JEWEL Gas Range
or a Ouick Meal Gasoline Stove or a Gas Water Heater so
you can keep cool and take your SUMMER BATH WITH
COMFORT And comfort is really what we are all looking
for
McCook Hardware Co
w b mills phone 31 R- B- simmons
A Proposal
To the Mayor and Council of the City of McCook Nebraska
Gentlemen
We the undersigned hereby jointly and severally make the follow
ing proposal and oirer to tho city of McCook to wit
If the said city will construct a combined water and light plant to
cost not over 810300000 according to plans of reputable engineers and
subject to the approval of the undersigned we hereby oiler to take charge
of the power plant and do the pumping of water and generating of light
furnishing all fuel and supplies all labor and care and doing all usual
running repairs to the machinery for the sum of five cents jer 1000 gal
lons for all water and five cents
pumped per kilowatt for all electric cur
rent generated The replacing or repairing of equipment where the dam
age or loss arises from fire lightning earthquake or cyclone or from the
unlawful acts of any person or persons not employed in the works shall
not fall upon the undersigned but they shall repair and replace the same
at the charge of the city Said contract to be for the period of five years
We further ofTerin case your honorable body chooses to advertise and
let the said pumping and generating to the lowest responsible bidder to
submit a bid for the said work at not over the price named in this proposal
We further agree in case the contract be given us to publish at the
end of each year the quantity and cost of all fuellabor and supplies used
by us in the operation of the plant as well as the quantities of water
pumped and light generated
Dated McCook Nebraska April 2 1903
Signed C H Boyle
G E Thompson
W W McMillen
R B Simmons
Joseph Allen
S S Gakvey
E II Doan
S D McClain
I II W Conover clerk of the city of McCook Neb do herebv cer
tify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a proposal filed at my
otlice this day
Dated at McCook Nebraska this 2nd day of April 190S
II W Conover City Clerk
Any doubt as to whether a city plant for light and water can be suc
cessfully operated by tho city of McCook is put at rest by the above
proposition which was submitted to the city yesterday as shown bv the
clerks certificate of filing Such a methed of lettingout the operation
of the power plant to responsible parties for a term of five years takes tho
matter entirely out of politics It provides against frequent changes in
the operation through political appointments as the water aiuMi ht
companies have said must be the ease It make room for competition
too at the end of each five year contract If the city uses as much water
as in the year ending March 31 1907 lJOOOOOOO gallons it can make a
rate of fifteen cent- for water and its share per annum will be SloOOO and
no cost of pumping The cost of electric light can be put at fifteen cents
or twelve cents or ten cents and the cities thare of the gross income will
probably be as much more With such an income horn the water rates
and light rates is there any reason for citizens to fear the levying of taxes
on account of the city owning its own plant or that the plant would not
be properly run and taken care of There is also the point of publicitv
provided for in the proposal of Messrs Boyle Thompson et al That will
post the public and keep it posted all along as to what the actual cost of
producing the light and pumping the water is Can any patriotic citizen
of McCook neglect the present opportunity of securing for his familv inl
his community the two staple necessities of life water and liht it th
lewest possible cost The Water Consumers League confidenUv
evnpot -every
unbiased vote to be cast in favor of the bonds and for C II MeeW
for city engineer Voters remember ballot
our svytem i a secret h il It
That no boss or employer has any right or power over vou Do vour bitv
by your family this time if never before or airain
The Water Consumers Leacue
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