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Show Voice of the People A TAX FOR ELECTRIC LIGHTS. Editor Republican: As tho Logan City Electric Light plant has cost tho taxpayers over J 100,000, nnd tho bonds aro not being be-ing mot, tho plant Is a matter worthy tho consldorntion of overy taxpayer. Logan City should bo looked upon by tho peoplo who lovo and llvo in It as thoy would upon n corporation in which they may bo stockholders. It Is very well to nppreclnto tho fact that wo nro getting lights nt ton or fifteen cents, nnd. fool good temporarily, but wo must roallzo thoro will come n time when wo will have to pay for what wo nro now getting for practlo-allp practlo-allp nothing. Ai the city council with Its mayor we called tho "fathers" of tho city nnd to then tho peoplo of a tty usually look to for tho vljust- nu.it of the affairs ot the city, they moy or they may not do their woik well, butjt Is tholr duty to hnndlc city matters nnd safeguard Its "Interest "Inter-est Just, ns they would their own affairs. af-fairs. , I am. told that tho revenues from tho lighting ftirnlshed (power not included) in-cluded) by tho Lognn City rplunt amounts to $U,(il0.00 per annum. This of courso may vary n little. Since tho first of tho yenr llghta havo been advanced ad-vanced from 10c to lCc per month for a 10 candlo powor. This will IncroaBe tho city's rovenuo somo over $450.0Q per month. Tho ono mill tax of last year brought to the city plant lu round numbers nbout J2.300.d0. All of tho revenue from tho Electric Light Plant Including this ono mill tnx, or $2,300, wns expended for malntennnco of tho plant, or at least tho balanco remaining remain-ing will bo used in Bomo repairs now needed. Wo aro therefore now Just where wo were when the plant was built, ns far as ownership Is concerned, but tho plant is six nnd one-halt years older than It was, hut wo are owing practically all It cost us. A man who buys a lot nnd builds n house upon It and borrows the money with which to buy tho lot nnd build tho house would not bo making a good Investment If ho received only enough as rent to meet tho Interest on tho money he borrowed. The house will bo getting older nnd depreciating In value, while his Indebtedness would remain Just ho same. Logan City ls in that condition as far as the light plant Is concerned. 25c, 30c, nnd 35c per months for 1G candle power light ls considered cheap yet people ot Logan are paying 15c if pntronlzlng the city plant ntid 10c If using tho Hercules. I nm freely of tho opinion that the city light plant has been n most excellent ex-cellent investment, n'nd that already the users of light and power In Lognn Lo-gnn City hnVe saved tho nmount of money tho plant cost them. If nny ono doubts my statement, let them bring forth their figures. Just prior to tho tlmo the lights were turned on nt tho city plant, wo were paying 50c for n 1C candle power lnmp. Somo time prior pri-or to thnt, wo wero paying 33c per lamp. Flguro as you will, taking either prlco of the two above mentioned, nnd it will he found that tho plant has already paid for Itself. But hero Is a matter with which I am not well pleased as a taxpayer of Logan City. 1 nm one of mnny who have been faithful to tho city ever slnco the plant 'was Installed, Irrespective of tho prlco charged. A reat many others for reasons best known to themselves havo1 patronized tho plant, which has been In competition to tho city plant. At the present tlmo thoso who have been faithful to the city plant are paying pay-ing 13c per lamp, whllo those who havo not been faithful to tho city plant nro getting their lights" nt 10c per lamp, It might bo argued that at the present tlmo the city plant qould not tnko on nny more lights than It is carrying nnd thus no ono could be censured for not patronizing tho city This Is truo nt present, hut it has not always been so, from tho fact that during tho first fow yenrs of thu history of our plant, It was seeking new patrons. At tho present tlmo, however, I am paying 50 per cent more for my lighting than my neighbor neigh-bor Is paying. Notwithstanding 1 with many others took on tho city lights ns soon as tho plant wns ready and nlso pnld 20c tier lamp, whllo my neighbors wero paying 10c per lamp from -tho competing company, I wnnt to know now, why I should ho asked to pay 50 per cent moro thnn my neighbor Is paying. No one will deny -ho fact tlmt tho reason lights aro sold nt the present prlco is In consequence conse-quence of tho establishment of tho city plant, I consldor this unfair dls- crimination. It is unfair to mo, nnd It Is unfair to all who take the city lights, nnd If tho other company wore now ncceptlng additional patronago, (ho city could make no complaint, It wo should In bulk turn our trade to tho competing compnny .This of course would bo only a temporary roller, ro-ller, and In tho long run Injuring ourselves our-selves nil tho moro. No ono of courso can complniu nt tho prlco of 15c, yet I complain nt tho 50 per cont that I am paying moro than my noighbor, nnd with tho present pres-ent Information that I have, I think tho city fathors did wrong In advancing advanc-ing tho prlco. Naturally then you nsk tho question what could bo done to Increase our rovenuo nnd my nn-swer nn-swer ls this: From tho 9,700 lights the city plant Is furnishing, sho Is receiving $970.00 per month. It Logan Lo-gan City charged 35c per light or threo for n dollar Bho would bo receiving re-ceiving for her 9,700 lights $2,253 por month or $27,030.00 per annum. Sho recolved Inst yonr at 10c por light' $11,010.00, thqs tho dlfferonco bo-tweon bo-tweon tho pi ice of lOo nnd threo for n dollar equals $15,390 00 per annum. With the advance for fiw, years her rientie9 would increase frcm light Ing only, a littlo over $100,000.00 and tho city would be out of debt. But Mr. Taxpayer, the question now comes, would it bo fair and Just for those who tiro now taking lights from the city to pay for tho planl and then turn It over to tho enUro body of taxpayers? tax-payers? Would It bo fair for those who started to uso the city lights and havo continued faithful to the city to pay. tho entlro hill and tho other half to ho getting 'their .lights at 10c- por lninrK? Would -this not oo a manifestation manifes-tation of ingrntttudo on tho part of thoso '-ho havo managed tho city affairs af-fairs to thoso who have taken the city lights nt all tlmo no matter what the price might bo? As I seo it, overy tax payor Irrespective of tho plant ho may patronize, should holp to pay for tho city plant. Tho valuation of the property of Lognn City Is placed at $2,180,807.00; Let tho light bo reduced to 10c per lamp and lot thero bo n tax of 7' mills placed upon tho taxable property in Logan City. This will bring nn additional ad-ditional yearly revenue of $16,356 to the plant, which Is practically tho samo revenuo tha tho city would ro-celvo ro-celvo If tho present takers of city lights wero paying at tho rato of threo lights for ono dollar. But the difference lies In tho fact, that overy ov-ery user of lights In tho city, would help to pay the amount necessary to meet tho entire cost of tho city plnnt In GV4 years Instead of thoso only who nro using city lights, being obliged to pay at ho rato of threo lights for n dollar. They would bo paying pay-ing about half that much whllo thoso who are patronizing tho Hercules plant and getting their lights for 10c would nlso bo paying about lflc per lamp. As tho tax levy will soon bo do-elded do-elded upon by our city fathers, this is a matter thoy should sorlously consider con-sider nt tho present tlmo. I nm told thnt Ogden In tho year 1009 decided to buy from David Ec-cles Ec-cles tho Ogden water system nt n pa Ice somowhere nroung $250,000, It became necessary for tho city to rnlse $50,000.00 In order to do so they placed n mill tax sufficient to raiso tlmt amount In tho fall of 1909. Tho peoplo needed tho water and wore glad to know that tho city had mndo tho purclmso nnd ns a result mndo no complaints at tholr Increased taxation. taxa-tion. If Logan City wnnts to got out of debt let. her begin now ns this ls an opportuno tlmo. Thero Is no' ron-son ron-son why this matter should bo delayed de-layed from ono year to anothqr. "Do It now." ALASKA. |