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Show INTERVIEW ON ELECTRIC LIGHT SITUATION Mr. Inch Says His Company Can Supply Power and Light Cheaper Than Municipality Tho letter from General Manager C. A. Grocsbeck of tho Utah Power and Light Co., to tho city commissioners, suggesting negotiations for tho purchase pur-chase and sale of tho City Municipal Electric Light Plant, which was published pub-lished In our last Issue, reveals the tact that the plant Is inadequate and suggests the thought that perhaps It would bo to tho best Interests of tho city to dUposo of tho plant. Tho (act that the plant Is Inadequate Is something that everybody knows, but the matter of salo Is a different question, ques-tion, and something upon which Judgment must necessarily bo defer- ed until tho facts aro made known through careful investigation. Mr. S. R. Inch, operating manager mana-ger of tho Utah Power nnd Light Co., was In our city on Thursday and wo took occasion to nek him to en largo somewhat upon the communication communi-cation from tho general manager of lil:i company and to bo moro specific ns to why he thought It to the best Interests of Logan City that tho plant ho sold. Mr. Inch replied that on general principles, ho felt that his company could save monoy for Logan City from tho fact that the production of electricity was tho sole object of the corporation which ho represented, and that ho felt that whllo his company could not farm as economically as tho farmers, could )int handle general merchandise as economically as the merchant and could, not handlo the general affairs pertaining to a municipal government govern-ment ns well as olTlclals adapted to tho work, he was positive that In tho production of electricity his company could beat the western world. Continuing, Con-tinuing, Mr. Inch said : "Wo havo reason to bellevo that tho City of Logan Is -losing considerable consider-able monoy overy year In tho operation opera-tion of Its electric light system. Wo know that tho present municipal plant Is in bad physical condition, as Is, of course, only to be expected, when It Is remembered that this plant has been in operation somo twelvo years or moro, with no extensive repairs on It during that period. Tho present pres-ent city plant is In no condition to servo properly the demand for electricity' elec-tricity' in Logan and last winter, as overyone knows, wo not only carried car-ried our own load In Logan, but a considerable part of tho load normally normal-ly carried on tho city plant. Logan, Is growing rapidly, and If tho municipal muni-cipal plant cannot now take caro of ono half tho demands for electricity In tho city, it Is evident that as tho city grows Its ability to take caro of Us own electrical needs will becomo less and less. Even to maintain Its plant In condition to servo Its pros-ent pros-ent customers efficiently, . largo hmouuts of monoy will havo to bo spent for repairs. Beforo such expenditures ex-penditures aro mado, It seems to us that tho municipal officials and tho citizens of Logan would find It do-slrablo do-slrablo to consider all phuses of tho situation, and If thoy decldo to do this wo bellevo that wo can show them that wo can tako caro of tholr needs In a way satisfactory to nil concernod. I understand that tho commissioners, commission-ers, whllo In no way committing themselves, are, novortheloss, of tho opinion that tho situation Is ono that merits caroful consideration nt this tlmo. It is vory unfortunate that, duo to things which occurred yoars ago In Logan and with which tho Utah Tow-or Tow-or & Light Company had nothing whatever to do, somo unfavorable feeling still exists In Logan towards tho Company. This, I nm suro, Is duo to misunderstanding, Logan, llko every other city In tho Intormountnln country Is dopendont for its prosporlty not so mnch upon Industries. within tho city Hself as upon tho prosperity of tho surrounding surround-ing country. In, Logan this means agricultural ag-ricultural prosporlty. The Utah rower row-er & Light Company has boon a considerable con-siderable faotor In building up, dur ing tho past four years, tho territory terri-tory adequate electrical servlco nt reasonable rates. An cramplo of this Is the Lewlston Hear Lako pumping pump-ing plant which will bo Installed next spring and which will provldo n dependable de-pendable water supply for thousands of acres of land. Pumping lnstnlla lions In tho Horseshoe Bend District will help tho farmers thero, while lovcral other large pumping Installations Installa-tions near Lognn which aro now under un-der consideration, should bring under cultivation thousands of acres of land not now farmed at all which In turn will, of course, react favorably on Logan City. Regarding municipal service, wo aro furnishing nearly nil tho towns and cities In tho northern half of tho I stnto, and tho pleasant relations Hint exist between us and tho pcoplo In i tho communities which wo servo, I should Indicate to the people of Lo--gan that they can bo suro of good ' treatment, good sorvlce, reasonablo ' rates, and a square deal from tho Utnh Power & Light Company. j Our claim that we can serve Lo-j gan ns wo are serving Salt Lnko, Of-1 den, Provo and many other cities In tho stnto, moro advantageously than tho City of Lognn can operato Us own electric system, Is, wo feel, nt least worthy of tho careful consideration of tho people and their Jopresenta-tlvcs. Jopresenta-tlvcs. Wo trusL that such consideration considera-tion may bo given us, and that no ono will Jump at conclusions In regard re-gard In regard to this matter until tho limitations of tho present city plant shall bo thoroughly understood tho economic questions Involvnr thoroughly thor-oughly discussed and tho advantages of tho depondabTo and adequate servlco ser-vlco which wo offer, carefully considered." consid-ered." Tho claim of Mr. Inch to tho of- 'fact that h's company can servo Ixj-gan Ixj-gan ns It Is now sorvlng Salt Lako, Ogden, Provo, and many other places J 'moro advantageously than Logan can onorate Us own electric system is important, im-portant, and wilt nt onco bo questioned question-ed by a great many of our citizens, it Is a fact, however, that a great many of our citizens nro on one oldo and n great many on tho other sldo of the question somo bellovlng that ttio plant Is a big paying propo'rlllon, whllo others bellevo tho oppoBlto. It would appear that sooner or later tho matter should bo decided, at lcaht In tho minds of a majority of the tax payers, bo that something substantial and far reaching can bo dono. If as Mr. Inch suggests, It Is not paying, and his company can caro for us cheaper than wo can enro for ou selves, then tho plant oupght to bo sold. If on tho other hand, tho city can best operato Its own system to Its advantage, then certainly the plant ought to bo ljicroased and made thor-oguhly thor-oguhly adoquato. If It Is a good thing, we ought to havo moro of It. Undor the conditions, It would seem advisable that tho matter bo considered consid-ered and Investigated In all Us phases, phas-es, nnd then submit It to tho pooplo for tholr final determination and settlement, set-tlement, n |