The irregularities observed here both in the scale of prices and in cost of arc lamps are not surprising, though noteworthy. The widest differences are naturally expected and found in the columns showing the results of municipal management, wherein it appears that the cost of the arc lamp ranges from 1.91 cents to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, while the range of prices paid to private companies is from 5.19 to 14 cents. Nevertheless, considering each group as a whole, the preponderance of evidence is favorable to municipal management; that is to say, the cost of the arc light to the city which produces it is less than the price which the city would have to pay private owners for it, as 5.79 cents or 6.24 cents is less than 7.79 cents.

Some further statistics of arc light prices are gathered from the schedules of private plants and are presented here to illustrate the influence of terms of contrast on nominal prices, and the factors which control in fixing prices:

Prices per Arc Lamp per Year Made by Private Companies.

Prices Per Arc Lamp per Year Made by Private Companies-Concluded.

Three conditions govern in fixing a price per arc lamp per year, namely: the number of lamps contracted for, the watt-capacity of the lamp and the number of hours of service rendered in the year. These must be known, together with the price, in order to form a proper estimate of the price. The nominal price for an arc lamp for a year to private users ranges from $21 to $120; the former is for 16 lamps.

of 560 watt-capacity used only 900 hours; the latter is for 2 lamps of 364 watt-capacity used for 3,988 hours. The nominal price to municipalities ranges from $36 to $144; the former is for 125 lamps of 450 watt-capacity used 1,200 hours, and the latter is for 20 lamps of 480 watt-capacity used 3,988 hours. It must be said, however, that neither the number of lamps nor their capacity, nor their hours of service sustain any fixed relation to the prices reported; they simply account in some measure for the wide differences observed, and there is a general recognition of the rule that the greater number of lamps commands the lower, and long service and high capacity the higher prices per lamp per year.

This table is of interest not only as showing the great diversity of price at which arc lamps are furnished by private companies by the year, and the factors which influence those prices, but equally as illustrating the necessity for reducing all prices to the basis of the kilowatt-hour in order to make a true comparison of prices possible. By the use of the proper formula all figures representing price and cost per lamp per kilowatt-hour may be reduced to a corresponding price per lamp per year, but such restatement of the facts would not add to the force of the comparison already made.

It is much more difficult to reduce the prices of incandescent lighting to common terms than to establish a workable unit for arc lighting. There are not less than five units made use of in the table to express the price and the cost of incandescent lamps, and each of these is subject to modifications governed by the character of the current, the type and number and candle-power of lamps and the hours of service. Moreover, the number and variety of arbitrary contract prices, differing from all others, make continual demand for the use of foot-notes. Nothing less than the closest scrutiny of the general tables will afford any justification for definite conclusions on the relative results of public and private management in incandescent lighting.

It may be observed in general as a result of this investigation of electric light and power plants, that the representation of municipal and private establishments in these tables is equitable so far as distribution throughout the State and the relative size of the communities to which they are tributary is concerned; that in the matter of capital invested both groups include the large and small concerns in about the same proportion; that a larger percentage of the whole investment is expended by municipalities for land and buildings, and a larger percentage by private companies for machinery equipment; that 17 out of 27 municipal plants are fully paid for, and that only 5 have any bonded indebtedness outstanding; that 11 of the 27 are en

gaged in commercial business as well as public lighting; that in analyzing the cost of production it is found that municipalities expend more than private companies for wages and supplies and less for general expenses and for repairs and renewals; that two-thirds of all private companies are making money in various amounts represented by an average of 22.89 per cent of their gross income, and 7.44 per cent on total investment, while the losses of the losing companies in the aggregate are equivalent to 4.89 per cent of their total investment; on the other hand, that municipal plants have been successful as a rule in producing light for public use at a cost materially less than the price for the same which is usually paid to private companies, and have done this both with and without revenue from commercial business.

WATER WORKS PLANTS.

The first of the series of tables resulting from the investigation of the various water works systems in the State is descriptive of the physical features of the plant, with its distributing equipment and apparatus. This description is statistically expressed in columns showing the ownership and age of each plant, the character of the source of supply, the manner of distribution, the pumping equipment and the system of mains, hydrants and meters.

Plants are entered in this series in the order of the number of gallons constituting their annual output. The first, or smallest, has an output of only 3,650,000 gallons, and the largest, outside Chicago, an output of 1,480,000,000 gallons. The Chicago municipal plant delivered 96,918,782,023 gallons during the calendar year 1897.

The whole number of plants appearing in the tables is 82, of which 69 are under municipal and‍ 13 under private ownership.

The oldest in the list is the municipal plant in Chicago, which was established in 1851; the next in order of date was constructed in 1866, and the next in 1873. Eleven were established in the decade 1870-1880; 35 in the decade 1880-1890, and 34 since 1890. Fifty-nine of these plants obtain their water from wells; 13, from rivers; 3, from creeks, and 5 from lakes.

Of the whole number, only two deliver water from reservoirs, and there are none which depend wholly upon a gravity service. Distribution is effected through tanks alone in 6 cases, through stand-pipes alone in 8 cases, and in 23 cases by pumping direct without auxilliary features. But 23 plants combine the use of stand-pipes and 20 the use of tanks with a direct pumping system. Pumping direct, for ordinary service as well as for fire service, is characteristic of the larger plants; but in the greater number of cases pumping direct is

resorted to only in cases of fires. All pumping is done by steam power, in the plants here scheduled, and the columns for describing water power plants are consequently blank.

The prices paid for bituminous coal, which is the fuel in general use for steam purposes, are given in the second table of the series, and these vary greatly according to the proximity of the plant to the mines from which the supply is drawn.

Table III presents the statistics of capital invested and makes distribution of the whole amount in each case according to the expenditures made for the several parts of the whole. Total cost is thus displayed as consisting of the cost of land; of constructions for storage at the source of supply; of wells, conduits, buildings, pumping equipment, distribiting reservoirs, stand-pipes and tanks, filters and filtration beds, mains, meters and hydrants, teams, tools, and other accessories. Only nine report any attempt at filtration, seven of which are private and two municipal.

An examination of the column for total investment reveals the fact that two plants have less than $10,000 invested; that forty-four have from $10,000 to $50,000 invested; fifteen have from $50,000 to $100,000; eighteen have from $100,000 to $500,000, and three over $500,000 --one having an investment of over $27,000,000.

The relative size of the public and private plants here listed, as indicated by the amount of capital invested in each, is shown by the following classification:

Municipal plant No. 82 is omitted from this grouping because of its exceptional size and character.

The greatest number of municipal plants finds its place in the second group, with investments ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, and in this group also the fewest private plants appear. Possibly the larger cities, as a rule, offer the greater attractions to private investment in water works, while the smaller ones, being more dependent upon their own resources, develop municipal enterprises.

The average investment of the 68 plants under municipal ownership is $94,389, and of the 13 under private ownership, $121,702.

The financing of the municipal enterprises is analyzed in table IV, which gives the sources from which the funds for construction have