The Man Behind Newport's Electric Lights

Public Service, a Chicago publication, has the following concerning a gentleman at the head of the Northern Idaho Montana Power Co., a corporation that is expending $100,000 to give this town electric light and power service:

Henry Manson Byllesby, who recently was elected president of the Civic Federation of Chicago, is one of the foremost of the public utility men who are taking an active interest in the improvement of general social and industrial conditions.

The selection of Mr. Byllesby as the head of the Chicago reform organization is a distinct recognition of the executive ability and quality of management exemplified in the leadership of the firm of H. M. Byllesby Co., engineers, operators and managers of public utility properties.

The Civic Federation is not a new organization. It is composed of many of the strongest and most influential citizens of Chicago, and has accomplished some notable achievements, some of them being along the lines of forest park reservation and securing more scientific methods of taxation.

Among the reforms advocated by the organization are a new charter for Chicago, strengthening the convict parole system, the improvement of slum tenement conditions and a campaign against illegal medical schools.

Service in the public utility field usually requires so much of the best effort and time of the men engaged in it that little opportunity is given for endeavor beyond the scope of private affairs. The company of which Mr. Byllesby is the head has been a large and important one for a long time and is constantly growing. That its president should find it possible to accept the presidency of the Civic Federation undoubtedly means sacrifices which only he appreciates.

Byllesby Co. now control and operate public utilities in eleven cities, as follows: Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., Oklahoma City, Okla.; Enid Electric Gas Co., Enid, Okla.; Fort Smith Light Traction Co., Ft. Smith, Ark.; Mobile Electric Co., Mobile, Ark.; Ottumwa Rail Light Co., Ottumwa, Iowa; El Reno Gas Electric Co., El Reno, Okla.; San Diego Consolidated Gas Electric Co., San Diego, Cal.; Tacoma Gas Co., Tacoma, Wash.; Northern Idaho Montana Power Co., Sandpoint, Idaho, Newport, Wash., and Kalispel, Mont.; Washington County Light Power Co., Stillwater, Minn.; Muskogee Gas Electric Co., Muskogee, Okla.

All of these communities are growing rapidly. The policy of Byllesby Co. is one of complete development along the most efficient lines. Dealings with the public are invariably on a frank and reasonable basis. Once in control of a property there is no hesitancy about making all the improvements and investments necessary to insure good service at fair rates. The results from a financial standpoint have fully justified the standards set by the organization.

Henry Manson Byllesby was a widely known electrical engineer long before he founded the company which bears his name. In the early days of electric lighting he was associated with Thomas A. Edison. Subsequently he was vice-president of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co., and managing director of the British Westinghouse interests.

Mr. Byllesby was born in Pittsburg 50 years ago. He is a graduate of Lehigh University and has been identified with many movements and advances in electrical enterprises. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Chicago has been his home since 1901.

The activities of Byllesby Co. are not confined to operating, managing and improving the public utility properties which they control, but extend to a large general gas and electrical engineering business.