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Show I Rf ACTIVE I Are Leaving No Stone I Unturned. H " Participated in Meeting of H People's Protective H Committee. Object Being to Claim That Scnti-mcnt Scnti-mcnt Is Divided Regarding Prnncliiso. Hi Tho'utnh Light and Railway company nnd Its friends took a very active part Hj in tho proceedings at the Commercial club last evening. Tho meeting was of the 1 People's Protectlvo committee and was for the purpose of receiving nnd acting upon H- the reports of the sub-commlticca ap- Kr pointed threo weeks ago. 1 Judgo LcGrand Young, counsel for the 1 companv. and Superintendent W. P. Read of tho .street railway system hovored up- j on the outskirts of tho crowd. "Within tho committeemen who.so Interests ere more or less closely lclcntillcd with those of the company, actively or covertly opposed the Tccommcndaiions Intended to safeguard the city against tho depredations oi spe--lil prlvllego seekers- iSven In tho coin- 1 inltteo meeting was heard the familiar string that has heen so persistently fln-gored fln-gored bv the light and railway reprcsen-tatlves reprcsen-tatlves In the Council. That the city is 1 necking something of immense value from ihe company; that the cliy Ural made a lequest upon tho company and that the 1 company in Its benevolence Is really pro- 1 1 oslng to do groat things for the city ihls was the attltudo taken by H. S. Tanner nnd one or two others. ChaJrman Dern, In calling tho meeting to orter, reported that the executive com-, niltlco had met with the Council and that the laws committee had prepared Its rc-port rc-port on the proposed franchise extension. The report of the latter committee was read by Judge C. S. Varlan and Is as fol- I Here Is tho Report. ' Hon. John Dcrn. Clialrman CltlzcnB' Protcc-tlvo Protcc-tlvo Comnilttec:-Dear Sir: "iour committee, on law met Wednesday evening, .prll U, ana after ix careful consideration of tho franchise prepared In accordance with instructions of a majority of thu members of the Council com-nilttoa com-nilttoa having this matter under consideration, begs leave to submit tho following us tho unanimous resort of this committee: 1. The itrcet railroad franchise ana a lari of the electric llcht franchises now have a forfeiture clause. Wo deem It of vital Importance Im-portance that whntovcr frnnehlw) may bo granted tho Utnh Light and Railway company tl(e forfeiture clause lie retained. It is tho only effectual means of compelling Rood service, serv-ice, and wo do not bellcvo that thin very Important Im-portant function should bo delegated to the Pollco court of this city, for under tho pro-vlidons pro-vlidons as contained la tho proponed franchise, tho rules of criminal law ivould bo applied and It would be necessary to provo beyond a rtsonablc doubt that tho company had fnllcd to comply vlth tbo provisions of Its franchlso and tlio penalty would bo only a line Excepting Except-ing tbo waterworks, no public utility 1h of such Importanco to tho masses of thu people ns aro those operated by the Utah Light and Railway company, and the public should not, delegalo or Minendcr the right to compel Rood service. Moreover, there docn not scorn to be nny good reason why a contract made with nnd for the benefit of the city nhould not re-srvo re-srvo to tho city tho rlcht to rescind. It It chooses, uiKn failure of tho other party to comply with tho provisions of Its contract, as In the case of contructa between prlvatu parties. Right to Regulate. 2 The right to reasonably regulate chorees, rent of meter and railroad fares hereafter uhould bo expressly reserved. Tho uj of electricity elec-tricity Is In its Infancy. Advancement Is being be-ing made year by year, and vu should rvecrvo the right to glvo to the public tlm bcnullt of Hie cheapening process'. ' Tlio mtu Unit Ih now proposed may bo reasonable nt Ihe pres-cnt pres-cnt time. Ten years hcricu It may bo exorbitant, exorbi-tant, and wo should not tie tho hands of pos-tdrlty pos-tdrlty and compel them to pay exorbitant rates, but rather reserve for them tho power to fix tho rates from tlroo to time upon n reasonable basis. Tho I,cglHlaluru has empowered em-powered tho City Council to rcgulato tho pale and imo cf go, electric and other lights, t lie charges therefor, and tho rent of motern (nee. 1V8. par. 10, R. S. Utah as amended 1SKU). and wo m no reason why tho city should Ignore this crant of )owcr, even If It can lawfully do co. Should Have Light Standard, t. U la well known that tho electric llcht for somo time past bavo been nnd now nro very ' unsatisfactory This now franchlso nhould llx somo standard by which tho llchts tihall bn tested, and wo recommend thut competent com-petent clccliicai cnKlneern bo consulted on this matter nnd that a standard bo determined upon nnd embodied In thu franchise, and that the right to llx now ntandards, ax may bo proper with tho advancement of tho knowl-edrro knowl-edrro of electricity, be reserved. . If tho city acquires tho waters of Ble Cottonwood blream, wo bellovc there nhould 1k no restriction ui-on cither tho uso of tho water or tho electrical enerpy wenerated by tins power derived from tbo water. S. Tho franchise should irot bi; extended beyond be-yond iiay 37, 1SI7, thnt bclnir tha expiration of tho loudest frar.cbluo now held by tho Utah LlCht and Railway company. The tendency of modern legislation Is that franchises ahould not be trrautod for a lone period, nnd the out-eldo out-eldo limit Is ncncrally conceded to bo thirty years. Tho preDcr.t hoidlnir of tho Utah Light und Railway eomptmy ccnslst of What Holdings Are, First Electric llcht nnd can franchises. Second Street railway franchisor-. Tl For tbo purposo of convonlonc. wo will Eocrcgato them and consider first tho electric light franchise. The four principal franchises held by it nro thu followlnc: n) Tho Salt Lako and Ogden Gaa and Elec-1 Elec-1 trie Llht company, ijranled ilay 20. Iij33. i lb) Robert III. Joneti or Dlrz Cottonwood Power comivany. pranled July 25. 1S33. ' fc) S. V. WnlSter or Citizens' HUctrlc Ucht company, prantcd Decomber 15, 1SS3. (tj) rior.e-er Klcctrlc Power company. Granted Grant-ed May IT. 1507. JIacli of tbo above franchises was granted for n period of twenty-ftvo years, nnd on Do-rembcr Do-rembcr Si, 1VC i-nc'n of them wat extended for n jei1ol of iwsnty-nvo yearn, ar.d In nddl-tlo.n nddl-tlo.n to tho llcht then furnished tho company agreed to kIvo to tin c!i", an a consideration for said oxtcn!!on. twcnty-flvo arc Ilghtj), as follows: After May 19, VjIS. alx: t.iitr July 24. 1D1S. fix: after Decinibrr IS. clx; after Idny 1", soven. Consider bis that the city will bo much lArgrr In ISrCO thAn It la now, th consideration for tb'.n extension of twonly-flvo twonly-flvo years was wholly Inadequate. Also nt that tlmo tbo Utnh I.lcht and Power company, com-pany, tho rrcdcccsaor nf tho Utah Light nnd Hallway company, agreed to bury its wires between South Templo and Fourth South. 8tato street and West Temple, beginning 1005, nnd to bo completed within nlno years. As to Original Franchises. 2 Tho street railway franchises wcro originally orig-inally Kranled for a ierIod of twenty ycaro. In 1&9I both tho Salt Lako City Railroad company com-pany and tho Rapid Tnirr< company secured nn amendment to their franchises, so that nil of them wcro continued for a period of fifty yenra from tho 1st day of January, 131. Since thnt time a fow frnnchls liavg jwan granted, but they expire practically at tho samo time, viz., Janiiary 1, 1S43. While your committee belloron that nerloun mlKtskcs have been mado In tho past In oxt tending thoM fmnclilsca to unreasonable) llm-1 llm-1 Hk, but aa that cannot now bn remedied nnd an onn of the llcht franchises extends until May 27. 1!M7, If nil tho frnnchlscH held by tho r-ompany bo extended to that date wo think tbo company can bavo no Just causo for com-Iilalnt. com-Iilalnt. Keopcctfully submitted. O.W. POWEItS, Chairman. Forfeiture Clause Demanded. The report was taken up section by section. sec-tion. A. B. Irvine took exception to the vory first clause, because, he said, ho un-I un-I dcratood that the company anil the city had agreed upon a forfeiture clause. Mr. ."Varian replied that this made no differ ence, since the resolution was Intended to apprise tho Council of the attitude of the public toward all franchises that may bo grantcTJ now or hereafter. said that a franchise was a contract, and that tho violation of a contract by ono of the parties was generally hold to bo an abrogation of the contract. The courts would alwnys be oppn to the company to protect It from an unreasonable exerclae of power, but the people must always have the power to protect their property, comfort and convenience. The ilrst clause of tho report was adopted unanimously. Right to Regulate. B. IT. Calllstpr did not sec any reason why l ho second clauso should bo adopted. This was tho recommendation that the right to regulato charges and railway fares should ho cxpreyaly reserved by tho city. Mr. Calll3tnr said that the statutes gavo tho city this right and thero was nothing In tho franchise ordlnanco by way of surrender. Ashby Snow said that such a clauso gave the city the power to destroy tho company the very words bv Judge Young before tho Council committee. com-mittee. Judge O. v. Powers pronounced this an abaurd view, as such regulations would have to be reasonablo to bo legal. Ho was willlnc to havo tho word "reasonable" "rea-sonable" Inserlcd. Tho word was put in to satisfy tho scruples of Mr. Snow, and this section was adopted. Section 3, advising tho city lo rcscrvo tho right to fix a standard by which electricity should be measured, wao adopted after a brief discussion. Strings to the Water Right. Next came that clause urging that the city accept no restriction on tho use of tho waters of Big Cottonwood If tho rights were acquired from tho company. Mr. Snow said that If the. Council were to negotiate a trado with tho company It should bo trusted to make tho best terms possible. He believed that, as tho company owns these power rights. It is very reasonablo In asking that they shall not e used In competition by the city In reply Judgo Towers said that tho committee had as much right to advlsn the Council In regard to this question as any other. If the city buys anything It should buy It without any strings on It. The truth Is, tho city docs not havo to mako this contract, nnd It In never good policy to bind yourself by what tho lawyers law-yers call "a contract In restraint of trade." Ills personal opinion was that the rights in Big Cottonwood do not amount to much. Only a Power Right. Mr. Snow said ho did not protend to know anything of tho validity of those rights or their necessity to tho city. Judge AV. I. Snyder declared that the company possessed only a power right; It did not own the water, and all It could convey lo the city would bo a claim to a power right which It wanted to bar tho city from using. Henry W. 1-awrencc Insisted that It would be folly for the city to relinquish tho right to uso Its property for nny purpose It might seo fit. Mr. Canister said the matter should bo loft to tho Council. "It would be more to the point." said J. TJ. ISldredgc. Jr., "If this mooting wcro held to discuss an Injunction restraining restrain-ing tho city from rolling tho water bonds." Ho predicted that endless litigation litiga-tion would ensue If tho city attempted to carry out its present plans for securing nn In r Hugh Watson moved to lay the section on the tabic. Ills motion was lost by a close vote, and the section "was adopted as. read. Short Extension Indorsed. Tho final recommendation that the lifo of the franchise nhould not be extended beyond May 27. 12-17, the life of the longest grant now held by the company, was laid on the table after an extended debate. Mr. Snow called attention to the allegation alle-gation that tho purposo of the franchise ordinance was to pay the company for certain water rights and he wanted lo know -what the consideration would bo If tho new franchise gave It no more than the old ones. Judge Powers replied that It would be of great advantago to the company to have the city ratify the consolidation con-solidation of the railway und lighting company by consolidating Its Xranchlscs, and that tho extensions of short-term, franchises for several years would fully recompense the company for all It proposed pro-posed to give up. Tanner to the Rescue. H. S. Tanner took the ground that tho city had appealed to the company to make the trade of power rights for franchises fran-chises und ho said that If tho company accepted a franchlso without an extension exten-sion of time it would really ho giving property worth IIOO.MO for nothing. Judge Snyder replied that ho was at one with Mr. lSldredgo In his desire to enjolti tho sale of thu water bonds when tho tlmo enmt', because tho peoplo had been tricked into voting I hem. As to the power rights the Judge said- " don't think they have any thine tho city wants. They have something they want to blackmail us with. That Is tho proposition ns I look at it. If tho clly does have lo havo those rights they ci'n ho condemned." 'And we will have to pay for them," Interposed Judgo Tanner. "Suppose wo do. I don't think they can get a Jury that wIlH give them J1W.UC0 or 100,000 cents." Necessity for Forfeiture. The necessity for a forfeiture clause In the franchise was here unconsciously emphasized em-phasized by Mr. Callr'ater. He said that when he was In the Council the Citizens' Light and Power company had ucclved a franchlso without a forfeiture clause. Tho company was obligated to slvo tho cltv a certain number of lights. Tho lights were not furnished and when pro. test was made the company replied "There Is no forfeiture clause In 'our franchise. "What aru you going io uo about It?" Air. Irvine admitted that the clly ought lo make tho trado on the best terms possible, pos-sible, but ho said he believed tho com pany was entitled to some consideration for what It was willing to give and tho adjustment should be left to tho Council. A. T. Sanford, the secretary of tho meeting, repudiated tho statement that the trado had first been proposed bv tho city "unless ono Councilman coistftutcs the city." "These rights arc only of a nominal value," he said. "As a altlzcn and a taxpayer tax-payer I would rather pay them for their rights In cash than enter into a deal for the extension of franchises, There Is a principle Involved In this and that prln-clplo prln-clplo is that -wo should not tie tho hands of posterity with franchlso extensions. If they have rights let us pay for them' in cash and not tie tho hands of our children chil-dren and our children's children." Dnnlol Harrington did not bolltvo the franchise was uch a precious thing after af-ter all. He said the streets of Salt Lako wcro vIdc enough for four or flvo railroad rail-road tracks and tho Council could grant other franchises whenever It felt llko It, Mr. Cannon Speaks, George M. Cannon was not a member' of the committee, but he was nlven per mission to speak. He said that Ho and hla neighbors had paid a bonus of 52M00 for the Rapid Transit extension to Calder's park, yet they could never get a lower fare than 1M cents until after the consolidation. con-solidation. Now i7hov could go: transfers, something they could not do when thero was competition. He believed the present pres-ent company was well managed nnd was entitled to the thanks o'f tho community. Judge Powers asked Mr. Cannon what ho thought of a company that pretended to run Us care at a given time and did not have- them there. lie Itcd several in. stances wherein tho cars had been turned about without going to tbo ends of iho lines, causing young ladies to miss trains and worklngmcn to be Li to to their work, A Fine Service, This. Mr. Cannon answered that ho had never cccii a place where the street cars keep closer to their schedule than thev do here, lie closed by asking tho committee. to withdraw Its opposition to tho tlftv. year franchise Mr. Calllster inovod to lav section 5 of the report on tho tabic. The motion prevailed pre-vailed by si majority of one vote. Mr Calllster then offered a resolution that It be tho sense of the commlttco that no franchlso should be granted for more than fifty years from date. The rcsolu tlon was unanimously adopted. On tbo motion of Mr. Eldredgo the meeting do. clarcd that the city should reserve the right to string wires on tho poles of tho company. The chairman and . secrntarv of hc committee were Instructed to notify tho' Council of the action taken at tho meet, ing. |