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Show THE FRANCHISE ORDINANCE. The franchise ordinanco that uo'mos from the America u members of iho City Council seems to us lo bo one of great merit, t is not in the least grasping, nor is it; all oppressive ' ou Ihg street railway company. First of all, it restores to the city, to use as it will, iho water right arising aris-ing in the fall from the discharge of i lie Big Cottonwood conduit to the reservoir res-ervoir at the mouth of Parley's enn-yon. enn-yon. This is a right that never should have been surrendered, as it'was distinctly dis-tinctly pledged to the taxpayers in the official address urging the voting of the water bonds, that the water power right would be a valuable one lo the city, of which it could make profitable use. Mayor Morris repeatedly said that he would never surrender the city's j right to use it, but. he finally did make I the surrender. The' now ordinance re ' cairns that right for lite city, and this j is proper from every point of view. The ordinance validates the franchise fran-chise of 1005, which was attacked in the Jfomer suit. On the passage of this ordinance, this sail will drop. It is an enormous advantage lo Ijio company com-pany to have this settled. That Mr. Harrimau considers his only purchase of value here .lo be that franchise, is evident from the fact thai he is throwing throw-ing away the old track and equipment ' and putting in new. And' surely il j was time this were dom for the old had had its day, and was worn out. The company also gets the use of such streets as are needed to complete its trackage system and-put its ''dead ends" of track lo more complete use. For these concessions, which arc of the highest value, the company is to bo required to do certain flushing of paved streets that are named. This flushing would, it is true, save the city a good deal of money; and yet it would cost the company but a trifle comparatively compara-tively to do it. And with proper equipment; equip-ment; nol cither hard or costly to provide, pro-vide, the company could probably obtain ob-tain flushing ami sprinkling contracts with the city on other streets, to the "mutual advantage of both, and the approval ap-proval of the public. Tho iulerurbau railroad provisions of the Council ordinance are also fair, and while somewhat different from those in the ordinanco submitted by the company, com-pany, Ihcrc is nothing' in the difference to cause a crisis on the part of the company. It can well afford lo waive its points of contention in consideration of the tremendous benefits it receives in the validation of its franchise and lite dismissal of the Homer suit. Altogether, we believe that the- consensus con-sensus of opinion must be, that tho Council has in offering this ordinanco gone a good way in the direction of an amicable settlement, and lias done tho fair and generous thing by the company. |