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Show aliens will protest i AGAINST ANY GME IN : THE BIG m F DBNOfiSE City Attorney Ogden Hlles has prepared pre-pared an opinion which he will deliver to the City Council . tonight on the proposed change in the gas franchise of Messrs. Snow and Dart. The City Attorney holds that the franchise cannot can-not be changed without invalidating the bond which the company has given to the city. Judge Hlles will suggest that before the proposed amendment is passed the sureties on the bond be required to file a written acceptance of the amended ordinance and a waiver of any right they might have to escape es-cape the liability owing to. the amending amend-ing of the ordinance. Allen T. Sanford, who has taken an active interest in the gas question of Salt Lake, has been doing some figuring figur-ing on the subject for the promoters as well as for the people. Mr. Sanford said this morning that the promoters had evidently looked the situation over carefully before making their bid for a franchise, and it seemed to him rather late for them to come in and ask for an Increase in price to the consumers. "Their arreement was to furnish gas at a stipulated price for fifty years. Now, after receiving the desired permission per-mission to operate on their own terms, they come in and ask the City Council to Increase the price of their commodity commod-ity over 13 per cent. True, they offer to put In forty miles of gas mains in two years. Instead of four years, as required re-quired by their franchise, but as the mains are to be planted anyway, there is no concession whatever in this on the part of Messrs. Snow and Darst, It is possible they would need to install in-stall the mains, anyway, and certain it Is If they do not have mains they cannot can-not supply gas, and the more mains they have the more gas they can sell and the bigger Income receive. 80 that in making this offer they are offering to be better to themselves than to the people, and are simply anticipating a work they must do in order to extend their business. The expenditure would eventually come back to them with increased in-creased interest anyhow. "Now, as to the difference the proposed pro-posed change would make. The gas people acknowledge that on the smallest small-est computation they expect to have an income of not less than $300,000 per year. On this basis the Increase asked for would amount-to $40,000 a year. But in view of the rapid growth of Salt Lake as shown by bank clearings and poetoffice receipts, will it not be reasonable to assume that at this time they will be in receipt of not less than $500,000 a year? And in the course of a few years they will have an income of not less than a million, which would make the increase asked for. amount to better than $125,000 a year, all out of the pockets of the people. And for this the gas people offer to expend for themselves about $70,000 for two miles of gas mains which they would be compelled com-pelled to haVe the use of before they could deliver their product to the residents. resi-dents. Gas main costs approximately 65 cents a foot made and laid, $3500 a mile, $70,000 for twenty miles. The twenty miles must be laid in four years anyhow, and if the company does as well as it expects to it will lay the mains inside of the two years. I understand that they expect to use gas in the heating of homes by water systems, sys-tems, and If this is true it Is a foregone fore-gone conclusion the company in less than twenty years will be enjoying an Immense income even without the people giving them this extra 13 per cent." It is announced that a citizens' meeting meet-ing has been arranged for tonight in the Council chamber to discuss the matter pro and con, and the public generally Is invited to attend. Attorney Attor-ney Sanford promises to be on hand with an array of facts as to cost of laying mains, etc |