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Show THAT CONSPIRACY TO ROB. The News tells of "the misinformation" that can be "worked up" to create a "popular excitement" excite-ment" against "corporate power," and then proceeds pro-ceeds to fill a column with statements which it would be charity to limit to the term misinformation. misinforma-tion. It assumes to give a history of the facts which led up to the demand for an almost century franchise fran-chise on the part of the Utah Light & Railway company. com-pany. The only trouble is the great portion of the statement is untrue. It was not known to 1 Mayor Morris, nor Hon. Franklin Richards when they went about town to solicit approval of the then proposed bond proposition. The News says that the Light & Railway company received a cash offer of $100,000 for the old Deseret Paper Mill power right If such an offer was made, it is but fair to conclude that the offer was but to further fur-ther the graft and was made knowing it would not be accepted. Who made the offer? Had it been by any responsible man or firm, would not the News hasten to publish the name? Had it been known to the people that $100,000 was to be paid in money or Us equivalent for that lapsed right, would tho nonds havo been voted? But assuming tho title to be good, what was tho company selling the city? Merely the relinquishment relin-quishment of tho right to run water over a certain Point. It had no right to tho water Itself. That is owned by the farmers down tho valley. It is absolutely certain that tho company for years held that right as valueless, for it went to no trouble or expense to keep its title good. But the whole argument of the News is simply sim-ply to befuddle the people and give a justification to tho Council for robbing tho city. The company com-pany has already sold bonds on its present franchise fran-chise to the amount of quite $1,500,000 more than it has any property to show for. What wo mean is that either of a dozen responsible firms would for tho money received on the bonds to date, duplicate all the property that the company has, and would have left $1,300,000 in gold. That means that the owners are not out a cent for their Property, and that in addition to owning it, ex-Pact ex-Pact to compel the people of this city to pay inter-Qst, inter-Qst, and principal on quite $1,500,000 beside, which has already been diverted, to cause the pockets f the individual stockholders to swell. There is, too, a half secret which may in this connection be explained. The company bought out the Rapid Transit company and consolidated it with the old company. Then its agents went to New York to negotiate the salo of more bonds, the security company to which it applied set its lawyer to work, and he found in the Constitution of Utah a clause which makes all such consolidations consolida-tions illegal and reported that their bonds were worthless. To try to cure that, the new century franchise is sought for. This demand for the extended ex-tended franchise is made In the hope that it will cover the consolidation and make further bond sales possible, and thus add to the burden the city is already carrying, and to enrich the stockholders stockhold-ers of this devil-fish corporation. If for this fair service was being given at fair rates, the Imposition Imposi-tion would not be so monstrous and palpable, but no such thing is contemplated. It is true that had the city held on to its light and power rights and had mortgaged Itself to build its own light plant and to put on its own street car service, those two factors would now be supplying the people with a cheap and effective service, and would in five years more obtain from that source money enough to pay the current expenses of the city. When the present franchise expires, It is absolutely abso-lutely certain that there will be a thousand men or Arms that will be glad to pay full value for the plants and to contract to give to the city 5 per cent of the gross proceeds from both plants. The trouble has all come from the interference and rule of the chief officers of the Mormon church and from the belief that tho City Council would subserve sub-serve their purposes for the future. This Is made clear every time Councilman Fernstrom opens his mouth in tho Council. The iniquity should be fought to a finish, and if tho Council finally votes to extend the franchise for any time, then the courts should be Invoked, a direct conspiracy to rob the city be charged, and the proof supplied to make the charge true. |