The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-07-13
INDIANAPOLIS AND HER TELEPHONES.


ing the telephone company the right to main
tain poles and wires in the streets of this city,
for which purpose a special meeting of the
Council is called tonight, would prove great
mistake. The city may have, as is claimed,
legal right to repeal the ordinances, and to put
the street commissioners men to work with
axes to chop down and destroy in single day
telephone poles and wires which have cost
many thousands of dollars. But if such a
destruction Of private property takes place in
this city, under the direction Of the City
Council and Board of Aldermen, it will
brighten away from this city for score Of
years foreign capital which might otherwise
seek investment here. To publish to the
world the fact that Indianapolis, after having
by her ordinances invited and secured the in
vestment of large amount of capital by the
telephone company in this city, has, by au
thority of her City Council, absolutely de-
stroyed that property, is startling way to
bring about development of manufactures or
the growth of the city. For such an extraor
binary proceeding the soundest rea-
sons should exist, which is by no
means the case. A controversy has
aisen between the telephone company
and some of its patrons, amounting to few
hu ndred of our citizens, as to the proper con-
struction of the law passed by the Legislature
making it criminal offense to collect more
than three dollars per month as rental for the
telephone The company claims that the
word telephone means the telephone instrll
me MT simply, and cannot include poles, wires
or the services Of the operators at the ex
change. The citizens committee hold that
the word telephone" does include ali these
things
This law is not in force and will not be for
month or six weeks. The telephone com
pany, therefore, has not violated this law, and
it is not claimed to have violated any other.
When the threedolar law takes effect every
time an agent Of the telephone company col
lects more than three dollars per month for
the telephone he can be arrested and fined ten
dollars He can appeal his case to the Su
preme Court, where the proper construction
of the law will be finally decided upon, and
the decision Of the Supreme Court in con-
STRUNG law of this State is final. The
movement headed by the citizens commit
tee, composed of Messrs Murphy, Hol-
man, Ayrcs Hawkins and Sullivan is
avowedly an attempt to enforce the threedol
lar law That the courts are amply able to en-
force this law, backed as they are with the
authority to impose fines is unquestionable.
From the moment the law goes into effect the
company cannot for moment do business
without complying with the law, as construed
by the Supreme Court The effect, therefore,
of the action above indicated by the City
Council, instead of assisting to enforce the
law will simply drive the telephone company
| out Of the city and give Indianapolis the most
disreputable advertisement it has ever had.
The notion of enforcing laws outside of the
courts is wrong and vicious in the last degree.
1t is an effort to overturn law instead of to
support it. 1t is only a short time since
mob in Cincinnati destroyed the court house
by fire, upon the very principle that the courts
were inadequate to enforce law. Every time
q mob takes man from jail and hangs him it
is upon the same theory. 1t makes little diff
ference whether disorganized mob or the
City Council itself, acting on the idea that the
courts are unable to enforce the laws, destroy
the $50, 900 worth of property of the telephone
company in Indianapolis. In either case it is
communism, the spoilation of private property
and the overturning of the law.
There is not the slightest shadow of danger
that the telephone company can do bust
ness in this city and violate the law The
proposed action of the Council would be
wrong, gross wrong and an outrage upon
those citizens who, from necessity or prefer
ence, have retained their telephones, and
desire to use them during the tendency of
the legal proceedings to construe the law. It
would result, no matter which way the law is
interpreted by the Supreme Court, in Indian
apolis having no telephones. 1t will advertise
Indianapolis to the world as hostile to inven-
tons; it will declare to capitalists that
investments here have no security; that the
courts themselves have no power to protect
property or to enforce law, and that
capital invested here is at the mercy Of
popular tumult We repeat that the move.
ment headed by the citizens committee is
avowedly mot one of dollars and cents,
but for the enforcement of the law"