St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1888-12-06
ELECTRIC LIGHTS ON THE wANE.
An Injunction Served on the Village to
Stay Proceedings.

An Injunction Served on the Village to
| Stay Proceedings.
A new and important phase of the
electric light problem developed yes
terday when Judge Jonathan Ross
served an injunction on the village en-
joining the trustees from doing any
thing towards carrying the contract
with the Thomson Houston electric
company for lighting the village into
execution, or from making any pay
ments or incurring any expenses under
or by virtue of said contract. Judge
Ross states that he is acting for him
self as a taxpayer and in the interests
of taxpayers; that he believes the trus-
tees were not authorized to make such
a contract as they have closed with the
ThomsOn-HoustOn company that they
(the trustees) could not and did not
act disinterestedly for the village that
the contract is null and void, etc.
That clear understanding may be
had concerning this injunction, which
can hardly fail to create interest, the
substance of the bill, emitting legal
phrases, is herewith given together
with the vote of the village under
which the trustees have acted.
The Injunction.
To the court of chancery to be hold
en- at st. Johnsbury in June, 1899,
comes Jonathan Ross and complains
against the village of ST. Johnsbury
and Thomson Houston electric compa-
ny, and says that he is IL tax payer
that the village trustees are Il. G.
Fletcher, 1. H. Frost, G. A. Calder
wood, o. p. Bennett and A. L. Bragg
that June 9 the village passed this vote:
"The voters of the village of st.
JOhnsbury in village meeting assem-
bled for the purpose, hereby authorize
and empower the trustees OF the vii
lage of st. JOhnsbury to enter into and
close a contract for and in behalf of the
village of st. JOhnsbury upon such
terms and for such time and with such
person, persons, company or corpora
tion as in their Judgment is most for
the advantage and interest of the viii
lage, for the purpose of lighting the
streets of the village with electricity,
and they are authorized and empower
ed to expend sum of money not eN-
ceeding $1,000 per annum for that pur
pOse."
Orator AYERS that the plain import of
said vote is and was understood by the
voters to be that the trustees, if they
entered into any contract, were to Sc
cure the reasonably full lighting of all
the village streets for $1,000; that said
sum was meant to be and is limita-
| tba Of hn fr,1o 70
eXpend for that purpose that trustees
have no right to eXpend any part of it
without securing the reasonably full
and fair lighting of all the streets that
otherwise the motion could not have
received a majority of the votes, and
that $1,000 is about twice as much as
the village had been paying for lights.
Further, the trustees, protesting to
act for the village, signing not the
name of the village but their own
names as trustees, have contracted
with ThomsOnH Houston company to
pay $1,000 for 30 arc lights, each NOM
inally of 1000 candle power, for three
years that the company agrees in ad-
dition to give the village IL additional
arc lights for the first year of 1889 and
after the first year to furnish such n
number above 20 as the village may
order at $40 per light, the additional
; l3 lights purporting to be gift by the
company to the village for the first
year.
Orator AYERS that 90 arc lights will
not fairly light the village; that the
pretended gift of the additional I3 was
to provide for carrying out the pur-
pose of the vote for the first year, the
trustees and company we'll knowing
that the 90 lights contracted for would
not fulfill the requirements of the viii
lage vote; further that from 81 to 40
lights will really be needed to fairly
accomplish that purpose. Orator
further AYERS that said 13 lights being
: furnished without compensation are
not legally required by the contract
and that the company is under no legal
obligation to furnish them ; that con-
tract is not within the limits of the
scope of the village vote; that trustees
had no authority from said vote or
otherwise to bind the village by said
ly bound thereby and the contract is
void.
Orator brings this bill in behalf of
: himself and all other taxpayers and
AYERS that if contract is not set aside
much trouble is likely to arise and
many suits to spring up in attempting
to assess and collect taxes to pay said
$500.
f Orator further AYERS that during the
present year T. G. Fletcher and l. III
Frost, with three others, bought wa
ter power privilege on the Passumpsic
: river, and since the passage of said
r village vote have been erecting dam
p across the river; that said parties en-
r ployed Trustee A. l.. Bragg to super
intend and manage in erection of the
t dam. Whether said Bragg had or has
any interest in the property beyond
I his employment, orator is not inform
ed, but believes and charges that said
Bragg became greatly interested in the
success of the enterprise and felt under
g particular obligations to Fletcher and
Frost to do all he could to make it a
success, and was not disinterested and
, impartial person in regard thereto.
Orator further AYERS that Fletcher
= Frost and others engaged in erecting
f the dam took steps to become incorpO-
rated under the name of the BelknaI
Water Power company and in publish
ed articles of association named as one
of the associates Trustee G. A. Calder
, wood whether all the necessary steps
= had been taken to make a complete
f corporation at the time of making said
contract, orator is not informed, but
believes and charges that CalderwOoG
was at the time of making said con
u tract interested in or expected to be-
r come Interested in said Belknan com.