The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-04
THE PLAIN" OBJECTIONS.

THE PLAIN" OBJECTIONS.
Why should the amendments not be madea Let any
man name sensible, sound practical objection to
them--Ihe Journal
Several sensible, sound, practical objections
have been named, and that repeatedly. The
Journal does not print them They
1.-THE people, know the objections; they know
why the amendment should not be made. To
do away with the meter clause is simply to
practically deprive the people of safeguard;
to force the consumer into taking fuel at a
companys estimate. To restrict the pipe
laying clause is to tie the hands of the people,
leaving them helpless to procure
letting these interests pipe the ''cream
of the city," which one formally declared
they are after, and save them from the less
profitable business. With this limited pipe
extension, they will be in position to go
free of any thing but ''the cream of the city"
The skim milk can heat itself with coal.
Having got this, they will say that uses up
all our gas; we can't be compelled to pipe
when we have no gas" So far as these COM
panies concerned, the proposed changes
mean a little part of the rich center of the
town burning gas and the remainder burning
coal.
We reprint the above from the News, omit
ting simply an indecent allusion which
is beneath that paper. But the extract
gives the Sensible sound, practical OBJ
jections" in full, as the anti-gas organ states
them. What are theyf AS to the meter
clause, it says to do away with meters is 9sto
force the people into taking fuel at a compa-
ny's estimate" Is this an honest objection,
or an objection honestly statedf A schedule
of prices is arranged under the ordinance
which absolutely protects the consumer. The
price of gas is fixed for the customer to a dol
lar, and the company has no option to alter
it in any respect. The people can 'forces
the company to supply gas at a specified price,
but the company cannot force" the people to
take gas by meter if it should so desire. The
change asked for is that where the consumer
prefers meter he shall contract to take by
meter during the period of one year. Nobody
is to be 'forced" to take by meter. The Cap
ital City company asks change that will
give the company the option to put in meter;
but that change should not be made. The
Journal has opposed that amend
ment, and will continue to OPP
pose it. AS to the pipe amendment, the
objection is that it will permit company to
come in and ''take the cream" leaving the
other parts of the city without gas until such
time as the company consents to the extern
sion. Leaving out of the question the ''plain,
sensible, practical answer to this, that the
business desire to sell gas will lead any COM
panY to extend its pipes just as fast as it can,
A. L.
lection has any force, it lies in the fact that
the Trust is a fraud, and does not expect to
do what it proposes. Now we press this ques-
ton home upon the representatives of
ton to supply the city with gasY
Have they an unlimited supply of gasa Are
they getting ready to contract for piping the
city according to the plan they have published,
of the citya Do they really expect to have
gas ready for sale within short time, and to
be able to supply the whole city, or any con-
siderable portion of it. within one year or two
ding -donged into the ears of the peopleR If
all these claims be true, then the objection
that the proposed amendments will leave any
considerable portion of the city without gas,
except as the private companies furnish it,
is absolutely false. Now, which is true9
Which horn of the dilema do the Trust repre-
sentatives propose to take? They have So
licited the city, and obtained 5000 contracts;
they have "gobbled the cream" under the
promise to be ready to furnish an unlimited sup
ply of gas within short time and the announce
ment that they are beginning to prepare to
contract for pipe" sufficient to practically sup
ply everybody. If this be true, then it can
make no earthly difference either to the Trust
or to the people how little pipe the private
companies lay, and how little gas they
furnish Indeed, the less pipe they lay, and
the less gas they supply, the more left for
the Trust to furnish according to its COM
prehensive plan. Is it not as plain as the
nose on a mans face that the only force the
objection against changing the pipe-extension
provision has, lies in the suggestion that the
Trust does not propose to do what it promisesf
If it does do as it says it will, what difference
can it makef Again we ask, does the Trust
propose to supply Indianapolis with gas, or is
its opposition to the change in the ordinance
to be accepted as proof that unless the private
companies be left subject to unlimited orders
for extension, the city will not be supplied at
ALI These are the ''plain, reasonable, practi-
cal objections" to the changes asked for in the
ordinance as formulated by the chosen repre-
sentative of the Trust, which is the only in
terest now in opposition. Next
WHEN Mr.. Darnali, of the Greencastle nail
works. was in the city looking after the ques-