Middletown transcript., 1893-02-11
VorE for Electric Lights.


-e---
: acquire land for any purpose connected
with the lighting said town, and such lard
cannot be acquired by agreement with the
owner or owners thereof and the said CON-
missioners, the same may be taken for the
purpose aforesaid, in the name OF the said
town, in the same manner and subject to
the same condition and proceedings as are
now prescribed by law in relation to the
said town of Middletown for condemning
and taking land for the purpose OF laying
out. opening, extending or widening any
street, road, square, lane, or alley IN said
/ town.
Section A. That the town commissioners
shall have authority to draw. from time to
time upon the fund aforesaid, sufficient to
meet the cost of such electric works, or gas
works with their veappurtenances,
and the said commissioners and the treas
urer shall each keep detailed account of
the expenditures for the purpose
aforesaid. and the commissioners
shall, at the expiration of three
months from the beginning of
such expenditures, and again. when the
said works shall be fully completed, pub
lish such account in the newspapers
printed fn -Mfddietown.
/ Section s. That the said commissioners
shall have power and authority, under this
act, to purchase any electric plant and ap-
purtances already established, at a sum or
price not exceeding ten thosand dollars,
and make payment for the same from the
| fund aforesaid.
Section s. That the commissioners
aforesaid shall have authority to employ
proper persons to operate said works SO
erected or purchased, and shall fix their
compensation by ordinance, and in like
manner shall fix the rent, or rents, which
users of the lights or consumers of gas
shall pay, and shall have all the powers to
collect such rents as they now have to col
lect water rents.
QUALIFICATION OF VOTERS.
Section T. That for the preceding pro-
visions of this act shall go into effect it
shall be the duty of the said town commits
sioners to call town meeting, upon one
months notice, and at such meeting the
borrowing of the said sum of ten thou
sand dollars, as aforesaid, shall be approved
by majority of the votes cast thereat;
every resident of said town, who shall
have paid town tax for the year in which
such meeting is held, or tor the preceding
year, shall have the right to cast one vote
for every dollar and every fractional part |
of a dollar of town tax aforesaid by him |
or her paid
The electric light question has been
the all-absorbing topic for several |
weeks, and the shutting down of the
plant thus leaving our town in total
darkness has awakened our citizens to
the fact that they have lost something.
And they have. For several nights,
when the weather was gloomy, and
the atmosphere so thick and murky
that one could almost cut it with
cheese knife, it was unsafe to venture
out after sundown. We knew not
what danger might be lurking in the
darkness as we slowly felt our way
along the unlighted thorougfares, run
ming into trees and fences, yor stumb-
ling into some pool of water.
This was in a sense reInedied few
nights ago by the introduction of
about two dozen oil lamps, but their
sickening glimmer cast but a very lit
tie light beyond their immediate po-
sitions.
To the housewife especially, has the
shutting down of the plant been a
dire distress The everready coal oil
lamp has to be substituted for the
lights with which so
many of our homes are lighted.
They will hail with delight on Tues
day next the news that our citizens
have decided in favor of electric lights.
Middletown was one of the first
towns on the Peninsula to adopt the
electric system Of lighting, and we do
not propose to have it said that she
shall be the first to degenerate and go
back to the old system of oil lamps.
Unier present existing circum-
stances we cannot invite manufactur-
ers and capitalists s to invest any money
in our town as we do not furnish them
any protection nor Offer them any in
1ucements to do so. They would not
to have their taxes and insur-
ance doubled on account of being
obliged to use oil to light up with.
The duty of every tax payer and
property owner in Middetown is plain,
The property owner should have no
hesitancy in making up his mind as
10 what lie should do. He wants
his property to enhance in value,
not deter.orate, and as surely as
he votes against incr easing our indebt-
ness Q acquire an electric so surely he
sands in his own light and votes
against his own best interests. A town
that does not possess sufficient back
bone and public spirit to invest $10,-
600 in an elec ric light plant which
all annual inc me Of 1000
and more year over and above its ex
penses, should not boast of its progress
iveuess.
Electric lights are an actual necessity
aud every true citizen should come out
and vote for them.
Vote and work for electric lights.
A Weeks Sleep.
Oracle Thomas, a colored woman
living IN Waehinutop straah noyor |