The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-04-25
Protest of Organized Labor Representatives
Against the Unseemly Haste Proves
to Be Useless
Company Organized and Filed Its In.
corporation Papers at 4:30 P. II.
And by 1:30 A. nj. 1t Had the Franchise-Citp
liens Company Putting in an Electric
Line on Virginia Avenue.


FRANCHISE Is GRANTED.
street-Car Question Settled. 90 Far ~ sho
City Can Do 1t
At the hour when churchyard yawn and
graves give mp their dead the City Council.
last midnight. held one of the most nem-
orsble meetings in Its history. by ita
action the City Railway Company now
holds the franchise to tie streets for thirty
years. The company incorporated yes-
terdAy afternoon. Ct 430 O'clock,
at $50 O'Clock. the contract was aligned by
its representatives and the Board of Pubs
ho Works in session behind closed doors as
about 7:SO O'Clock, an ordinance approving
it was introduced in the Council IN special
session at go o'clock. aud thst ordinances
psesed the Council at l.so o'clock thi8
morning.
Tue people who supposed the pu',lio dis
cussion of the franchise question had mss
begun will wake MP this morning 10 learn
that il has been settled. so far as 10 iiea
within the power of the city to do 90. and
they have no further voice in it
The reasons gwen for "railrosdincr
through so hastily q franchise that would
be as good next week as IL was last night
are vague and ill-defned. The city officials
claim to have made no effort to control the
action of the Council in any way. and each
member Of the Council asked about 10 last
night said that he favored that method
because he found others wanted to fnish
it up."
Representatives of the Central Labor
Union, representing the organized labor OF
the city heard of the midnight meeting.
gathered their forces together. entered .
strong protest. pleaded for delay and ex.
hibited the pledges of thirteen members
that they would vote for s-oent fares. bus
1t was no use; the franchise passed.
Two or three members protested against
the Council transacting such importsnt
business "at the hour when buralsrs do
their work." as they termed it, but the
franchise passed. 1t was on al sides adj
mitted that the franchise was far ahead oe
the old one. and the only plea was against
this unseemly and suspicious haste. bu6
the plea was futile. The thing had been
settled beforehand, and the councilmen
knew their business
Interest now oenters in the personnel Of
the company. One-balf the capital 10 fur
nished by Messrs. Dieterich. Proal. Bens-
dict and their associates in the East.
One-half Is furnished by local capital
lists. OF this local million two-thirds
is furnished by John p. Frenzel,
John w. Murphy. Thomas Tsggsrt
August Kiefer. Frederick Fahnley. DIR.
J. NJ. Kitchen. Henry Wetzel.
George A. Dickson, and possibly one or two
more. The other one-third Is taken By two
very substantial capitalists. who are still
in the back ground. =
The franchise granted dates from to-day.
while it is admitted on all sides that
the Citizens company owns the right 70
use the streets ct least until next
January, and il is generally believed that
it owns that night until 1901. AS soon as
thesnew company begins work. the Citizen'
will probably epioin il.