St. Paul daily globe., 1893-02-07
The WIRE PROBLEM
Crawford Livingstone Holly
Opposed the New Conduit
Ordinance,
Claiming It's Enforcement
Would Drive Companies a
Out Of Business. =
81
A Compromise Ordinance for
the West Side Railroad Ii
Scheme, .
By Which Other Companies
May Use the Track ON p
the Levee. b.

uo c0llI1ilClee On Slr6etS from III g
assembly wreStled with the UNDER
ground wire ordinance and the ordi-
nance granting the Fifth Ward Transfer
company right of way on the West
side levee at the meeting last night.
President Livingstone, of the st. Paul
Gas company, spoke at length on the
ordinance. To put the wires under
ground in the district set apart in the
ordinance, he said, would be driving the
companies out of business. Speaking
for the three larger companies, he
claimed the cost would be in the neigh
borhood of $500, 600 each. 1t mad cost at
present the Edison company 100000 to
cover one-half the territory described
in the ordinan ce. The other two COM
panies would be put to great expense,
and all their present lines and
poles would be a total loss. The
advantages of the companies would
not be increased at all by the wires
being underground, and the expense
placing wires underground, he said,
<
manufactured by the press. The pas
sage and enforcement of the ordinance
in its present terms would force some
of the companies out of business and
increase the cost of lighting to consum-
erS. The gas company, he argued.
would not be SO badly off, for what
contracts they would lose by reason of
higher prices charged for electric lights
would be paid back by the increase in
the burning of gas. To put the wires
all underground i'll 1898 was, he
said, an lmposslbility. For one reason
the money to make the improvement
could not be raised, at least by the COM
pany he represented. He objected to
parts OF sections 2, and of the pro-
posed ordinance providing for the ac
ceptance of the ordinance within six
months Of the passage, the removal of
poles and wires before Jan. l, 1894, and
the keeping in repair OF the pavementS
over the conduits. No city in the coun-
try, he claimed, required all the wires
to be put under ground in one year. If
the nine companies now doing business
should commence work this year the re-
suit would be that the business district
would be impossible. The ordinance,
he claimed, was absurd, for the reason
could put conduitS on one street. 1t
would be much better, he thought,
to have the ordinance changed so as 10
require 1000 feet of wire to be put in
during 1898, and 1000 feet in each of the
two years following; the remaining,
wires i'll the district to be put in during
1896. In New York six years were
given for the wires to be buried; but.
even in that city the wires were not put
in as fast as it was supposed. The Sec
ton Of the ordinance requiring 3 per
cent of the gross receipts to be paid
into the city treasury was -oul of the
question. Ii this section passed. he
said, it would be much better to have
the companies turn over the receipts
and the city give them the taxes An
other provision to which he objected
was the one requiring one of the COM
panieS to put all the city wires in the
conduit. This was unfair and should be
stricken out. The ordinance had BEEN
drawn, he imagined. based on the idea
of conduit company having exclusive
charge of all wires. The conduit bust
ness was, he claimed, in its infancy, and
each company claimed they had the
only one which was of any use. The
truth of the matter was that not one
foot of the conduits now in use would be
used in ten years, but all would be re-
placed by new ones.
Assemblyman Lightner said the ordi-
nance had been drawn looking to the
best interests of the city, and was
good one. If any section was unreason-
able it couId be changed Or eliminated.
The section requiring 8 per cent tax
on gross earnings he considered unWiSe
and should be stricken out. What was
wanted was TO get the wires under
ground. He was of the opinion that
two or three companies could use the
same conduit. Mr.. Livingstone said
this would be impossible, as low and
high tension wires could not be put in
the same conduit. After. some discus
sion the ordinance was referred to the
subcommittee, consisting of Messrs.
Lightner and johnson. City Engineer
Rundlett and the corporation attorney
to revise.
A West Side Compromise.
The Fifth Ward Transfer company
ordinance was brought up by Attorney
NJ. D.. Mum presenting substitute
ordinance. By this the original ordi-
nance was changed so as to provide for
other companies using the right of way
to be granted to the company. The first
company IS to pay half of the entire
cost of construction for the use of the
track. The second company is to pay
third of the cost, which sum is to be
divided between the original company
and the first one. The third company
is to pay a fourth of the
amount to be divided between
the original company and the first and
second ones. All other companies using
the track are to pay Oae-fourth of the
cost of construction to the city of st.
Paul. Assemblyman Doran thought
an adjustment would be reached, and
suggested a reference to a subcommit-
tee, with Lightner as chairman, so that
the ordinance could be put through the
council. Mr.. Mum agreed to this, but
said it ought to be attended to at once.
Mr.. Doran said his suggestion was not
to delay matters, but rather to hurry the
ordinance along. The chair designated
Messrs. Lightner. Doran and Van Slyke,
as the committee, and they were in
structed to report. if possible, before
the meeting of the assembly Thursday
night. 81
A Manufacturing Building. 81
C. W.Horr had a plan showing the
proposed building to be erected on the
West side levee. opposite the union
depot, for manufacturing purposes.
Mr.. Horr wanted an ordinance passed
giving the company not yet organized
go feet of the levee for fifty years.
When this was granted the COM
pany would erect building
$50 by 100 feet, four stories high, to cost
about 100000. The building would be
rented out to light manufacturing firms
and heat and power furnished. The
city attorney said the lease could not be
for more than twenty-three years, and
the city engineer hardly thought
building of the dimensions mentioned
could be erected at the point described.
The matter was referred to committee
consisting of Mr.. Doran, the city en-
gineer and city attorney.
thinner Is Missing.
The police were notified yesterday
that George thinner, who was last seen
on Saturday, was missing. thinner was
engaged in purchasing hogs and had
considerable money in his possession.
He started out in the country and was
to have been back to bis boarding place
Sunday morning. Not showing up his