The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-05-07
THE TAXATION OF POLES.
Mr.. Wallace Says 1t Would Close
the Telephone Exchange.
VIEWS OF THE POLE PEOPLE.
They Predict Direful Consequences
from Such Tax.
An Electric Light Omcial Says 1t Would
Cost Them ST., 800 Per Annum and
Restrict Their Operations
Their Side of The Case.

The ordinance introduced in the council
on Friday night providing for tax on
telephone. electric light and telegraph
poles, is as yet in an embryonic shape, the
amount of the tax proposed not being
stated. The idea of the councilman who
is responsible for it's introduction, how
ever, is that tax of So per annum shall
be levied on all such poles for the use OF
the streets. The matter he's been talked
of for some time, but the officers of the
companies which will be affected did not
believe that such an ordinance would be
introduced, and they were considerably
"worked up' on hearing that the meas
ure was before the council.
AN ELECTRIC LIGHT VIEW.
A HERALD man called upon James
Moffatt, the secretary of the Electric
Light & Gas company, yesterday, to as
certain his views on the subject, and MIR.
Moffatt said: sour total taxes last year
amounted to about S6 900, and the idea of
adding q pole tax of $5is simply ridicu-
lous. We have in the city about $500
poles, and tax of s. q year on each
would mean S17,500, in addition to our
regular taxes. In great many cases, we
are obliged to erect two blocks of poles in
order to put in one arc light, which
would mean that we must pay 500 year
to put in that one light. We have to run
all over the city. Our system is not a
compact one, and hence, in order to do
business, these poles are widely scattered,
We are planning now to extend the SER
vice TO the various suburban districts,
/ Waterloo, Perkins addition, Lincoln
Park and others. The revenue from such
extensions will, of course, be light for q
long time, and the tax on the poles would
render such extensions impracticable.
Considering the size of the city and the
population, any tax on the poles would be
unjust and unreasonable. 1t seems to me
that it would be just as sensible to tax a
man for each tree on his sidewalk as to
put tax on these poles. The effect of it
would be to restrict our operation to the
business portion of the city, but at the
same time, | feel confident that the council
will not impose any tax on our poles.
WOULD CLOSE THE EXCHANGE.
George Y. Wallace, president of the
Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone company,
was next seen. He said: ssOur company
has about !, 300 poles in the city, and a
tax of IS on each would amount to Sc, 500.
| OF course it would DE unreasonable to
impose any tax whatever on poles in a
city like Salt Lake, because the area
| WHICH HAS u D0 COtGT6u ~ dlI OuL VI pro-
portion with the patronage. In great
city like St. Louis, OF course, it is differ
ent. We have to extend our poles long
distances to put in q single instrument,
and | am frank to say that a tax of So on
each would simply shut up the exchange.
The telephone company has always done
whatever the city has required of it, and
our tax last year amounted to five per
cent. upon our value, and in addition we
gave the city $500 worth of service, which
is pretty good royalty upon our bust
ness. Our occupancy of the streets is,
l believe, in the nature of contract be-
tween the city and the company, and a
contract cannot easily be violated on one
side without the consent of the other
party. In my opinion, a tax on poles in
the city would be held to be unreason
able and unjust. and therefore void.
think the finances of the city are well adj
minlstered, and it may be that more
revenue is necessary to carry the improve
ments on. The way to raise it is by gen
eral taxation, and not by an unfair
special tax against certain companies. -