The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-12-17
A FIGHT FOR FRANCHISES.
Col. c. K. Holiday Makes Vigorous
Attack
CH TIE PROPOSED NEW GAS COMPANY.

Saws That Gas Cant BE Furnished
Probably at One DOIIar-Mr. Nell
vrIed says 1t is Already BEING Done
in sixty American Cities.
The question of granting the Dollar
Gas company q franchise to erect plant
in Topeka furnished the only excitement
at the city council last night.
Col. c. Z. Holiday was present to resist
the action and he made a speech in
which he told the council that they were
wasting their time when they gave
company a franchise for dollar gas, IS it
was out of the question that any COM
pany could make good such a promise
He called the representative of the new
company "an adventurer," "a promoter
and "a curb-stone broker" and the air In
the council chamber was perturbed as
the colonel swung his arms right and
left, denouncing the projectors of the
scheme for the building of q new gas
plant.
when you grant this franchise" said
he, "you attack your own citizens Not
only the people interested in our plant,
but the gentlemen who own the electric
lighting plant, SUCH men as Mr.. Wilder,
Colonel johnson and other OF your best
you should be careful in what you do
and when this adventurer comes here
and asks for the kernel of the nut. for
the cream which has been developed by
our own citizens he should be sent out of
the city in hurry, and you gentlem en-
should do it.
81 got the first appropriation through
the legislature for the capitol and after
it had been built we thought that it
would not do to light the building with
Kerosene and SO we organized the gas
company to light it with gas. The prof
ect did not pay and the othor stockhoid-
ers came to MIR Lakin and me and COM
pelled US to take their stock. Some of
the men who did that are in this room
right now The works did not pay until
they were rebuilt in $780, and since then
they have been on fair paying basis"
1t is reported on good authority that
the net income of the gas works, after all
expenses were paid have been SO day,
$50 a day apiece to Messrs. Holiday, La
kin and Clark.
There has been spent for lighting
plants in this city 100000 and two OF
the plants have failed because they did
not pay and now you are asked to allow
another concern to come in here and
cripple the rest. 1 state it as positive
fact that Topeka is now getting lights at
an actual loss. The Edison company
does not make thing on the lights they
furnish and it it were not for the motors
the works would be run at loss
1--WE make nothing of OF our lights
and what money is made is on the sale of
coke and tar. You get your gas for moth
ing and we make our money out of the
sale of other things connected with the
manufacture of gas. Topeka is well
70 supplied with ligh ting plants and none
of them are making a great deal of
money, and why will you permit this adj
venturer, this curb stone broker to come
in here and cripple and defeat yonr own
citizens. / present this as a matter of
right and wrong. You have no right to
pass fracchise which will injure your
own citizens.
"Now 1 don't believe for an instant
that this man or any one else wants to
build dollar gas plant, if he does it is
with some one else's money. No man
would put his own money into such
thing, and you are wasting your time
when you listen to him. In town like
this where there are twenty five miles
of mains, it costs sixty five to seventy
cents to distribute the product, which
added to the cost of production makes
the cost considerably more than a dollar.
"When | sold our plant in New York
got a check for the whole amount and
/ said to the cashier that it was the
largest check l ever had He said why
that is nothing, l drew one for $13000,-
OO0 the other day. That is the kind of
people this new company will have to
fight and between the upper and neither
millstones every mans dollar put in will
be ground to powder. l tell you there
is no man in America who is fool enough
to put his money in this proposed plant.
The offer to pay a royalty when the
production reaches over 100, 100000 is an
insult to your intelligence, for our plant
only turns out 32.000.0e0 now, and it is
foolish to suppose that this new concern
will reach 10U,0U0,000 in less than eight
years"
BIr. McIlvried said 81 will not ATTEMPT
to answer the gentleman, but l will tell
you, and you can verify what l say, that
there are sixty cities in the United States
that now have dollar gas. There is
profit in dollar gas or we would not offer
10 build plant. and if you give US the
right kind of an ordinance we will build
dollar gas plant in Topeka"
A K. Rodgers said: 81 have an ordin-
ance there asking for a franchise which
would like to have read. We mean
business and our company is composed
of Topeka men, and I ask you to defer
action on this other franchise until you
can consider ours"
Councilman Bradford spoke at length
in favor of granting the dollar gas COM
pany franchise. He said that the duty
of the council to the people is to give
them cheap gas and to bring all the
enterprises possible to Topeka which
will in any way furnish work for the la
boring men and cheaper light and fuel
to the citizens of the city.
Councilman Burgess moved q post
ponement of action on the ordinance for
enc week because he had not had time to
consider ard the motion to postpone car
CESS, Drew, Elliott, Fulton, Roundtree,
skinner. No Bradford, Pattison,
Stevens, Stephenson.
Minor Mention.
The hida for hnrvinn dad nnirnala