The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-02-19


string wires or not agitated the city
end of the joint building yesterday,
from half past lunch hour until late
bed time and when the hour for re-
firing came. it was no nearer settle
ment than before.
Discussion began in the office of the
board Of public works, where Chair
man Doremus, City Engineer Young,
and Associate City Attorney Van Horn
Srappled the problem, and came out
second best, and ended with motion
to adjourn, by Councilman Hardy, in
committee of the whole.
It's knotty question; any one can
perceive that at a glance. It's eonsid-
GRAFTON last night by ten of the city
solonS demonstrated, too, that it is tri-
angular in nature; there are three
sides to it. First, there is the Citizens
company's side; then the side repre-
scented by the Salt Lake and Ogden
Gas and Electric Light company, and
the Rock Mountain Bell Telephone
company's side, and from the argu-
ments advanced, each side wants the
inside.
There was nothing dry or prosy
about the debate last night, if the
talk INDUCED in can be dignified by
that title. On the contrary. When
any one introduced anything of sta
| tistical nature; anything relative to
ohms, volts or amperes, liability to
shocks or similar topics, some one
was sure to change the subject and in
troduce a matter of greater interest.
E. B. Critchlow, attorney for the
Citizens company, furnished most of
the amusement by crossing the sword
argument with George Y. Wallace, Of
the Telephone company, while Mana
ger Hayward of the Electric Light
company. assisted in varying the mon
otony of the proceedings. When the
smoke of the vocal battle had cleared
away, and the cOmbatants had hied
themselves homeward, President Nc
Cornick took up the case and fur
niShed some more entertainment.
Apparently the new company has a
hard row to hoe. The telephone peo-
pie claim all that portion Of the air
lying and being above the wires, by
virtue of vested rights" while the
Salt Lake and Ogden company claims
to own all that part and portDbn of
the atmosphere situated beneath their
wires and wants the new crowd to
go below the surface of mother earth;
or in other words, run its wires in an
underground conduit.
At the committee meeting last night,
in response to a request, Chairman
Doremus said that the position of the
various companies was apparently
this: the Citizens company wants the
ordinance changed and the present
limit Of Is 20 % feet changed
to q to 35, in order that its
wires can be erected over the lines of
the present company. While the
latter protests that If this is
done, the danger will be
50 great that public safety will be
menaced: the telephone company
claims vested rights and wants this
work done by the city engineer, and
there you are-everybody pulling in a
different direction.
Conversation put on its sprint
ing shoes and lowered the record
when Mr.. Wallace claimed vested
rights to the air above the lines of the
telephone company and said that ar
rangements had been completed by
which his corporation could string one
hundred more wires, Mr.. CritchloW Of
the Citizens company, claiming that he
had examined all the laws and found
nothing which would confirm the tele-
phone company in it's statements. Ac-
cording to the arguments advanced by
the Rocky Mountain corporation, all it
had to do was make a picture of q
hundred wires on pole and claim
vested rights 20 the air and the breezes
thereof.
Mr.. Wallace evidently was nettled at
Mr.. Critchlow's remarks for he adj
! monished him to talk sonse,>' a sug-
gestion which he quietly ignored and
continued to argue in favor of chang
ing the ordinance and increasing the
limit of height.
! When Mr.. Wallace came to the bat
I he lined out a single to right field by
| asserting that his company claimed all
! that part Of the ambient ozone up to
/ the tops of their poles. All they had
| to do was to add cross arms and string
more wires.
| Manager Dave Murray, of the teIe-
! phone company, began a scientific dis
sertation on insulation, which was
never completed, Mr.. Hayward, Of the
Salt Lake g. Ogden company, coming in
/ with a lengthy boquet of suggestions
as to danger in allowing another COM
pany to set above them.
Poles, wires, cross arms, insulation,
voltage, candle power and the father
| Of electricity only knows what, were
| being discussed by Mr.. Hayward in a
manner quite refreshing to the COM
! nittee, who are all experts, when
| o. Meara, with that inQuisitoPial faculty
for which he is so justly celebrated. in
CURED what he proposed to do with
| the new company.
IT don't know, you know, unless they
| go underground.
Subsequent proceedings were lost for
| five minutes in a confusion of tongues
not unlike the famous Lyceum club
which constructed the tower Of Babel
| When matters finally righted them
selves Mr.. ClaWson volunteered a
happy suggestion that the city ac-
quire title to all poles, reduce the
number and rent them to the various
| companies.
This idea wasn't greeted with rap
| turous applause on the part Of the
electric men. On the contrary. even
President Mccormick drew a long
/ breath
Finally the interested parties with
drew, leaving the councilmen at the
mercy of the reporters.
/ Then it was that President Nc
| Cornick shed the cardigan jacket OF
silence and put on the two ounce
| gloves of stern assertion.
\ Calling OMeara to the chair the
president of Salt Lake city's municipal
! Legislature transfxed him with his eagle
eye and proceeded to inform the as
sembled statesmen that the Citizens
company's franchise was league with
! trickery and a covenant with duplicity
It was scaly job from start to finish in