Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-03-22
A NEW TELEPHONE FRANCHISE
The City Council Spends a Long Ses-
sion in Discussing Its Va
riOus Clauses.
No Action Taken but a General I'm
derstanding Reached Regard
ing Its Terms.

The city council met last night in ad-
journed session to take action on the
report of the ordinance committee,
which was left over as unfinished bust
meas from Monday nights meeting.
The committee presented an ordinance
repeating ordinance No. 120, which pro-
vides for the transfer of cash from the
water fund to the general fund and
from the library fund to the street fund.
This action was taken on account Of the
advice of the city attorney and Messrs.
Shores and Veazey, who we're employed
by the city when they were enjoined
from making the transfer contemplated
by the ordinance. Alderman Sullivan
voted no on the motion to repeal and the
other aldermen voted aye, so the ordin-
ance was repealed.
The ordinance submitted by Ira
Myers, granting a now telephone fran
chise to himself and assigns, was then
reported, together with another one cov-
ering the same object, prepared by the
city attorney and the ordinance COM
mittee, but differing in several respects.
The council went into the committee Of
the whole to consider the two ordin-
ances, and they were read section by
section and the differences discussed
as they were reached. The
first variation occurred when the
term of the franchise was
read, the Myers ordinance read twenty
years and the new ordinance twelve
years. A very lengthy argument ensued
over this. Alderman Joscelyn insisted
that twelve years was quite long enough
and urged that by that time some other
company would perhaps be willing to
come in and again reduce the rates
charged but would be deferred if two
, companies were already operating under
franchises which had yet a long term Of
years to run. Most of the other alder
men saw no objection to a term of
twenty years as long as the council could
at any time grant a new franchise to any
company proposing lower rates. A vote
being taken to obtain the sense of the
%conncil showed a majority in favor of al
lowing the term to be twenty years.
The Myers ordinance provided for a
rate of $50 per year for business houses
and 1924 a year for private houses within
1 a mile of the central Office, $50 for the
1 first year aud s24 for each year there
after for houses more than a mile from
> the central office. The other ordinance
@ made the radius two miles instead Of
Q one, inside of which the S24 rate was tt
I prevail. 1t was the sense Of the com
mittee that the provisions of the Myers
8 ordinance should be allowed to stand.
although Aid. Joscelyn tried to compro
mise on one and a half miles.
The new ordinance contained a pro
, vision that the city should have the use
= of six telephones free, and Attorney
y Cooper, for Mr.. Myers, accepted thi'
- without debate.
: Another provision of the new ordin
! ance calling for a forfeit of $1,000 in cas-
- work was not commenced on tn
. plant by Aug. l and completed and il
) operation by Dec. 81 was objected to b!
Mr.. Cooper as unjust and of no binding
, force in law, but the council by a unani
nous vote refused to recede from this
: requirement.
= The question of the location of thu
L poles was another difference that wa
settled by an agreement that the,
should be placed under the direction o
the city engineer, and removed at tn
expense Of the company when the in
terests of the city requires a change il
their location.
& A provision of the new ordinance
which made telephone rents payabl
= quarterly at the end of each quarter
v was stricken out as being a matter o
business in which the council had NJ
j. interest.
@ Alderman Williams asked to have in
serted a clause holding the city harmless
. from damage caused by construction
g and operation of the line, and Attorne,
9 Cooper agreed.
v The discussion on all these separat
points took up a good deal of time, and
as the hour was quite late when tn
committee of the whole rose, it was de
cided to have the ordinance amended i
accordance with the views expressed b
@ the majority of the committee and pre-
a scented at another meeting for tina
g action.
a The council then adjourned.