The morning times., 1896-12-26
EQUITY COURT TO DECIDE
United States Electric Light
Company Answers Potomac.
CASE is ALSO In CONGRESS
Merits Of the Long Controversy to
Be Heard Before Judges Cox
or Hagner-Old Bill to Grant
Denied Rights to BE Revived-Sen-
ate Resolutions May End Matter.

The United States Electric Light Com
pany has filed its replication to the answer
of the Potomac Electric Power Company,
which .answer was made to a bill in
equity filed by the former company seek
ing to protect its rights as they have been
construed by Congress and by Justice
Bingham.
This latest phase of the case took place
on Thursday and is an entirely indie
pendent proce eding from ttiose before
Judge Cole and the court of appeals.
1t is expected that the suit will be tried
before Judge Cox or Judge Hagner as it
is a case in equity.
The matter recently before Judge Cole
was whether he should grant restrain
ing order against the Commissioners to
prevent them from signing permits al
lowing the Potomac Company to proceed
with the construction OF subways east nf
Rock Creek Judge Cole held that such
an order should not be granted and the
court of appeals simply declined to inter
fere with the decision OF Judge Cole.
Rushing the Subways.
The Potomac Company is now taking
the chances OF having the equity court
decide in it's favor, and, as stated, in rush
ing the construction OF subways east of
Rock Creek The suit of the United States
Electric Company will settle the question
as TO the rights OF the Potomac Company
this side, in fact on both sides, of Rock
Creek, and should the decision be ayerSe
to the latter, permanent Injunction will
be issued against its operations.
The questions at issue appear to be whether
there is any law for the operations of this
company in the District, and whether,
If the recent resolution of Congress con
filming it west of Rock Greek could posi-
bly, be construed by the Commissioners
as giving it the right to come east OF that
boundary.
One of the Commissioners, the attorney
for the Commissioners, and the assistant
attorney, were agreed that the Potomac
Company had no such right, and the
question OF right still remains unsettled,
although Judge Cole, by his decision,
left the Commissioners in position to
construe the law for themselves.
The fact that it was sought TO pre- vent
them from issuing permits TO come east Of
Rock Creek was a sufficient evidence
to the court that if the restraining order
was hot granted they would have inter
preted the law TO mean exactly the re-
verse OF what il i S on its face.
AS to Overhead Wires.
II Will be recalled in connection with
this litigation that the Comm ssioncrs
construed the absolute prohibition against
overhead wires in the District TO mean
that permits could lawfully be Issued to
the Potomac Company, and such permits
were actually granted and would have
been realized on had not the chief justice
of the supreme court of the District sum
marily stopped the proceeding.
The Commissioners did not appeal from
that decision, but went to Congress, where
they failed at the last session to get their
company recognized, except TO have It
confined west of Rock Greek. It was
stated yesterday that in view OF the fairly
To be presumed decision in favor Of the
electric light company in the equity court,
an effort will be made early in January
to reintroduce some of the old bills in
favor of the Potomac Company.
The present difficulty, however. is that
the merits of the case are already known
to Congress, which has practically pa sSed
on them to the disadvantage of the Com
misSioners' bills.
The last utteranCeS in the Senate on the
ging up OF some skeletons of transactions
referring to electric light schemes Just as
soon as Congress reConvcnes.