Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-01-08
DENIED BY MAJOR POWELL
Statements Made at the Columbia Heights
Meeting.
The Engineer Commissioner Pays His
ResDects to the United States -
Electric Lighting Company.

Major Powell this morning said some plain
things about the U. s. Electric Lighting
Company. A reporter of The Star called the
MAJORS attention to the report of the meet
ing of the Columbia Heights Citizens AS
ISOLATION held last night, where the Com
missioners were sharply criticised for not
granting the U. s. Electric Lighting Com
pany permission to run an underground
conduit for furnishing Columbia Heights
with electric lights, but, as it was claimed
subsequently, giving the Potomac Light and
Power Company permission to enter the
same field with an overhead line.
Denied by Mai. Powell.
CHOSE statements are unqualifiedly
false" said the major. THE U. S. Electric
Lighting Company never applied for per-
NIT to build conduit. On November IA it
made application for pole line from
Wyoming avenue, Columbia road, to 14th
street, along 18th street to Park street, and
southwesterly on 14th street from Columbia
road to Florida avenue. 1 refused to recon-
mend the granting of the permit at the time
for the reason that 14th street had mar
row sidewalk, and it was not considered ex-
pedient to grant the permit At that time
consulted with Capt. Fiebeger, and then it
was conduit was suggested, but the U. s.
Electric people knew nothing of that. Up
on the original application of the U. S.
Electric Lighting Company Capt. Fiebeger
November 49, 1896.
Respectfully returned to engineer COM
missioner District of Columbia.
Recommend disapproval Of original appI-
cation. Recommend approval of substitute
shown on accompanying plat. full red lines
indicating conduits and dotted lines rep
resentiEg temporary pole lines which are to
be replaced by conduits whenever any of
the streets in which they are located are
paved
Upon this Endorsement I made the fol-
lowing recommendation to the board of
commissioners: That action on this appli-
cation be postponed until the result is
known Of the suit entered by this company
claiming that the Commissioners have no
authority to issue permits for the erection
Of poles or for laying conduits for electric
lighting purposes The date of this in
1895.
Nov, this continual Misrepresentation of
the facts is getting tiresome." continued
the major. "Our action regarding the per-
NIT granted to the Potomac Light and
Power Company to erect pole line in the
county was perfectly square and honest
That company originally wanted to occupy
14th street, but we said no, and the appli-
cation was changed and modified so that
it's pole line would skirt the principal SUBJ
divisions on the north"
But, major" interrupted The Star re-
porter, 1.-The United States Electric Light
it fairly in this matter. That you had no
right to grant the Potomac company's ap-
plication when 1t had an application for the
same thing pending and filed long in ad-
vance"
THAT makes me mad" replied the major
1.-THE United States Electric Company has
more and gets more consideration than it
deserves. 1t is a foreign corporation, a
squatter in the District, here by sufferance,
and not entitled to what it receives. Do
you know it does not pay one cent for its
use of the city streets, and yet it has the
rerve, the consummate gall,to go into court
and say it has the exclusive right to do
business in the city. Neither of these COM
panies Is anything to me, and I am not the
least bit scared by Misrepresentation. I
dent see why the Columbia Heights Citi-
zers' Association should be so much inter-
ested. If the original application of the
United States Electric Lighting Company
had bee granted, it would not have affect
ed the residents there, except along 14th
street"