The evening times., 1896-02-28
Should the District office Be investigated

Should the District Office Be investigated
For some time past there has growing impression
that affairs at the Commissioners office need nvest
eating and that the welfare Of the public being neg
lected promote the interests of individuals The ac
tvity of the Commissioners furtherng the streetex
tension bond bil their protection of the Division con-
neced with rumors concerning money collected from the
dsordery houses the unwse preference given to the
purchase of certain garbage ncinerating system and
practically worthless streetcar tenders, the granting OF
discriminating privileges favored street railway COM
panes the introduction Congress of omnibus meas
believed be the interests of the New York Con-
duit Company; the suppression of adverse criticism IN
the Washington press by the awarding of public adver
tisng at excessive prces the granting of permit to
erect poles and wires the alleged contingency OF
sale of Commissioner Truesdes electric plant and sum
dry other District deals which will be mentioned later
all these principal of this increasing dis
trust
The latest development in this chapter of suspicious
is the report that the Commissioners have
turned official iphop and have decided to recommend
the granting of franchise to the Potomac Light and
Power Company direct contradiction OF their argu-
ment favoring the omnibus bill and in opposition to the
they have established in positively refusing to
ndorse the applications of competing gas telephone and
electric companies for franchises the ground that it
detrimental to public interests. On November IS
1895 the Potomac Light and Power Company had hear
before the to advocate the granting OF
permit erect poles and wires for Lighting the Dis
trct. The following day the permit granted Short
after the Star published the information that Comms
sioner Truesdells lexington electric plant had been
transferred to the Potomac Company for consideration
and it reported at the time that the sale made
contingent to the granting of the permit. The permit
revoked however by order of the court and the Po
toma with to
business.
But the Commissioners in duty bound to pro-
tect the DEAL nasmuch Commissioner Truesdell had
sold his plant to the company and February %
House bill No 573S, to authorize the extension of the
lines of the Potomac Light and Power Company in
troduced in Congress- The bill provides that the Com
ssoners may grant permits to the company to lay ducts
in the streets for its wres those of the District
and to other authorized parties at yearly rental and
that it shall have continuous right to the ducts author
lied by the bill The bill also provides that the company
authorized to tear up all streets to lay these
conduits under stipulated conditions and contingencies
On the same day-February Shat the bill to grant
franchise to the Potomac company introduced in
Congress the Board of Commissioners forwarded Chair
Babcock of the House District Committee volumi
report in which they recommended that franchise
be granted the Columbia Telephone Company, which de-
nanded practically the rights to be accorded the
Potomac company. They also submitted substitute
bill for the several bills then before Congress for
thorty to establish gas telephone and electric lighting
plants in the District In recommending the substitute
bill the Commissioners argued that Congress had author
y to regulate the rates of gas telephone and electric
lighting service, and that it would be wiser to exercise
that power to protection against extortonate
than to have streets torn up and obstruced
through the laying of mains by competing companies
In the report the Commissioners also stated that the
substitute bill prohibited the laying of any additional
conduts in any street. road in the District
cept provided in the BILL and their recommendation to
grant franchise for that purpose to the Potomac Com
pany entirely separate act will look if the Trues
deal be consumated at the expense of official in
tegrity.
Inasmuch the Commissioners cannot be deposed
from authority except by order of the President they
have evidently become careless of public welfare are
looking after private interest An investigation into Dis