The morning times., 1896-05-19
MORE OF THEIR JUGGLERY
District Commissioners Have
Given Another Instance.
THE TELEPHONE PERMITS
Granted and Then Revoked an Order
for Poles In the Suburbs-The Rea-
son Given by Them and the Subter-
fuge Adopted, by Which the New
Company Was TO Benefit.

has been partly exposed, and will, it is be-
lieved, be fully exposed in the Senate.
There is strong evidence to show that the
Commissioners, in their efforts to favor
the Potomac Light and Power Company,
have actually used as n cats paw the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Com
pany.
The facts and allegations on which
this statement is made cropped out yes
terday in an examination of some OF the
devious permits, plans aud plottings Of the
triocracy within the past mouth.
There is possibly no one who is familiar
with the fact that Commissioner Truesdell
sold his lexington electric light plant to
Messrs. Crosby and Lieb, the presumptive
owners of the Potomac Light and Power
Company, but believes that this fact eX-
plains the iIcessant attempts made by the
Commissioner, even at the risk of acts
which have been declared to be illegal, to
grant unusual favors TO the purchasers of
that plant
The latest of the many devices of these
attorneys and godfathers of the Potomac
Company is a scheme to have Congress
legislate on an appropriation bill right
for the telephone company to erect poles
aud string wires on the Rockville pike to
connect certain Maryland suburbs with
the telephone plant in this city.
THREW IT WIDE OPEN.
Inasmuch as the telephone company
has the monopoly i'll the District this per-
mission to them would have been of no
possible to use to any other company, but
the Commissioners at once seized on the
opportunity TO change this special permit
TO general right to grant permits to
whomsoeyer they pleased to erect poles
and string wires outside of Boundary.
There is every reason to believe that this
trick Will be exposed in the Senate and
the whole scheme buried once and for all.
1t will be interesting, specially so, to
know how the telephone company, whiting
ly or unwittingly, became the victims Of
the ComklissionerS in their latest deal.
About year ago, the telephone company
desired 10 extend its lines to Kensington,
Garrett Park, aud Rockville, each of which
has a large number of residents who are
engaged in business in this city. The
poles were erected from Rockville TO the
District line, the arrangements had been
trail positions in the three towns named
and everything was in readiness for the
commencement of operations, when i was
discovered that the necessary connection
Between the Maryland line and the wires
"a the company within the District of
Columbia could not be made because there
were no poles along the Rockville pike
and the Commissioners declined 10 grant
permission for the erection OF such as would
be necessary.
The subsequent proceedings were eX-
planned to The Times as follows:
on the 25th OF April the Commissioners
did grant permit to tie Chesapeake and
Potomac Telephone Company te put up
those poles on the Rockville pike. The
Monday folio wing the linemenin the employ
of the Telephone Company began TO ex
anime the poles erected several months be-
fore in Maryland, preparatory to stringing
the wires upon them On the following day
the permit above described was res cinded.
When the authorities of the Chesapeake
and Potomac Telephone Company made in
quIries al to the cause of this remarkable
action, they were Informed that the Com
miSSouers believed they had exceeded their
prerog gatives in granting the permission and
thought taat it would be better to secure
specific authority for the purpose from
Congress.
telephone people that it would be a good
plan to have an amendment offered to the
District appropriation bill, giving the Com
missoners the authority to grant the Ches-
peake and Potomac Telephone Company
the right to erect certain poles on the
Rockville pike in the District of Columbia.
THE SWEEPING CHANGES.
This amendment was accordingly dra wn
up and offered in the District Committee
H. a.
customary course, referred IL to the Com
! missioners OF the District for their opinion.
When it was returned to the District Com
mittee its own father would not have recog-
| nized it. Instead OF specifying the author
| ity to grant the Cheasa peake and Potomac
| Telephone Company certain privileges, the
| amendment was changed toa sweeping pro-
vision comforting unlimited powers on the
| Commissioners to grant all sorts of per-
mits for the stringing ofoverhead wires a.. :
| the erection of poles outside Of Boundary
| street.
Stripped of its technical phraseology,
| the proposition provides, for the propo-
| sitiOn is still under consideration, that the
| Commissioners of the District of Column
| bia be authorized to grant permits for the
| erection of poles for the stringing of tele-
| graph wires and for other purposes, in the
| District of Columbia, outside of the city
| limits; and it provides still further that
| all permits heretofore granted in that Sec
ton of the District of Columbia for similar
| purposes, shall be ratified.
By this seemingly harmless amendment
the Commissioners Of the District
seek to override the wishes OF the
| public, and the plain decision of the
! District courts. and give to the pur-
| chasers of District Commissioner Truesdell'.
| unremunerative lexington electric ligh
| plant the right to erect poles and stretch
wires all through the beautiful and thickly
| populated sections of the city, where there
| is as yet no demand for electric lighting
| facilities, and where no corporation would
| want to stretch its wires, if it had to dc
pend upon the support. OF individual sub.
| scribers.
| SOME LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
There is nothing to show that the change
| from the single permit desired by the tele
/ phone company to a general right to grant
| permits by the Commissioners, is not theiI
own suggestion, although, of course, il
will not be opposed by the Potomac Light
and Power Company. It is the immediate
! company, which will be in line for con
tracts for lighting and other services with
| the Commissioners.
It is, perhaps, just as well to recall in
| this connection that, when the lexington
| plant was owned by Mr.. Truesdell, he and
| Major Powell frequently went before the
| Committee OF the House and argued for ap
| preparations for the electric lighting OF
lexington when there was no other wa.
| of using the money than for the benefit