The morning times., 1896-07-30
POTOMAC COMPANY UPSET
Adverse Report Upon Claim to
Street Lighting Contract.
ATTORNEY THOMAS VIEWS
GEORGETOWN CORPORATION Has No sys-
tenn TO Extend-No Rights East of
Rock Creek-Congress Omitted an
Important Proviso, Which Changed
the Current of Events.


S. T. Thomas, attorney for the Dis
trict, yesterday afternoon delivered to the
Commissioners his opinion Of the mat
ter In controversy between the United
States Electric Lighting Company and the
Potomac Electric Light and Power Com
pany, over the contract for street lighting,
taking the ground that as the latter Com
paiiy has no system in the city OF Washing
ton cast of Rock Creek which may be
extended, its bid to furnish electric arc
lights in that territory should not be enter
tanned.
This is substantially the opinion held by
Mr. Thomas when he met the Commission
ers in q conference a week or two ago,
but which he withheld for the COR.
sideration of additional data then placed
in his hands.
The matter was originally placed In the
attorneys hands, with a report from Capt.
Burr, assistant engineer commissioner, to
the effect that the Potomac Company's
bid was reasonable, and his recommends
ton that contract be awarded 1t for
electric arc lamps east of Rock Greek
as may be reached by such underground
connections as the Commissioners may
deem they are authorized, under existing
legislation, to permit.
At the same time the attorney was fur
nished with a copy of the letter ad-
dressed to the Commissioners by Presi-
dent Thomas, ofthe United States Electric
Lighting Company, protesting against the
acceptance of the Potomac proposal, and
declining to bid.
COUNSEL had BRIEFS.
Briefs of counsel for both companies
were submitted, from which Mr.. Thomas
makes quotations. He says the conten-
ton OF the United States Company is that
the words, "neces sary extensions OF
such service" as found N the appropriation
bill, imply that If the Commissioners pro-
vide for additional arc lights its plant
may be extended in order to furnish them.
Counsel for the Potomac Company Insists,
on the other hand, that those words refer
to additional electric arc lighting not
only in those streets not lighted" but in
other streets in which there are no such
lights, and that the Commissioners are free
to let the work OF supplying the additional
lights to the 10 west bidder.
Whether the Commissioners have the right
to award a contractto the Potomac Company
under the contention, Mr.. Thomas says,
depends upon the question whether the
company is authorized, in the present Con-
dition of legislation on the subject of cleo
tric wires, to extend its system east OF
Rock Greek, and then takes up the matter
In its several phases and exhausts several
pages of type written manuscript to prove
tnat the Potomac Company is not euttled.
b He refers to the fact, heretofore often
r1fn In, fhA a oil fh.,f fhx
Potomac Electric Power Company has no
underground system in Washington east
of Rock Creek, and no overhead system
east OF Rock Creek except in lexington,
whereas -tbe United States Company has
both an-oEerhead aud underground system
In that territory and the question was
narro wed down to a decision between the
company which had and the company which
had not system to extend.
ACTION OF CONGRESS.
Congress, the attorney said, saw fit to
confine the Potomac Company in its
operations to the territory west of Rock
Greek, and within the fire limits Of the
District, and here that company is left.
/ The omission from the bill OF the prOviso
that 1.-The entire service of electric light
ing authorized under this appropriation
/ shall be let after due advertisement, to the
loves Irresponsible bidder the attorney
says, upset any claim the Potomac Company
might have to extend.
"If this proviso had been retained"
Mr.. Thomas says, there would be no
doubt Of the right of the Commissioners to
permit the lowest bidder for electric arc
lighting, whoever-it might be, to open
the streets and put down the wires neces-
sary to supply the additional service pro-
vided for
This proviso, or its equivalent, he re-
garded as necessary to change existing
law for il company be permitted to do
public lighting upon the contention OF the
Potomac Company, then the Commissioners
may permit any electric light company to
construct an underground system. This
proposition involes the use of the streets
by a private corpora ton, or, indeed, by
private individuals, for public purposes, and
upon this point the attorney says: 1T
is a general proposition, beyond dispute,
that the streets cannot be used for the
purpose Of railway, water, gas, telephone,
telegraph, or electric lights, without au-
thority Of Congress-
The attorney is unable to perceive any
difference in principle between lighting
the streets with electricity and lighting
them with gas, and then asks:
ASKS A QUESTION.
Gould it be successfully contended that
the authority annually given the Commits
sioners to contract for gas lighting would
authorize them, either expressly or by
necessary implication, to permit the laying
of gas mains by other companies than those
already authorized by Congress to lay
such mains, in case of competition, in
which the existing companies would be
underbid?"
The result of the filing of this opinion,
II accepted by the Commissioners, will
e to raise a question whether or not the
board can award contract at all. There
was but one bid presented at the appointed
time, and that bid was challenged, and
SO also were the proceedings under which
the bids were solicited. The attorney has
upheld the objections made by the United
states Company, and. although he did not
pass upon the other point, it is neverthe-
less fair inference that his decision, II
ratified, will have the effect to declare
the irregularity of the solicitation of bids
1t is believed, however, that there is
H,nt ho tc ho