The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-05
CITY FATHERS ASK TOO MUCH.
MADE DEMANDS WHICH NO OTHER
CITY BETWEEN HERE AND
NEW YORK DID.
ATTORNEY sHEEHAN AMUsEI
Conditions He Asked of the Conn
pany He Represents Enough to
Cause a Smile.

OlleI CLUES OIL the state luS duNdIt-
tages afforded by long distance tele-
phone system is a question that the
common council will soon be called
upon to decide. Over month ago
the American Telephone and Tele-
graph company submitted to the as
sembly an application for franchise
to establish and operate long dis
lance telephone system in this city.
Following it's usual custom, the assem-
bly, delayed action. The matter was
referred to the committee on streets,
and by that body referred to sub
committee consisting of Assemblymen
Albrecht, Dix and Clarke and the cor
poration attorney. This committee has
met but once and nothing further has
been done except that the corporation
attorney and the members of the COM
mittee have drafted an ordinance
granting a franchise. But that ordl-
nance is not by any means acceptable
to the American Telephone and Tele-
graph company.
When it was shown to T. D. Sheehan,
the attorney of the company, he
promptly informed the subcommittee
that the company would never accept
it until two sections had been elimi-
mated One was a section providing
for the free use of the long distance
telephone in the city offices and the
other prohibits the company from re-
bonding, or sreorganizing itself or sell
ing transferring or assigning any of
it's rights without the consent OF the
common council of ST. Paul
Il laughed when 1 read that last
provision" said Mr. Sheehan, yester-
day. The idea that a company that
has secured franchises for it's long
distance telephones in nearly every
city Of Importance east of the Mis-
souri, river, should be obliged, before
it could change its organization, issue
bonds, or assign any of its interests.
to ask the consent of the common
| council of the city of st. Paul.
Then that other section, giving the
city offices the free use of the long
distance service, the company could
not afford to accept. If any method
could be devised whereby the free Use
of the line could be absolutely restrict
ed to the legitimate purposes of the
city, then there would probably be
no objection, but in the absence OF
any way of preventing the abuse Of
such a privilege, the company will
not grant it. And why should it be
asked to make any greater concessions
to St Paul than other cities have de-
manded? The company has recently
secured a franchise in Minneapolis, as
we'll as other cities in Minnesota, and
in no case was it obliged to make any
such concessions as are asked for in
the proposed ordinance"
Mr. Sheehan said that he understood
that the matter would be revived be-
fore the assembly committee this
week.
The same company made its first
application for a franchise to this
council a year or more ago. Upon
that occasion certain members of the
assembly committee on streets de-
clared that they would not give the
application favorable considerations
unless the telephone company would
agree to pay the city $500 down for
the franchise. This the company flat
ly refused to do, no other city having
required it to pay for its franchise,
and there the matter rested, until re-
Gently.
A picture of darkey life in the good
old times will be presented at the
Grand Opera house, including an adj
dition to the regular Wednesday and
Saturday matinee. in a special mat
inee on Labor day. Sept. 6. 1t is a
play full of suggestiveness of those
plantation scenes familiar to those
who knew the South in slavery times.
The typical southern darkey with all
his eccentricities predominates in the
company, though the realistic portray
al of the white actors fairly hides their
identity. The play introduces cleverly
a number of scenes that are positively
lifelike, beginning with under a south
ern sky, which pictures the return of
an escaped slave, including many in
cidents of ante-bellum days, dancing
of every description and genuine old
darl1ey melodies. Another scene de-
| picts a darkey camp meeting, with all
the peculiar characters usually seen
there, and all the ceremony, singing
and amusing incidents that are known
to characterize such a gathering. Other
realistic scenes follow one upon an
other until the audience is fairly re-
freshed with its glimpse of old time
darkey life. and is finally treated to
a new-fangled cake walk. The COM
| pany is a very large one, containing
some fifty people, who travel in their
own palace car, and have as one of the
features a Pickaninny band of seven
teen little colored boys.
THE Hoosier Doctor" a new play
from the pen of Augustus Thomas, the
author of Alabama" with Digby Bell
in the title role, will follow South Be
fore the War" at the Grand.