Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-05-21
THAT GAS CASE.
THE RESTRAINING ORDER
CONTINUED
Until Monday Morning at $50 O'clock
at Which Time the Court VIII Hear
the Attorneys of Agree
ment Among the ATTORNEYS on IN
Order to be Issued by the Court.

This morning at ii o'clock the case
of the Natural Gas company against
the city of Richmond came up for
hearing before Judge Fox. in the mat
ter of an Injunction to take the place
of the temporary restraining order
that was issued some days ago. The
attorneys had not had sufficient time
in which to prepare decree on which
they might agree, and by consent of
the attorneys of both sides of the case,
the restraining order was continued
until Monday, by which tine they will
have gotten together and agreed on
something in the way of q court order
that will be satisfactory all around.
1t developed in the course of the dis
cussion in court that there was no dis
agreement in the law of the matter ),
but that it all hinged upon the inter-
probation of the order previously is
sued by the court. The attorney for.
the city admits that the city has NO
right to bring suit for anyone besides
itself, except for some ono
else in connection with itself
as plaintiff; and the attorneys
for the gas company, alleg
ing what the other attorneys admit,
also admit in their turn that the city
has right to bring suit when itself il
the plaintiff or one Of the plaintiffs.
So there is no point of law between
them, and the only difference il that
~
by the court eDjoins the city
only from bringing suit for an
other person, while the city attorney
seems to hold that the injunction seeks
to prevent the city from bringing suit
on its own behalf. By Monday the
attorneys will have got together and
will have decided upon a decree of the
courts, and it is more than probable
that the restraining order, with the
possible amendment of having the
statement with regard to the city's
rights given more explicitly, will be
continued.
Two affidavits have been filed by
| City Attorney Lindemuth; one by the
city officers, stating that they would
not spend any city money for any
other than lawful purpose, and the
| other by the councilmen, saying that
they had not intended to pay out any
money only for lawful purpose. This
latter affidavit not all the councilmen
would sign, as not all were included in
the surreptitious plan to pass the reso
luton and could not vouch for the
motives of those who were at the bot
tom of the matter.
The attorneys for the gas company
claim. this point being covered also in
the restraining order of the court, that
the city has no right to take part in any
case-not only In which it is not plain
tiff or one of the plaintiffs, but also
that it has no right to take part in any
suit in which its interests are not jeop
ardized.
In signing away their intention t.
appropriate money to fight on the par
: of individuals the councilmen deny tn,
very action that it was thought they in
tended, and that they received credi
from a local paper that took up tn
matter of the later phases of the ga
case. The meaning of that action
not now entirely clear and needs eS
D plantation. The question as to whethe
. the city would stand any show what
ever in a suit to declare the s and
q cent gas rate, that it is now require
to pay, unreasonable, is the one ths
. council now has to face before spenC
ing any more money or making an
!, appropriations along that line.
Y THE SITUATION.
d On Tuesday. at the instance of tt
e city finance committee, the city alto
;. ney went to Indianapolis to eonsu
with Addison c. Harris on the subie
# of the natural gas company's decisie
e not to charge the city more than ma
d ufaeturers' rates for its gas. III
t finance committee was of the opinit
k the action of the company in not raj
g ing the price of the eity's ga
II would have some material bes
ing on the case. When Mr.. Lind
Is muth returned he stated that son
new authorities had been found IN I
case and that he and Mr.. Harris wou
take soma time to look up the autho
ties aforesaid and then consider I
matter in its new light, shed on it
the action of the company and the
authorities. Mr.. Lindemuth stat
that the information gained made I
eose take and entirely different tul
m and that some time would be requir
as to consider it.