The Portland daily press., 1898-10-14
Gardner Reporter-Journal.)
LIGHT WANTED ON LIGHTING.


To the Editor Of the Press:
There's dollar and cents sayings mat
ter in the air.
Yes, more than that; It's matter con-
cerning the comfort, convenience and
safety of every man. woman and little
one in our splendid city; and it's in the
hands OF the board of mayor and alder
men.
1t is concerning the lightingssof our
streets, parks, homes, places of business
and places Of amusement; lighting them
sufficiently and lighting them at as small
expense as may be.
Stripped of all the smoothness Of argu
ment by interested parties; cleared of all
the dust thrown to the windward by talk
ing partizans, the question is simply
this:
Shall the company now. .onIthe ground,
the company that has had every advan-
tage given 1t to give good lighting SER
vice, and at reasonable compensation,
and which has persistently nullif1ed those
advantages, and given poor service, dim,
unsatisfactory lights and at unreasonably
high rate Of compensation? Shall this
company continue to have the monopoly
of lighting the city with no promise of
improving Its service or reducing rate
charges?
Or may another company, one which
has better facilities for doing the work at
much less expense have chance given
it to compete with the monopolys
If this was simply war between two
rival companies to decide which one
should capture good fat job, no one
would kick or meddle, but everybody
would hope that the best might win.
But this isn't that kind Of war. It is a
battle upon the issues of which hinges
the question whether great and greedy
monopoly shall go on monopolizing the
peoples rights, comforts and safety, or
the people get the thing they pay for and
should have.
Tbs Consolidated Electric Light COM
pany is composed of estimable gentlemen.
honest men. good citizens. But as a cor
poration 1t fails to do the work expected
of it; it glaringly fails to do the lighting
of Portland as other cities are lighted,
and charges an exhorbitant price for that
falling. And now here comes another
company having in plain sight infinitely
better facilities for doing good service;
facilities which cost it not greatly more
than half as much as those of the first
named company. And all the new CON-
pany asks is a chance to compete honest-
" and fairly on the same ground and
terms with the old company. What If
q firm of merchants contemplated esta b.
fishing a large store in Portland; firm
having peculiar opportunities to buy
goods and could give the people better
merchandise and at lower rates than the
local merchants do? What If the city faith
ers refused to permit the new firm to To-
cate here and SO prevented the citizens
taking advantage Of the promised bene-
ats9 Those city fathers would become city
foundlings after the next municipal eles-
tiOn.
the people OF Portland, the merchants,
the mechanics, the workers, the clerks,
the women, the professional people; every
body, save only such as are directly or
indirectiy interested in the profits cf the
Consolidated Electric Light company,
want the new enterprise to have a chance
to give them what they, the people, de-
serve. better lighting service.
This company claims, and its claim
seems reasonable, that 1t can give us
BETTER light and at much less cost than
the old one. Give it chance to benefit
us. for remem5 Der, ''Compstition is the
peoples salvation on the expense ac-
count.
Anti Monopoly.