The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-04-15
THE BIG TELEPHONE FIGHT
SKIRMISH OF COUNSEL BEFORE
 THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE.

At the Hearing Last Night on the HIass-
 achusetts Co,npany's Petition to tho 1 Common CounoiI-Attempt to Post- pone the Hearing, Until After Legisla- 1 tive Action, Failed.
 A hearing on the petition of the Mass
 achusetts Telephone and Telegraph company and the New York and Boston Telephone company for permission to
 erect lines and poles and for the desig-
 nation of streets in which underground
 conduits must be laid was advertised to
 have been held by the committee on or
 dinances at it's meeting held last night.
 Aside from remarks by counsel for the
 petitioning company and for the Soutl1-
 ern New England Telephone company,
 which opposes the granting of the petit
 tion, no hearing on the matter was held.
 however, and the committee decided to
 postpone the hearing proper to next Fri-
 day evening.
 Attorney John w. filling appeared
 last night for the Southern New Eng
 land Telephone company and asked
 that the committee postpone the hearing
 on the petition until the petition of the
 Massachusetts company for Connecti- cut charter was disposed of by the gen.
 eral assembly. Attorney s. Harrison
 Wagner appeared for the petitioning company and said that the company was coming anyway whether it got per-
 mission from the general assembly or not. He said that the new company proposed to have dirt flying here per- haps before the legislature gets through with it's petition. He said: We don't. need to have the permission of the leg 1slature to open this line. It is not nec- essary to be a Connecticut corporation to run telephone lines in this state This company is organized and operating in now. If we get charter in Connecticut, we may ultimately use it, but we shall establish a telephone company here whether or not we get charter from Connecticut We are ready to try this case at any time but am willing that the hearing should be postponed to next week, however, if MT. Alling so desires. We are prepared to go ahead and want to and insist in go- ing ahead to get this telephone exchange
 in operation this summer. We don't want to lay conduits when there is frost
 in the ground"
 MT. filling thought that it was absurd that this group of capitalists with charter in New Jersey and one in Mas sachusetts should ask the Southern New England Telephone company to oe here next week and at the same time irying the case in Hartford. It can't oe that great vested capital interests Ire at the mercy of people in this wa y.ss This board ought not to pass on this in l hurry"
 Councilman Slade of the committee lsked MT. Alling as to his opinion of he claim that the new company could 10 business in this state whether or not secured charter here. MT. Alling eplied that he would contest that claim. Ar. Wagner said that if the new cor1- amy had to wait because legislation vas pending in Hartford, the city of 1ew Haven could not get cheap tele- 'hones for year. And" said he, that is what MT. filling is contending or They don't believe that we are in arnest. You give us chance and we will show you whether we are in earn st or not"
 The committee retired for few mo- nents and on its return Chairman )eWell announced that it had been de- 1ded to assign a hearing on the peti- ion for next Friday night Mr. filling rotested strongly against that. saying hat he could not be present on that ight. He referred in an uncompli- 1entary way to some of the officers of he new company and said that the ompany was composed of five men nth capital of s10,Ooo. He said that hey wanted to bring on war of rates. nd that he believed that it was spec lative scheme. He said: Gan the entlemen ask us to try this case here nd at Hartford too, at the same time? lere are interests at stake, so far as ne Southern New England Telephone ompany is concerned, of the greatest nportance. I can't get the case to- ether to try it next Friday night"
 MT. Wagner in reply to this said: The facts are these-that this is nall company, but it has strong off, ITS. We have got the money and we i'll try to find the brains. We can buy lem if we haven't got them. Rival lephony is coming, and they have got } meet it: they can't dodge it. MT. Hing in his remarks said that the new 'mpany wanted to tear up the streets Id in response to this MT Wagner said at if it was desired the new company ould put up Trust company bond
 cover any disturbing of the streets, ne committee again retired and after ing out few minutes returned and lairman Dewell stated that the con- ittee had decided that the hearing
 ght to go on next Friday evening.