The evening times., 1899-03-04
SETTLEMENT Of
THB DISTRICT BILL
The Cost of Electric Lighting
Materially Lessened.
The Board of Children's Guardians
Well Cared For.
Great Reduction in the Additional
Police Force Asked for by
Major Sylvester.

Electric light rates in the District will
be 10 cents per month per incandeseent
light of 1000 watts, and s72 per arc light
per year. The present rates are 10 cents
and $91.25.
After a long, hard fight, in which the
Senate insisted on giving the electric COM
panieS the right to freely extend and en-
large their conduits throughout the city,
without any corresponding regulation of
their rates, and the House insisted on re-
ducing the monthly rates to cents for
incandescent lights and Sc for arc lights,
and taxing the companies per cent of
their gross receipts, the above compromise
was reached.
The House on Thursday instructed its
conferees to insist on the reduction. Last
night these reported several times that the
Senate would not even discuss the mat
ter on this basis. Twice the House renew
ed its instructions. The third time, by a
narrow majority, the instructions were re-
scinded and the conferees left free to make
the best terms they could.
An agreement was reached on Thursday
on most of the items of the District ap
preparation bill, the only important ones
not decided being in regard to the electric
companies, to the increase of the rolice
force, and TO certain sectarian charities in
the District
agreement the House gave il the instruc
tions mentioned in regard TO the electric
subways, but left il free TO act on the other
items.
The compromise finally reached fixed the
police increase at one sergeant and twen-
ty-fye privates, and struck out the pro-
vision for the charities.
Mr. Grout of the House conferees made
his final report to the House about s clock
this morning after an all night contest with
the Senate conferees.
Mr.. Henderson OF Iowa objected that the
bill left the orphans of the District unpro-
vided for. He hope that the House would
vote down the conference report and would
send the bill back to conference with in
structions to concur in the Senate PROPOSE
tion.
Mr.. Grout explained that the orphans
were not left unprovided for, as the Board
of Children's Guardians was responsible
for them, and was able TO care for them
quite as well if not better than the insti-
tutions that had charge of them. All of
the institutions were sectarian and the
rules of the Appropriations Committee for
bade appropriations to sectarian purposes.
Mr.. Henderson said that he had never
heard of sectarianism in connection with
orphan children. The District had no or
phan asylum of its own and took this
method OF paying money to these institu-
tions. Now Mr.. Grout had strained the
construction of the Committee on Rules
to force the Senate TO abandon its desire 10
care for these orphans.
He was not Catholic, he wore no relig
ious shackles. But he remembered how
the Catholic sisters had cared for his army
comrades suffering from smallpox and he
had sworn then 10 stand by them. The
Catholics, he said, were not half so danger
Gus TO the country as were those fellows
who went about in the night 10 force Con-
| gress to abandon its duty.
Mr.. Babcock here discovered that some
thing else was wrong in the report. The
| electric amendment, as agreed 10, he said,
provided for 900 candle power arc lights
instead of 1900, and hence increased the
rates per candle power instead of decreas-
| ing them.
| Mr. Grout explained that there was not
| single 1000 power arc light in the city;
all were 1000 power lights, and all former
payments had been made for that power.
Mr.. Fitzgerald called attention TO the
| fact that Mr.. Bingham, one of the House
conferees on the bill, had been absent and
that the report had been reached by Mr..
| Grouts casting two votes.
| The question was then put and the con-
| ference report was adopted As TO "a.