Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1899-04-15
MORE GAS TRUST VILLAIIY.
Not Content with Stealing $4,000
Of the Peoples Hard Earned
Tax Money,
The Infamous Gas Trust Schemes to Leave
the City Treasury Without
a Dollar.
1t Would Permit the Firemen, Policemen
and School Teachers to
Go Unpaid
In Order that 1ts Rapacity for Coin Could
Be Fully and Instantly
Satisfied
The Aldermen, to Their Credit Be It Said,
Refused to Be Bull
dozed.

The new city attorney should enforce |
the following resolution passed by the
City Council:
Resolved. That the City Attorney
be and he Is hereby directed to IN
stitute proceedings to test the constitu.
tionality Of the act Of the Legislature
permitting the consolidating Of gas
companies, and also annul the net Of
consolidation Of the Consumers Gas
Company, the Peoples Gas Light and
Coke Company aud the Equitable Gas
Company. for the reason that these
companies In consolidating under the
name Of the Peoples Gas Company
have violated the express conditions
against consolidation contained in the
ordinances granting them the privilege
to operate In the city Of Chicago.
~eA
Commenting upon this most neces.
sary action by the City Council. the
CHICAGO RECORD OF SATURDAY,
NAY IL. 1898. SAID:
aid. Bigane was not elected rs
reformer. Nevertheless he offered In
the Council Monday evening set Of
resolutions that may be made to work
for the relief Of Chicago from the grasp
Of the lighting corporations. Probably
some Of the aldermen were taken by
surprise or they would not have allow.
ed the resolutions to get past the stage
where they could be used for sandbag.
ging purposes. But the resolutions
were adopted, ana now need only the
signature Of the Mayor to make them
effective.
1.-THE resolutions call attention to the
benefits Of municipal ownership Of tho
city water works and suggest possible
benefits to come from municipal owner.
ship Of the lighting service. They EN-.
power the Mayor to appoint commit
tee Of nine TO investigate and report
upon the experience Of other cities with
municipal ownership Of lighting plants
and to agitate for State legislation that
will enable the municipality to furnish
light to its citizens. AS Mayor Harrl.
son Is known to be In favor Of the ex.
tension Of the functions Of the munic.
ipality In the direction Of larger de-
gree Of public ownership 1t Is to he
presumed he will sign the resolutions,
unless he finds some serious objection
TO their form. BY doing so, and by up.
pointing first.class committee to car
~ out the purpose Of the resolutions,
he will do much to prepare the way for
a proper solution Of the lighting prob
lem In Chicago.
1.-THE LIGHTING COMPANIES OF CHI
CAoO, ESPECIALLY THE GAS COMPANIES,
HAVE TREATED THE PUBLIC MOST
sHAMEFULLy. THEY SECURED FRAN.
CHIsEs UPON THE EMPRESS STIPULATION
THAT THEY WOULD NOT COMBINE, But
WOULD COMPETE WITH ONE ANOTHER.
THEY PROCEEDED, HOWEVER, To FORM
a TRUST IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW.
AND THEN, TO AVOID EMBARRAssMENT,
HAD THE LEGISLATURE PASS AN ACT
LEGALIZING THEIR STATUS. MORE THAN
THAT, THEY HAD THE LEGISLATURE
PASS ANOTHER ACT MAKING ANY FUR
TIER COMPETITION WITH THEM PRAC-
TIcALLy IMPOSSIBLE. JUST BEFORE
THESE LAWS WENT INTO EFFECT AN
OFFER WAS MADE DY RESPONSIBLE PER
soss TO FURNISH LIGHT UPON rERMs
MUCH MORE FAVORABLE TO CONSUMERS
AND THE CITY THAN THE TRUST MAIN
TAIN. THE AGENTS OF THE TRUST PRE-
VENTED THE PASSAGE OF THE oRDI-
NANCE.
Evidently the only relief from the
situation is in extending the functions
OF the municipality. The city has
municipal electric lighting plant, which
the Mayor and Council, very wisely,
have taken steps TO enlarge. Upon Sc
curing the proper authority from the
Legislature the city plant could be stll
further enlarged and used In furnish
ing light TO private consumers, just as
q the city furnishes water TO citizens. In
the course OF time the city might very
Well 90 further and take over the eX'
listing lighting plants and thus control
the entire lighting service of the city.
~ move 10 secure from the Legisla-
ture authority for municipalities 10
furnish light 10 private consumers
would meet with hearty cooperation
from the smaller cities Of the State.
Many OF them have electric lighting
plants for furnishing public light. They
could just as well as not furnish light
10 their citizens, and frequently have
sought from the Legislature the pr!vi-
lege of so doing, but without success,
In several neighbOrlng States cities
having municipal plants are allowed to
sell light. The cities OF Illinois, espe-
cially the smaller ones, should be given
this same privilege, IL Mayor Harrison