The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1899-03-11

The new council organized Monday
evening and elected all of the city Of
ficers to be appointed by it, but as
sistant city clerk, the election of the
latter being postponed until next
Monday. The Evans telephone fran
chise was generally discussed.
Attorney William Harrison address,
ed the council in behalf of Mr.. Evans.
The latter's company is now in a posi-
ton to furnish free connection with
West Superior, Mr.. Harrison stated
it the franchise is granted at once,
having secured the franchise granted
the Peoples Telephone company in
Superior. The latter franchise pro-
vides that 200 subscribers must be OBJ
tanned by April 80, or it will expire,
and the Evans company can secure
the requisite number to keep the fran
chisc alive. Under the circumstances.
delay in granting the franchise here
will be almost as fatal as voting it
down. If the aldermen are sincere in
desiring lower rates he hoped they
would settle the matter without de-
lay. No ore else but the Evans COM
pany can say positively that it can
furnish free connection OIL the other
side.
Alderman Barnes said that ne
should like to have the city attorneys
opinion as to the effect of the act of
congress of 1866. The question wheth
- here were to be two companies
fighting each other demanded atten-
ton, he said.
The city attorney said that the act
did not interfere with any other COM
pany that desired to enter the field.
And he was not persuaded, he said,
that under the act a company could
do a free business beyond control Of
the municipality. The United States
supreme court had determined that
the act did not exempt from NUM-
cipal control and payment of Il IL
cense fee.
The council was organized as fol-
lows:
President Of council.
..............F Frank Crassweller
Vice president. ....... David Sang, Jr.
Nv
Assistant city clerk. Not elected
City attorney. Il. Richards
Assistant city attorney. ..........
-; NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. w. Ii. Spencer
Health officer. DR.. II. E. Webster
City sealer.. Noble Sampson
During the week the Duluth Street
Railway company has discharged in
the ncighborhood of twenty Of its old
employees and so far as we are able
to learn has refused to give the men
any reason for their discharge otner
than that their services were no
longer requiredhrdlu rdlu rdul rdlu
longer needed by the company
\ number Of the men discharged
have been in the service since before
the electric car displaced the mule
car and they are at Il loss to know
why the company was so slow in
finding out their incompetcncy and
unfaithfuIncSs to the company's in
tcreSts. If such is the cause.
There are many reasons advanced
for The step taken 10y the company,
and in view of the attitude of the
management toward the labor organ
izaions most of the men claim that
the move is one to disoryanize and
break up the union, and at the same
time enable the company to reduce
the pay of its men. \ rule of the
company provides that until Il man is
in the employ of the company for one
year he works at Il considerably less
s;li;lrv then the older employee and
for this reason if the company dis
charges enough of its men the pay for
motornlcn and conductors is kept
down to he nuuiticcnt (?) sum of ST:
per month, whereas the older men are
entitled to something like $50 per
mouth. This taken together with the
company's an1imthy toward the I'M
ions are the two causes to which the
ma jority of the men attribute their
dismissal. The discharged men claim