The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1900-02-12
MONDAY. FEBRUARY II, 1000.

10 Tne granting OF FRANCHISE 10 the
Universal Company by the Street
and Sewer Commissioners. We are
opposed and so are all good citizens
and property owners to the grant,
ing OF an omnibus privilege that
practically hands over every street,
alley and lane in this city to any
corporation, without paving one
dollar for it. or giving the city some
concession tor it. Look at the men
who compose the Company and then
Judge of what they intend to do
with their franchise. The Commits
sioners had perfect right to grant
this corporation the right, if they
saw fit and proper to put down
conduits in our streets, but they
had no right to give them the eX-
elusive right. Mr.. Mitchell says
they have not been granted exciu-
awe rights, that will remain to be
seen later on, when other corpora
items apply to the Commissioners
for similar rights. The franchise
should have contained clause that
work should be commenced within
so days after granting the right,
accompanied by a certified check
Of $4,000 which, if not complied
with should have been forfeited to
the city. The men back of this
Company have not one word to say;
they are all we'll known Republi-
can politicians and deserving of
every dollar they can get honestly.
They applied in the proper manner
tor the franchise and nothing was
done in an underhand way. They
have not even been suspected OF
having bribed the two Commission
ers who voted to give them their
f, anchise. The only howl that has
been raised is because they were
granted the exclusive right to the
streets Of the city. The editor OF
this paper has no indirect or direct
interest in any company seeking
a franchise from the Street and
Sewer Commissioners. We have
been repeatedly approached by
representative citizens and tax
payers requesting up to pitch into
the two Commissioners for giving
away the streets of the city. They
fail to see where the city will re-
ceive any benefit from this franchise.
Such franchise could easily have
been sold by the city for enough
money to pave several miles OF our
streets with fire brick, Captain
Edmund Mitchell, president of the
Universal Company, IN an inter-
view Is reported to have said: at
is the intention OF the Universal
Conduit Company to use the streets
OF Wilmington, as Tar as our iran
chse permits, for the purpose OF
laying pipes and conduits, in which
to convey gas, steam, electricity,
hot air and liquid air, if the latter
commodity shall come into general
use. We expect to manufacture gas
and electricity and 1--WE have all
the capital necessary to do so on a
scale sufficiently large to supply
any probable demand and do it
prohtably. The enterprise is sim
ply a commercial one, and has no
Interior object It will take more
than a million dollars TO launch the
enterprise upon Il paying basis and
much as we would like to make the
company purely a home affair, You
know that it could not have been
done in Wilmington. " We
stand Just precisely where all the
other companies stand who have
franchise tor the use oil the streets.
except that we have been granted
permission to do more things.
CITY Council and the Street and
Sewer commissioners are at logger
heads over the money received from
rent OF the city wharvcs. City
Auditor Pyle has been instructed
by City Councilnot toturn over such
funds to City Treasurer liamann,
unless the Treasurer assures him
that he will deposit the money to
the credit of the Mayor aud Coun-
Gil. City Treasurer i!amann don t
know what to do and has opened
an account as trustee, and deposit
ed $2+ from the Clerk OF the Mar
ket on Saturday. The City Solci-
tor will be required TO Stralghtcn
out the snarl Is Council paving
the way for a new city charter; 1t
begins to look like it.
THE war in the Philippines is
nearly if not entirely over. AT least
the FIlIpcno armies are dispersed
and Aguinaldo seems to have left
the country. We are glad peace
has been restored and armed men
will not have to use their weapons
to protect themselves and uphold
our Government. The object has
been to benefit and relieve the peO-
pie, and when they realize this,
there will be no contention.
THE Universal Conduit Company,
it is said, will furnish sea water
and locate numerous free baths in
our city for the Union Republicans
to take bath at least once a week.
This has been one reason for laying
the pipes in the streets OF Whining
ton.
OUR Water Department might
sell our filter to the Chester water
company. The water is SO off
color in that city that the water
company officers have been ordered
to appear in court and tell why the
filtering plant has not been put in.
Our $3.50, 900 filter has not been
working lately, that's what ails our
water.