The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-02-22
THE. VOTE WAS
EIGHT TO FOUR
To Report the Telephone:
Bill Fal:vorably. a:
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Matter Was Considered for Nearly
Three Hours.
The CLOSING ARG Arc. U MENT. I.
THE CLOSING ARGUMEN !.
General NIeany Heard in Favor of tho
Measure and City Attorney Moo
nav, OF Roanoke. and City At
torncy Pollard, of Richmond.
in acknowledgements
ofNIcasure Surprised. I

OF Measure Surprised.
The Senate Committee on General Laws
bv a vote of S to last night decided 10
renort favorabIy the bill to incorporate the
Virginia Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany.
An executive session lasting nearly
three hours was held. Amendments
accountable to the corDorators were
agreed upon. The most important VI
these is one providing that the oeciS.oh
of the Supreme Court OF Appeals OIL VIZ
rinia, shall be final in cases OF ltisatioi
arising under the provisions OF the ACT.
IT is understood that Senators James
Imnton. Bruce and Shands were those
who voted against the bill as amehoeu-
The other members are Senators Sands
Ichairmau Flood. Barksdale, Massie,
steele I,vle. Tyler, Claytor, and john
ston. - :5 ..
The opnonents of the bill claimed to
have had majority of thes members =.
the committee pledged to vote asiihs'
the measure and the result was d SUI
:. MANY MAY VOTE AGAINST 1T.
One of the eight Senators who voted IN
committee last right to report the oiii,
authorized the statement that ne anu
two other Senators, who Voteu Win hini'
had expressly reserved the right TO vote
against the bin when 1t comes up ior
consideration by the Senate, uhless II
shall he further amended SO as to accord
with their jud gment. He said the bill, as
it was ordered to be reported, is the Dill
of the telephone people In other words,
all of the amendments adopted by the
committee were proposed by the friends
of the bill: the amendments wnlcn the
antagonists of the bill desire TO nave
adopted will be proposed in the Senate.
1t was stated last night by the Senator
from Lynch1burg, who made the motion
to recall the original bill from the House
after it had passed the Senate without
the general knowledge of the latter body,
that the telephone people had not yielded
one single essential point. "They have
! put on some specious amendments. sl1d
T. =Secets.which may allure somebody at-tirstr
| glance: but they have not, in fact, abated
one whit of their dangerous and unjust
demands This can be, and viii be, clear
" shown at the proper time"
CLOSING ARGUMENT.
The committee heard the closing argu-
ment on the bill yesterday morning
Judge John D. Horsiey. one of the
| corpcTators in the act. called upon Gen.
| E. P. Meany. president OF the American
| Telephone and Telegraph Company to
| tell of the experience of his company in
cities and towns. where the consent OF
| a municipal council is required in order
| to enter such corporation. General
| Meany gave an interesting account OF
| the operations of his company and of the
many drawbacks that have been encoun-
| tered where the consent of a city or
town council had to be acquired
General Meany was asked what con-
1 l.. =, +,
! under consideration. He replied that
| last fall some Virginia gentlemen called
| on him in New York. with a view to
! securing the aid of his company in es-
| tablishing comprehensive telephone sys-
| tenn throughout the State. He told them
! that it would be we'll to locaiize the
| corporation as far as possible.
| AS TO CONNECTIONS.
His company was willing to connect
| with such system as that proposed and
would subscribe to the capital stock OF
| the company.
: Mr.. Glass asked If the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company was will
| ing to connect with the companies that
are rivals of the Bell in Lynchburg and
| Richmond.
| General Meany replied with an en-
nhat tic mo-" He was asked If the COM
| pany had connected with any other teie-
phone system in this State than that
| of the Bell. The General said this had
! been done In two instances and ne had
under consideration at this time propo-
| sitions looking to making connection with
| four other systems in this State.
Senator George w. Morris, on behalf
| of the CITY of Charlottesville. entered his
| protest against the bill. He said there
| were two telephone lines operating IN
| Charlottesville and Albemarle ana eS-
| cellent service was given Hls eonSti-
| tuents were unwilling that the Bell Com
| pany should come in and crush out these
| local enterprises. If the bill should be
! SO amended as to place it upon the same
! footing as other companies now operat-
| ing in this State, be would have no op-
| lection to it's passage
MIR. MOONlAW.S VIEWS.
CITY Attorney Moomaw, Of Roanoke.
spoke in opposition to the BILL He Went
over the ground traversed by opponents
of the measure. who had preceded him.
In Roanoke he said. there were two ex-
cellent telephone systems and his people
were satisfied with the service He made
the point that the bill really defined what
should constitute REASONABLE regulations
! by providing that the streets should not
he obstructed He contended that the
comnany: ander this bill. would have
the right to use every street In city.
and so long as the streets We're not OBJ
structed the courts would decide that
any regulations that might be imposed
would be declared unreasonable
Z Mr.. 4Moomaw wanted to know of the
! advocates of the bill If they would bs
willing to so amend the act as to give
the cities the right to impose minimum
| rates. He did not receive direct reply.
but Mr. Christian suggested that Mr.
Moomaw might prepare general statute
| to meet his views.
Mr.. Moomaw said the company would no
more consent to the imposition of mimi
mum than maximum rates.
Judge Horsley asked IL AIr. Moomaw
was willing for every county and city
through which a railroad company passes
to fix the rates for that particular coun-5
ty or city,
Mr.. 5Mo6maw replied that the cases
@were not at all parallel. -