The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-13
THE GAS FRANCHISE.

There was a special meeting of the | City Council last night to reconsider the franchise for another period of fifty that body granted last Monday night to the Montgomery Light and Power Company.
 The general discussion of this matter during the past week. on the streets | and in print. might have been expected to have had some influence upon the Council. 1t was reasonable to suppose that a reconsideration would have led to important changes, but such was not the case. The Council seems to have been deaf to public opinion. In reconsidering, only a few minor changes were made, and the ordinance was passed by vote of ten to one. The opposition was less than 1t was before.
 This reconsideration is understood to have been for the purpose of incorpo- rating some suggestions made by May or Joseph. However, he did not send any message to the Council on the subject, expressing his views. Just what his objections were to the origi- nal ordinance. or whether the new or- dinance overcomes those objections, is not now definitely known.
 It seems to us that the Council has missed an admirable opportunity to set a precedent in the renewal of this fran chise. The old Gas Company and its assigns have enjoyed this privilege for fifty years past. Hundreds of thou sands of dollars have been made out of 1t. in dividends and sales of stock, in all these fifty years. Why should not the renewal of such a valuable franchise for so long a period been seized upon as the very time to make a start in the right direction, by se- curing either an express money consid- eration for 1t, or an annual income through some reasonable percentage on the gross receipts?
 The Constitutional Convention has just had to provide specially for the City's growing expenses by increasing the municipal tax limit. In the last few years the Council has generally increased privilege taxes and schemed in every way to increase the City's revenue. Yet last night it declined to insert in this franchise a provision for a three per cent tax on the gross in- come from gas manufacture, that would have probably yielded the City thousand or so dollars per year, and have been a mere bagatelle to the Light Company.
 The Montgomery Light and Power Company is an excellent corporation, officered at present by admirable gen. tlemen. It Is in business, however, for purely business purposes. No one can blame 1t for endeavoring to secure the best contract possible, and unques- tionably the practical result of it's franchises will be a monopoly of the lighting business of this large and growing City. There is no certainty that its officers will be of the same type for the years to come as those at present. The City Council, therefore, should have acted from the City's busi- ness standpoint as sagaciously as they knew how. No one can say that the gift of a renewal of such a franchise for fifty years is sagacious. business like or prudent. On the contrary, prominent citizens on the street and in print, have already used harsh terms in condemning this action.
 Really it looks as if the representa- tive of the Street Railway knew what he was talking about not long ago when he sneered at the Council by telling that body that franchises were "the cheapest things he knew of" Public opinion seems to be ineffective in this matter now, but perhaps a day will come when it can make itself felt in the election of a body of men who will run the City's business as firmly, wisely and successfully as they do their own.
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