The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-31
RIVALS BEHIND IT
REPRESENTATIVES, OF CLEVELAND
VAPOR LIGHT co. DISCUSSES APP
PLICATION FOR INJUNCTION
SUSPECTS WELsBACH PEOPLE
Attorney for Petitioner Is Also Legal
Adviser for American Develop
ment Company Will
Fight 1t Out.

Charles Patterson, manager and repre-
sentative in St. Paul for the Cleveland
Eapor Light company, when seen by L h e
G o e yesterday with reference to the
application of Andrew Schoch for an in
Junction to restrain the city officers from
paying the Cleveland Vapor Light com
pany its bill of 1921 .79 for gasoline street
lighting in February, intimated that he
thought the Welsbach company was be-
hind the application.
Some phases of the contest for the
street lighting" said Mr.. Patterson,
have already been quite thoroughly re-
viewed in the newspapers, and are pref
ty generally known. In connection with
this new turn affairs have taken, there
are some particularly significant points
to which 1 would like to call attention.
In the first place, it should be noted
that the attorney who represents Mr.
Schoch in his application to the court as
a citizen is the attorney for the Amer
lean Development company, and for Rob
ert Seeger. But even without that as
an index, L think it would be very plain
that the suit is instigated by the Amer
lean Development company, or. more
properly speaking, the Welsbach com
pany, which is really the power which
is SO stubborEly fighting US.
Another significant fact, the animus
of which is perhaps not SO apparent on
the surface, is that the application was
not made until after the specifications
for the new lighting contract We're sub
mitted to the COUNCIL and acted upon
by the committee On streets of the board
of aldermen
when these specifca ticns were under
consideration, Mr.. Seeger was on hand
with a number of an endrnents which he
wa oGn hut r1r1io
copied by the committee. Had the
specifications been amended as he prOpos-
ed his company would have secured
by that means the delay it desires in the
letting of the new contract and there
would probably have been no application
for an injunction. We look upon this
application as merely another effort in
the interest of the American Develop
ment company and the Welsbach people
to hamper us in our plans, and it is en-
tirely in keeping with the other tactics
employed against us.
Now as to the allegations stated in
that application, continued Mr. Patter-
son, ar will say in regard to the ques-
ton of the specifications, that the con-
tract was passed upon by your corpora
ton attorney, as well as our own attor
ney, and pronounced to be valid. and not
being versed in the law myself, l am
simply IdAIll5 IIlCiL JubSI4lSIlb AOl l4tclN
feature of it. The SCI vice we have been
giving has been good, and L am inform
ed better than has ever beer furnished in
the territory we cover, Notwithstanding
that We have been working against all
sorts of disadvantages and have net yet
got our service in as good shape a., we
will have it. | do not wish 70 accuse any
person of maliciously bringing about te!e
wholesale destruction of cur property
,s,,lrr
must say that our glass breakage in this
city since we started in has been enor-
mousiy excessive, and I cannot believe
that there has not Keen some sort Of
method in it.
Will Fight to the Last.
81 would be pleased if you would
state for us that our company will fight
this opposition through all the courts
and that we will be here to bid for the
new contract when it is awarded. I do
not say that we will get the contract,
but l co say that we can underbid the
American Development company, and
even though we do rot get it, the city
of st. Paul will have cheaper street light
ing than it has ever had if the people
will only stand by U.s."
E. L. Murphy, member Of the board
of public works and formerly alderman
r h e G @ as to the application for
an injunction. He said
"Our board has received 4 number Of
complaints from citizens in regard to the
lights furnished by the Cleveland Vapor
Light company. and has made some in
vestigations I, in company with the
other members of the board, and Mr.. Pat
terson, the local representative of the
company, have taken several trips in
the evening through portions Of the ter
ritory affected, and I must say that the
complaints were not without some foun-
dation. 1t has been reported to lis that
in some parts of the city the lights We're
out altogether and that in other parts
the lights were bad or the globes We're
permitted to get smCky and were not
cleaned. Last Monday evening we made
an extensive trip which kept us from
until nearly II O'Clock, and found quite
a number OF places where the lights were
out and some places where the globes
were not in good shape. l am Informed,
however, that since then there has been
a marked Improvement in some localities.