Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1903-08-25
Put Out a Ticket of Independ-
ent Democrats.
Telephone Issue Causes a hove.
ment For a New City
Council.

telephone service, which had been
taking shape for some time. for
year or more in fact, eliminated
Friday night in the nomination of a
Business Meas ticket in several
wards of the city, in which contests
will be made. The KENTUCKIAN
learns from business men who par
ticipated in the meeting that repre-
sentative citizens and leading Dem
ocrats from every ward in the city
were present and united in the
opinion that better city govern
ment, In many respects, could be
secured by the united action of
business men, since the Republi-
cans have not put ticket in the
field tor a number of years and an
nounce that they will not do so this
year. One of the leading support
ers OF the ticket made this state
ment
The present city council has de-
clined to sell telephone franchise
fixing maximum schedule of rates,
since the franchise of the Cumber-
land Telephone Company expired
August 3, 1902. 1t Will be remem.
bered that such franchise was
sold in Jnly, 1902, to parties repre-
senting the Home Company, which
the Cumberland people fought Bit
terly before the council, openly and
boldly, and its attorney succeeded
in having the franchise rejected
after it had been sold by the mayor
and paid for.
There was much iDdIgn alton at
the time and in the face of public
opinion a majority of the council
coolly entered into an arrangement
under which the Cumberland has
been protected from possible COM
petition and is still doing business
at it's old rates, without material
modification, although no franchise
has been sold to take the place OF
the old one. The business men OF
the city do not believe they can get
relief from the telephone monopoly
unless a new council is elected and
so the ticket was nominated. 1t is
made up Of men who are worth in
the aggregate several hundred
thousand dollars, and every man
on the ticket is a Democrat.
An effort was made to get away
as far as possible from politics and
political factions. Two of the
present councilmen, whose records
we're acceptable to the business in
terest of the city, were endorsed.
These were Councilmen J. B. Jack
son and ]. G. Duncan, of the Sixth
and Seventh wards.
The other four were selected
from the supporters of Bush
aud Cook. Mr.. NJ. c. Forbes in the
Second and Mr.. B. w. Harmed in
the Third wards, were for Bush
and Mr.. Walter S. Elgin and
Ex-Mayor F. W. Dabney, of the
First and Fourth wards, voted for
Junge Cook. They are good and
representative men and staunch
Democrats who will be free from out.
side controlling influences of every
kind and give their attention to the
best interest of the city"
Another gentleman in discussing
the telephone issue said:
1.-THE election of the business
mems ticket will on the one item Of
telephones save the people at least
81, 900 or $4,000 a year. 1t was
shown by Mr.. r. E. Cooper's able
argument before the council last
year, as a representative of the
business men, that Hopkinsville sub
scribers are forced to pay at least
so cents more per month than other
cities of similar size and conditions.
There are 700 or more subscribers
in the Hopklnsvllle exchange and a
little mathematics will demonstrate
that the people are paying about
$3.50 or $500 a month more than
the service is worth in other cities.
Besides, the Cumberland is cap
italized at several million dollars
and has moved its home Office to