The Saint Paul globe., 1903-12-06
THE GAS FRANCHISE AGREE
MENT.


A ground of agreement has been
reached between the gas company and
the two bodies Of the city council
After several weeks of discussion, of
the presentation Of demands and coun-
demands, Of acceptance and re-
fusal of conditions desired by one side
OR the other, the points of contest have
been eliminated and the two parties
have come together. We need not re-
peat here the terms of the franchise
agreed upon, which have already ap-
peared in our news columns. Impor-
tant concessions have certainly been
made to the city. In addition to those
contained in its own ordinance as
framed along the lines of the franchise
commissions report, the most material
of these are the reduction of the min
imum charge to 25 cents, the including
of gas residual products in the total
on which the gross earnings tax must
be paid, and the consolidation of the
company's electric privileges and OF
its gas privileges, so that all come I'M
der the terms of the same franchise.
These are certainly very material gains
in addition to the reduction of the
price that will give us gas at $1.15
within thirty days and dollar gas in
1907. Perhaps the Importance of this
reduced price scale has been lessened
in the public mind from the fact that
1t appeared in the original ordinance,
and has therefore been considered as
public right rather than a concession
by the company. 1t is, indeed, a sensi-
BILE relief, and the saving that it will
make in the gas bills of the people for
the next three years is well worth
having.
Far and away the most important of
all the changes in the original ordi-
nance, however, is that which relates
to the electric lighting business. This
is a present source Of controversy.
The company, which has a practical
monopoly Of the electric lighting in this
city, and has claimed that these fran
chises were indefinite and not subject
to general public regulation, may be
in the wrong; but it had at least a fair
legal case; and the issue could be de-
termined only by a long and costly
trial in the courts. Pending this. the
public would gain nothing. Under the
new arrangement, these claims are sur
rendered. The electric lighting fran
chises are to be subject to the terms
Of the gas franchise. are to expire at
the same time, and meanwhile the city
receives the gross earnings tax on the
proceeds of the electric light sales as
we'll as the gas sales, and the rates at
which electric light is furnished viii
be subject to regulation by the council.
This, it seems to US, is perhaps the
most important point gained by the
prolonged discussion. If the arrange
ment is open to serious criticism, 1t
is, in our opinion, in it's omission Of
an option to purchase on the part of
the city. 1t has never seemed to us
that the plan of reversion of owner
ship at the end of the franchise period
to the public was practicable. The
purchase clause, however, was; and
there should be no more injustice in its
inclusion in the new franchise than in
the old. We believe that it should
have been insisted upon, but at the
same time we do not think its onis-
sion of such Importance that it ought
to jeopardize the final acceptance of
the terms now presented. that are in
general so free from ground for criti-
cism and so advantageous to the pub
lie.
For all the advantages that the city
has secured, the heartiest eongratula-
tion and most abundant praise are due
to those representatives of the people
who have stood out for the best terms
that they could get. In particular and
first of all, this credit is due to Mr..
Michael, who has conducted so hard