The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-10-31
TELEPHONE CASE
To BE APPEALED
City Carries Its Fight to the
Supreme Court.
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
If Corporations or People Own
the Street.
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

| When Judge Dale handed down his de-
| cision in the telephone case it was gem
| orally understood that the city was
| knocked out That was true for the
time being, but the city has taken an
| other hitch in its belt and is ready for
| another round, and this time in the SUI
preme court.
city Attorney Earl Blake has taken
the necessary steps to have the case
| taken before the supreme court. a. e.
Helm, David smythe and Judge Ash
baugh have been assisting the city ct
torney and they will also take a hand in
the fight before the supreme court.
1t was supposed at the time that
Judge Dale passed ON the ease that 1t
would be the last of it, but Mayor
Mclean is not satisfied to let it go that
way He wants to find out for dead
certainty whether the people of this city
or the corporation own the streets and
allies of the city.
The attorneys Of the city. after care
full reading of Judge Dale's opinion, have
come 70 the conclusion that if he is not
reversed by the supreme court the cor
porations win have things pretty muen
their own way. They say that the decis-
ion makes it appear that the telephone
company is acting under a state franchise
and that while the city may make con-
tract with the companies and get faEora
BILE conditions in the contract for the
people, they are at loss to know why
the companies will give UP anything if
they can come in anyhow.
The city administration does not like
the idea of having the Bell and all other
telephone companies to have the right u
all the streets of this city and plant
their poles and string wires wherever
they please, and of course cut the shade
trees when they are in the way of their /
wires
The point at issue between the city and
the telephone company can be so plainly |
stated that other citizens beside the law
yers can understand it. In the year 1853 |
the legislature of this state passed a Law |
giving telegraph companies the right to |
plant their poles and string their wires |
over the public highways of this state. |
Then, in 1881, the legislature passed an |
other law delegating to cities of the |
flrst-class the power to grant right Of |
way over the streets and alleys to telc |
graph and telephone companies. Still an
other law was passed in 1885 giving to
telephone companies the same rights en-
joyed by telegraph companies.
Now, then, here comes the tug of war.
The telephone company takes the stand
that when the company was given the
same rights as telegraph companies Iii
1885 that the telegraph companies had a
right to use the public highways of the
state. and this right was also given to
telephone companies and the streets of
this city being public highways of the
state the company has a right to occupy
them with its poles and wires. Judge
Dale seems to have sustained this posi-
ton with the exception that the city re-
tains a sort of police regulation over the
streets and may say on which streets the
company may go.
The city of Wichita and it's attor-
neys take the position that at the time
the law of 1885 was passed giving the tel
ephone companies the same rights as tel
egraph companies the telegraph compa-
MES did not have the right to enter cities
Of the first-class until it was granted by
the city, and hence the right to enter
was not granted by the law of 1885. The
city and its attorneys also claim that
when the state granted to cities of the
frst-class the power to grant the right
Of way over the streets to telegraph
and telephone companies that that ir- ]
Guided the right of the city to refuse
he right of way and for that construction
IF the law the city is going to fight in the
court