The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1904-06-10
TELEPHONE TROUBLES.

There is something doing in tele.
phone circles. The Memphis Tel
ephone Company, successor to the
Progress Company, is extending It's
lines and putting in new poles.
Upon Lafayette Street in Bolivar,
the lines of this company and of the
Cumberland Telephone Company
both run, the former going beneath
the latter. The new poles the
Memphis Company propose to erect
will o%verreached the poles of the
Cumberland Company. In the mean
time the Cumberland people have
fastened strips or scantlings
about eight feet long to the top of
their poles. This caused the Board
of Aldermen to hold a called meet.
ing last week, when the following
ordinance was passed:
Be it ordained~by the Board of
Mayor and Aldermen of the town OF
Bolivar, Tennessee, That the Mem
phis Telephone Company is hereby
given the right and privilege to
erect poles forty feet high and
place wires upon same so as not to
interfere with the poles or wires of
the Cumberland Telephone Compa-
hy now erected and in operation on
and along the north side of Lafay-
cite Street leading from the county
Jail Ia said town west; and the
Cumberland Telephone Company is
hereby ordered by said Board of
Mayor and Aldermen of said town
TO remove and take down scantling
or strips that are fastened to the
telephone poles on the north side
of said street in said town.
Be it further ordained, That the
Cumbeland Telephone poles and
wires remain the same height as at
present.
Bolivar, Tenn, June 1, 1904.
At the regular meeting of the
Board Tuesday night, the Mayor
vetoed the above ordinance, giving
his reasons as follows:
To the Board of Aldermen of the
town of Bolivar, Tennessee.
Gentlemen-I herewith return to
you Ordinance No. %, known as
the telephone ordinance, without
my approval. My reasons for dis
approval are as follows:
1st. This ordinance, as l under
stand it, seeks to settle a controver-
sy between the Memphis Telephone
Company and the Cumberland Tele-
phone Company with reference to
their lines on a certain street in
Bolivar, which l think the Board
of Mayor and Aldermen have not
the power to do. Both of these
companies, by an agreement with
the town, have the same rights and
privileges within the corporate linn
it's, and if one of them is infringing
upon the rights of the other, it's
remedy would be in the courts and
not in the Board of Mayor and AL
dermen.
End. Because there is no penalty
for violation of the ordinance.
3rd. Because, whatever rights
and privileges these companies have
by agreement or contract with the
town are vested rights, and l don't
think the Board of Mayor and AL
dermen can divest them, or either
of them, of these rights without
their consent, and / fear that an at
tempt to do so would evolve the
town in litigation that would cost
considerable money.
Therefore, by virtue of the au-
thority vested in me by law as May
of the town of Bolivar, l have
vetoed said ordinance for the reas-
ons above given, believing as l do
that the general welfare of the town
requires this action on my part.
q. A. BLACK, Mayor.
This June 7, 1904.
The ordinance was then passed
over the veto of the Mayor, five
out Of the seven members of the
Board voting for its passage.