Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-03-30
amble, it would only be criticised as

amble, it would only be criticised as
such.
Burne's pencil point seems to have
been broken, so what | said he carried
away in his head. Some memories are
very treacherous. did tell him that
the electric light plant should be
owned by the city, and that the Coun-
Gil should have submitted the ques-
ton OF extension to the voters, and I
have not changed my mind yet / I'M
derstood that the petition contained
more than one hundred names
of respectable citizens of the city.
admit that the petition was informal
in this, that some of the signers did
not add to their signature the street
and house number and their occupa-
ton. The city attorney rendered an
opinion that on account OF such omis-
sion the petition was not such as the
statute required. But even in face of
that irregularity, the Council should
have been glad to shift the RESPONSE
bility upon the voters. TO say the
least the majority of the Council did
not treat the signers with due respect.
They momentarily forgot that they
were the servants of the people, not
the masters. The clerk answered the
questions put to the Council in my
last. The answer to the first was that
he did not want to discuss whether
the city derived any benefit from the
extention of the franchise. It is self
evident that the city did not derive
any benefit therefrom. That better
service would be obtained was only
subterfuge; the city was entitled to
good service at all times. The seventh,
eighth and ninth questions were sub
stantially answered by the city clerk,
that the Council did impose fines,
that the Council caused the same to
be deducted from the bills, and that
there was never any fine RENTED to
the Electric Light Company during
the year 1908 or at any other time. But
the Teller puts it, "None RENTED
that have been ordered to be collected
by the Council But have received
other answers to these questions to
the effect that shortly after the session
which granted the extension of the
franchise bill for electric light was
presented to the Council, an outage
of about one hundred fifty dollars had
been reported as an offset. but ma
jority of the Council voted for the pay
ment of the entire bill, and against
Nfc 0f ho
ordered it to be paid in full without
discounting the outage, which is cor
rect. The same parties stated that at
that meeting or at meetings thereafter
discussion arose among the members
of the Council as to the number Of
years for which the franchise had
been granted -one alderman of the 4th
ward insisted it was for ten years, but
the alderman of the End ward contend
! ed it was for five years. The clerk was
called upon to read the ordinance and
to the CONSERVATION Of the End warder
it was ten years.
| If I was correctly informed, and of
this I have no doubt, the Council did
not at all times impose a fine when it
should have; that the Council did not
always order fines to be imposed; that
the aldermen of the End ward did not
cast their vote understandingly; that
the majority of the aldermen just
tossed the extension of the franchise
to the Electric Light Company and
that Harry Brown smilingly rub
bing his hands, caught it and put it in
his pocket. 1t is evident that the
Council dealt loosely in this matter.
| A franchise is as much the property of
the city as a wheelbarrow or spade.
Neither of the five aldermen would
have given away wheelbarrow or
spade belonging to the city. They did
not seem to know that franchise
was valuable property to the city.
HERMAN BUCHNER, alias CITIZEN.
]