The Newtown bee., 1905-11-10
iITCHEIELD COUNTY

THE NEW MILFORD WATERBURY ELEC-
 TKIC POWER LINE
 So much interest has attached lately to the controversy that has been going on between Mir k. II. Van lngen ot New York and the New Milford Power company that little history of the company and of the causes which led up to the difficulty will be interesting to the readers of the Stray Shot. Par ticularly when we remember that the pole line, which has made all the l trouble, runs through the beautiful Steep Rock country, 50 well known and | so much loved by every old Gunnery | alumnuS. |
 During the winter of 1903 the New 1 Milford Power company, by virtue Ot the charter that had been granted | them some years before, erected dam on the Housatonic river about seven miles above New Milford, their pur pose being to produce electricity at a | high voltage and transmit it to the cities of Waterbury and New Britain for the purpose of furnishing power for trolley roads and the electric lights. In order to do this, although the Leg islature had given them in their char transmit this current along the public highways of the state, they were up against Section 444l of the General | Statutes which says: "NO telegraph, telephone or electric light or power company shall cause to be cut down or injured any tree growing on the high way, for the purpose of constructing or maintaining any electric wires or fixtures of any kind without the writ ten consent of the adjoining prOprle- tor"
 Section HAP provides that every cor poration violating this provision of this statute pay $50 for each offence. In order to secure their rights under this section of the statute and also to secure the privilege of setting their poles across private property where 1t would straighten or shorten their lines,
 they sent an agent to negotiate with the people along whose property this , line would run. It is claimed that he grossly misrepresented the rights of this company by telling the people that the company already had the right to go over the highways and to cut any trees that stood on the highway, that it was only necessary for them to call } on the commissioners in order to force right over their private property ,and that in the event of their calling out these commissioners each party would have to pay half the expense, and that l } tatiOnS he succeeded in getting from most of the people an agreement which,
 practically, became a permanent right, for them :to set poles not only along the highways but also across private lands. l t is claimed that in many in- ) stances property has been damaged to the extent of hundreds if not thouS- ands of dollars where practically no compensation was paid. When this l nf 1n Mr
 Van Ingen for the privilege of cross ing short section of his land MT Van Ingen declined to open negotiations
 with him; WhereupOn the agent told the gentleman who was representing MT Van Ingen in the matter that they
 would go anyway. When this was re- ported to MT Van Ingen he said, "Is it . possible that the Statute law of the
 State of Connecticut gives this corpor- land?" Investigation showed that it did not, but that they already had then } pending in the Legislature bill ask ing for an amendment to their charter
 in which was clause asking for these } very rights of condemnation. This was met in the committee and by the simple statement of facts was defeated
 MT Van Ingen still refusing to open any negotiations with them for the rights to cross his property, they called out the county commi iSSiOnerS and To. along his land from the point where
 the railroad crosses the Shepaug river above the Mitchell hole some 1O5O northerly, and located thirteen large poles along this line. The rest of the distance, the twenty-eight miles be- tween their power station at Bull' S Bridge and the city of Waterbury, they I hox 1o 0F standing about twenty five feet apart, on each line of which run three alumi- nun cables carrying voltage of B, 900 volts, whereas on the single line of poles both currents are brought with in comparatively few feet of each other, and should the limb of a tree when wet, the string of kite, thread wet and carried by a bird or any other similar thing connect any two of these wires, a connection might be made which would carry the cur rent from the one circuit over to the other and render it dangerous for re- pairs to be made on either one of the circuits at any point between the pow CT station and Waterbury. This un- occasionally proved most serious condition.
 Early in the fall of 1904 the company passed into new hands, and as soon as 1 trol realizing the danger to their en- plOyeeS of this double circuit on single
 poles, they at once opened negotia- tions with MT Van Ingen to change the linesO that these wires might be separated upon double pole line. MT Van Ingen was naturally suspicious, disliked very much to have anything to do with it, and while he was con- sidering the personnel of the new man. agement and satisfying himself that the statements made to. him were true, the Legislature of Connecticut met
 He was on the point of making a prop ositiOn to them which would have been most reasonable and he believed most satisfactory, when this new company introduced bill into the Legislature asking for the rights to condemn pri- vate property for the use of their pole lines. This stopped all negotiations between MT Van Ingenn and the company and precipitated fight in the Legislature. It is simply neces- sary to say here that the Legislature passed through it's six months of ses- sion and adjourned giving the New Milford Power company no more rights that it had when the Legislature came