Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-07-31
WEAPONS USED
Warlike Demonstration at Meet.
ing of Springfield City
Council.
GAS LEASE is THE ISSUE
Members Split and Majority Takes
Action More Trouble
in Store.

Springfield. ILL.,, July 31.-Drawn re-
volvers and blackjacks in the hands of
police officers figured in a special meet
ing of the city council Saturday night,
and Aid. Hay. republican leader in the
council. was knocked down by a police
man.
The meeting was called by three
members of the council and a resolu-
ton was offered extending time for
lighting the city by the Springfield
Electric Light & Power company one
month, until the council could decide
whether TO operate a municipal light
plant.
GaVeIed Adjournment.
Corporation Counsel Salzenstein had
rendered an opinion that in order TO
extend the lease an ordinance and not
a resolution was necessary. Aid. Nc
Greery moved TO adjourn TO forestall
passage of a resolution. and though the
nays were apparently in the majority
Mayor Devereaux declared the motion
adopted and refused to entertain an
appeal from his decision.
Aid. Hay then moved that Aid. Hick-
OK be made chairman, and this carried;
but Hickox, in attempting to take the
chair, was confronted with a drawn re
volver in the hands of a police ser
geant, and Hickox desisted. Aid. Hay
attempted to take a hand in the mat
ter and was knocked down by the po-
liceman. Mayor DevereauX ordered
the police to clear the council chamber
and had the lights turned out. Attor-
ney Lowrie for the lighting company,
was later assaulted on the street by
two police officers and taken to the
city police headquarters, but was soon
Held Another Meeting.
Ten of the IA aldermen then met at
Aid. Hays law Office and adopted a
resolution extending the lighting con
tract 70 Sept. l.
Later, Mayor Devereaux was served
with temporary injunction, issued by
Judge Creighton, of the SangamOn
circuit court. on application of
Emil G. Schmidt general manager of
the lighting company, restraining the
mayor from interfering with the opera
ton of the city electric light plant used
by the general utilities company.
History of Lighting Plant.
Springfield built its own street light
ing plant some years ago at a cost of
100000. 1t never operated it, how
ever, but instead turned it over to the
old Capitol Electric Light company,
which operated it, charging the city
$50 a light a year. That arrangement
expires by time limitation at midnight
tonight.
Recently the Clark syndicate of Phil
adelphia bought up and consolidated
almost everything in the public utility
way in Springfield. II has the electric
lighting plant, the heat and power
plant and the street car lines. The
only thing it has not got is the city's
street lighting plant and it has been
operating it as successor to the Capt.
Lol company. Now it proposes to alb
sorb this plant under a 1O-year ar
charging the city $50 a
amp a year. It's friends are advocat- |
ng the scheme on the ground that it |
IS less than the city has been paying. |
Two Other Parties.
The mayor and his four aldermen |
are fighting it on the plea that the city |
,an operate the plant at a still less cost |
and. owning it, ought to do so. The |
opponents of the plan among the citi- |
zens who have no special faith in mu- |
licipal ownership, however. are argu- |
ng that not only is the price of S55 a |
amp a year too high but that the bar
gain proposed would be a jug-handled |
affair in which the Utilities company |
would have all the best of it. and the |
Ultimate result would be to give this |
company a complete monopoly of all |
public utilities in the city of Spring |
field