Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-02-07
WITH A BIC STICK
That's How Council May Have
to Go After Telephone
Companies.
GIVE ALDERMEN THE HA HA
Ignoring All Their Official Orders
Mr.. Sexton Says it is
Snap Here.

Officially both telephone companies
maintaining exchanges in Rock Island
are in bad repute. The Central Union
lis defunct locally, ii is claim
ed. though still doing business at the
old stand. and the Union Electric is
threatened with revocation of its fran
chise because of refusal To pay the ?
per cent tax on the gross receipts of
the local exchange. condition en-
bodied in the ordinance when adopted
by the city council three years ago.
The payments were to have been
made to the city clerk semiannually
But one was received. In the mean
time the company has been repeatedly
notilied that it must settle according
TO agreement Friends of the new
company have come to its defense in
the council They say why should the
new company pay q tax when the old
company is permitted to do business
even without a franchise. this having
been revoked because the company ig
nored the orders of the council in ref
erence to the removal of poles.
No Answer 10 Company Petition.
Several months since, actually how
long since no one in the council ap
peas TO know, the Union Electric com.
pany wrote n communication asking
that it be relieved from liquidation
of the franchise tax, temporarily, at
least
This communication was referred by
the council to the finance committee,
but there never was a report returned.
-,
to the demand of the city clerk for
payment of the , per cent tax. For
over an hour last evening, at its
monthly meeting, the council whipped
over the telephone question, the re-
iation officially that the city bears to
the two companies doing business
here
Aid. J. P. Sexton said the policeman
and the alderman had dwindled into
insignifcance compared to the imam
with the spurs, spikes and harness.
He had reference to the telephone
lineman, and was reciting instances
wherein the companies had ignored
the orders of the city officers not to
plant poles on certain thOroughfares,
but to take other routes. Mr.. Sexton
was not pTejudiced against either
company But n looked to him as
though the city council was an easy
bunch"
Calls ID Snap.
why, the directors of these COM
panies can sit in their offices and laugh
up their sleeves at you" said the
Fourth ward alderman. "a company
drops in here and gets a franchise,
and then pays no more attention to
you. No wonder the men from Dav
export are trying to break in from
across the Rock Island bridge with a
new street car line. They might as
well get a slice of the picking. It's
a snap here"
Mr.. Sexton said he wanted to see
the new company made to respect its
contract. If it could show that it was
a hardship to pay the tax. that was an
other matter. But he wanted to be
shown Aids Eckhart. Westbay, Rob |
bins and Anderson advised that the |
council not be Overl. hasty; they be |
fairly. Really the council was the |
one at fault in failing to answer the |
request to cancel the tax clause The |
discussion on this head closed with
he adoption of a resolution ordering
he committee to which was referred |
he Union Electric communication to
report at the next meeting.
Building Ordinance Not Enforced.
The city has building ordinance