The Paducah sun., 1905-03-08
Will Ask Postponement Of Tel
ephone Ordinance.
Claimed There IL n Misundcrstand-
ing About It--I,atcs Not 10
BE Raised.
COMMERCIAL CLUB INTERESTED

1nc IaduCah commercial club
held a meeting last night to consider
the telephone ordinance now before
the board of aldermen. There was
lively discussion, and President A. ].
Decker appointed committee of one
hundred members to go before the
board of aldermen Thursday night
and ask a postponement until the
club and the public can ascertain the
exact contents of the ordinance. and
the possible effect II might have on
telephone rates in Paducah in the fu-
ture.
Mr.. w. p. Hummel is chairman of
the committee. and the members of
the committee are expected to go be-
their grievance before the board. The
ordinance mentioned has been twice
passed by the council. and once by
the board of aldermen. leaving but
one more passage to give It..
This ordinance. is seems, is not
understood by everybody. The his
tory of it can be told in few words.
For several years the city has at va
rious times claimed that the East
Tennessee Telephone company had
no franchise to do business in Padu-
cab, and the telephone company al
ways claimed II didn't have to have
any, as 1t operated under what is
practically a perpetual grant.
The city never took any decisive
steps to require it to get a franchise
until some months ago. The city
had claims for licenses. taxes, pole
rent and other things against the
company, and brought a suit to "oust
it,"
Attorney ]. c. Flournoy had been
empowered to settle the pole rental
claims, and brought the suit, and in
the course of time the telephone COM
pany agreed TO pay the city of Padu-
cah $4,000, or thereabout, to get
''in good standing" with the powers
that be. The city agreed for this
money to give the telephone company
receipts for every cent it claimed the
company owed it,-in short, to make
IL a settlement in full for everything.
and to throw in a franchise, and dis
miss all suits the city had against
the company.
The telephone company agreed,
and paid the money. The city gave
Attorney Flournoy about $1,000 as
his share of the grab. and complied
with every part of its agreement ex-
cept giving the franchise. The ordl-
nance to give this franchise to the
company is the one now under dis
pute.
The city really had no right to
agree to give or sell the company
franchise, as the law specifies only
one way to dispose of franchises in
Kentucky, and this is by putting
them up and selling them to the high
est bidder. The city of Paducah
went further and bound itself to give
the company a franchise, the cost OF
IL being part of the money II has al
ready paid the city. The city could
not legally promise or guarantee the
telephone company franchise at all,
but II has done it.
In the ordinance, figures had to be
oiled in fixing the maximum rates
These are fixed at 81 for business and
$3.50 for residence telephones, ex-
cept for every 1000 extra subscrib-
ers. II simply means that this is
the highest amount the company can
ever charge in Paducah during the
life OF the franchise, for twenty
years.
Manager Joynes, of the East Ten
nessee company, said today that he
did not believe that the Commercial
club understood the case. lie said
that the company was now charging
81 a month for business telephones,
and the ordinance fixes this as the
highest the company can ever charge
for twenty years, The rates in Lou
isyille for the same phone is 81
month, ST. Louis the same, and Mem
phis s., The highest the company
can ever charge for residence tele-
phones is $3.50, 81 more than now,
except fifty cents extra for each ad-
ditional thousand.
II don't see how anyone can claim
this is not fair" said Manager
JONES. I'VE intend To hereafter. as