The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1906-07-19
POLITICS IS BEHIND
ATTACK ON CONTRACT
Joint Lighting Committee Considered
Propositions For Eighteen Hours
AT Its Session.
INTERESTED PERSONS In OPPOSITION

"Polltlcs is behind all this noise"
said a member OF the joint lighting
committee OF the general council to-
day. "and the whole opposition Is
based on the determination of the
city administration to prevent this
general council improving the light
ing plant and building the Island
creek bridge, These improvements
would be feather In the cap of this
council that the administration fell
lows can not bear to think of. II.
I'VE wish to let the contract to the
General Electric company for sfo..
00e. They wish us to spend 100000.
They cant bear to think OF our hav-
ing sufficient money left In the con-
tingent fund to repair the lighting
plant and build the bridge and
there Is the whole matter.
"0f course. It Is easy enough to
bring In all these other circumstan-
ces and impugn our motives after
they have determined to block the
business. You know. that every de-
feated competitor Is ready to grasp
at a straw to get reconsideration.
and each one thinks he has been bad
ly dealt with. because he hasn't got
the contract In his pocket.
"Now. they talk OF too little con
sideration. This joint lighting com
mittee listened to those electrical
men for eighteen hours Isn't that
giving the matter consideration? As
to taking advice on the subject: We
are not expert electricians. but we
are business men.and we know when
the advice OF experts Is unreasonably
biased toward the most expensive
plan and We know that when every
public measure instituted by this
general council meets the opposition
Of the executive department. there is
an intention behind II 10 make this
council go out with a record of works
unperformed.
1--WE listened to the proposition OF
these concerns for eighteen hours.
then We made our report to the gen.
eral council Now. here another trick
was played. Because we insisted on
vote being taken on the adoption
or rejection OF the committees re-
port. II was made to appear that we
insisted on the report being adopted
without considering the propositions
Of these various concerns. The gen
eral council proceeded along the on
ly parliamentary lines possible. The
committee had been appointed to
consider these propositions. The on
ly use OF committee is to relieve
the general body of detail work. Had
1t been necessary. anyway. for the
general council to listen 10 the repre-
sen,atives of the competing con
Germs, II would have been folly to let
committee waste eighteen hours
going over the same thing.
''The idea OF the city was TO re-
celye bids on plans for plant sum
cient 10 maintain goo arc lamps. and
1t was estimated tina, the cost would
be upward OF $4,000. This PROPOSE
tlon OF the General Electric compa-
ny gives us capacity for 500 lamps
nj N less cost
did II ever occur to you that this
general council has simply been
spending money to cover up the bad
management of the administration
and the old Democratic board? We
Inherited condemned bridge over
Island creek and run down munici-
pal lighting plant unfinished streets
and sewers, Ill equipped street clean
Ing department. and hundred other
deficiencies. We are trying to attend
to the city's business in business
like manner and we are met with
opposition at every turn.
- These are not the friends OF the
people arrayed against us, but the
discredlted element. part of whom
the people ousted when we were
elected, and the administrations part