Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-25
WHERE THE FRANoBIsED CORPORA
TONS STAND

WHERE THE FRaNCHISED CORPORA
TIUNs STAND.
A great deal Of wild talk is being in
dulgcd in the present municipal cam
paign TO the effect that the combined
franchised corporations are promoting
the candidacy Of this man or that man.
who is, therefore, the corporation candi-
date. This talk may fool people I'M
familiar with conditions existing in
Omaha as regards the franchised cor
porations, but II will not fool any in
telligent person whose eyes are opened
to the facts.
First and foremost the franchised
corporations in Omaha are just now
confronted with such divergent inter
ests that it is absolutely impossible for
them to get together back Of any can
didate or any political program. The
gas company and the electric lighting
monopoly are at swords points in their
efforts to poach upon each others pre-
serves Having stolen a march upon
the gas company by getting n five-year
contract for street lighting, the electric
lighting monopoly has for months under
mask been blocking the street lamp con-
tract Of the gas company, and in addi-
ton undertaking, incidentally, to ham
mer down the price Of gas to private
consumers by way of retaliation. The
suggestion that the gas company and
the electric lighting monopoly could be
found working together under these cir
cumstances is simply preposterous.
In the second place, an irreconcllable
feud is on between the Nebraska Tele-
phone company and the local promoters
OF an Independent telephone franchise.
The Independent telephone people hap
pen to be identical in large part with the
management of the Omaha Water COM
pany. The Nebraska Telephone people
want to keep the Independents out of
Omaha and the Independents want to
break into Omaha, and there is no like
lihood of their getting together on this
proposition.
Again, the street railway company,
which in ownership is supposed to be
allied with the gas company, is COM
peting with the electric lighting
monopoly i'm furnishing electricity for
power purposes. 1t is to the interest
of the electric lighting company, If pos
sible, to stop the sale of power by the
street railway company and Of the lat
ter to increase its power business, the
consequences being a sharp note Of dis.
cord between them.
The franchised corporations. under
recent court decisions giving the city
almost unlimited powers Of rate regu-
lation, naturally want to be protected
against arbitrary exactions or vindictive
reprisals. Presumably. each of them
would like to have men in office who
would take their orders and fight theil
battles against one another, but when
convinced they cannot have creature
of their own, they are forced to he sat
isfied with men who may be expected tC
be fair rather than with creatures OF
competing corporations that are fighting
them.
In the three-cornered contest for the
republican mayoralty nomination, we
have candidates who represent the ex
tremes on the question of dealing will
franchised corporations. On the one
side is Broatch of midnight gas dea
fame and a public record of abject cor
poration subserviency. and on the othei
side is Benson on rautankerous anti
corporation platform. but backed by
men who have VIGOROUSLY sold out Il
the franchised corporations in the past
Between the two is Hennings, who
stands for rigid protection Of the tax
payers against corporate infringement
OF their rights, with enforcement Of til,
best service and reasonable rates, ant
for the protection of the corporation,
against holdups and unjust demands
in word, for square deal for tn,
patrons of all the public service cor
porations, guaranteed by his prove,
freedom from corporation strings.
The Bee believes Hennings as mayo
would see to it that the franchised cor
porstions act fairly by the city and tn,
people. and that this is what the grea
majority of our citizens really want
DEPARTMENTAL REFORM