Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-01-25
The PHONE TRUCE
What sthe Adoption of the Pro-
posed Ordinance Really
Means.
VICTOR PAYS THE COSTS
And the City Gets the Switch Board
for Police Use-But it Ends
War.

The sudden revival of and somewhat
| rapid progress made dming the present
week with the matter of reimbursement
of the relations of the Central Union
Telephone company with the city of
Rock Island, has naturally aroused
more or less discussion of the new
proposition. The ordinance as now
agreed upon by the committee of the
whole may be put through the council
at its special meeting tomorrow after
noon, although. amendments may be
submitted as they should be, to the rate
clause The purpose to reopen the Ques-
ton upon which the city council and
the company split over the maximum
rate clause a little over a year ago. de-
velOped at the council meeting week
ago when Mayor McCaskrin suggested
that the company be invited to make
fresh overtures to the city. At the
meeting Monday evening of this week
the council cOncurred in the PROPOSE
ton, and the invitation went to the
company, with the result that the COM
pany was ON hand at Wednesday even
ing's committee of the whole meeting
with its amended ordinance. In this
amended ordinance the company. as re-
lated i'll last evenings Argus. offers
to do two things for the city. addition
al TO what was agreed upon in its or
dinance under consideration at the time
negotiations were interrupted. One of
these is to put in a police telephone
of i'm tn
it up and provide the switchboard
This is to be turned over to the city
which is to operate it thereafter. The
other is to defray the cost of the litiga-
ton so far. amounting to $4,000 In
return, the city is to give the company.
in lieu of its claim to perpetual fran
chise in Rock Island, a 25-year fran
chise and dismiss all suits now in the
courts.
What the Proposition Means.
Carefully analysed, the company's |
new proposition, which has received
the appreciation of the committee of
the whole, is virtually the same as the
one up for consideration when the city's |
sudden ultimatum, that the company |
either accept the ordinance as prepar-
ed by the city within a specified time |
or be ousted led to the injunction now
in force
The company's ordinance at that
time provided as follows:
To place entire system in fire limits |
Immediately
To give 75 telephones free, 80 for |
the police patrol and % for general |
81
To give city use of two ducts in I'M
derground system, and the use of all |
poles for fire alarm and police patrol
wires.
To terminate claim TO perpetual
franchise in city of Rock Island
What the company agrees to do now. |
in addition to the ordnance SO provid- |
ing, is to install the so telephones to
be devoted to the police patrol service, |
with switchboard. also to be donated. |
and to pay the cost of the litigation as
far as it has proceeded.
The City's Demands.
What the city demanded in the ordi- |
nance which it ordered the company |
to accept or get out of town, was:
A maximum rate to all telephone
users.
Two per cent tax on gross earn
ings.,
Clause in the ordinance providing
for union labor.
What the city is to get now is the
payment by the company of the cost
of litigation which this ultimatum
brought upon it. and the switchboard |
for the so telephones granted by the
originally for the police pa
troll. and in return it is to give the COM
pany q 25-year franchise on the ordi-
nance over which all the storm arose. !
In other words, the litigation has
brought to the city the concession of
the switchboard and connecting appar-
atus for the so telephones to be used
by the police patrol. and a delay of a |
year in getting the wires underground, |
and the enjoyment of such other i'm |
as the company yielded to !!
in the first place, and would have been
installed by this time.
To End Litigation.
The situation requires no extensive |
comment 1t is, of course, always as
desirable to end litigation as it is to !
avoid it in the first place. Law suits
are sure to be expensive to all parties, !
and serve only to prolong the evil day
to somebody.
But there is nothing for the city to
crow over in the basis of settlement.
The city has sued for peace, and the
magnanimous victor has agreed to. as
sumo the war debt-and give the city
a switchboard as token of good will.
And in return it gets the ordinance
which aroused the contention
In Case of Fire
Please alarm the Rock Island Fuel
nnmnnnn- and their Snrine Valley Third