Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-04-07
Strong Opposition to Meas ure ill Double Form Is the Cause of the Sudden Change.
R U UTHERFORD'S POWER
Heated Argument Over Mayor Being Included in the C9mmis,iop- Measure Will Pass Authorizing WaterWorks Only.

The light plant feature in the mu- nicipal ownership bill, which was in troduced in the lower house of the Arkansas Legislature the past week by Representatives Alex H. Rowel!, Sidney J. Hunt and w. B. Pinney, a,1- thorizing this city to purchase or build it's own Waterworks and light plant was eliminated. This fact be- came known yesterday and was later confirmed by a Graphic representa- tive
 The measure was introduced Tues day and read twice. It was not gen. erally known here that the light plant feature had been taken from the original bill, and it nat urally caused no little dis cussion when it was finally learned that the thing had been done It was agreed to by the three legislators who are fathering the measure, ac- cording to Representative Powell, that this be omitted
 When the bill was approved by the City Council several weeks ago hard fight was made to eliminate the light plant clause, but the opposition was of no strength apparently and the bill went back to the Commissioners in it's original form, authorizing the building or purchase by the city of light plant and WaterwOrks combined.
 A meeting of the members of the Commission held few days ago was attended by the improvement district commissioners named in the bill and approved by the Council, Mayor Cald- we'll, City Attorney Coleman and oth- CTS, including Austin and Danaher, the attorneys representing the mass meeting of citizens who started the municipal ownership proposition and who drew up the bill at the request of the citizens
 At this meeting an effort was made by Attorney M A. Austin to
 
 section which provides that the mayor of the city of Pine Bluff shall be an ex-oflicio member Of the commission. Attorney Austin charged that it would naturally re- suit in politics being injected into municipal ownership affairs. He said lie had promised the signers of the petition that no elective of ficer or officer should be made members Of tha commission On that one account. They did not want poiitiez 4si2cd in the matter.
 The aaestiaa i5 said 10 have been argued at=telelh some of those in atteadaaea differing wjtA Attorney Austin tae subject Mayor cel'4-eli Attorney M A. Austin >"a ate 4eabels Of the com missias reported t3 have en- gagged il slieet personalities during the meafiag Naea 2 previous mat ter, the qualification of an interview by the mayor relative to the water service at the Bluff City Lumber company fire, was brought up. At torney Austin did not gain his point, however, for the Eill was sent to the legislature with the mayor as an ex-officio me1aber of the commission. He is said to have displayed disgust at the action taken at the meeting in not omiting the name of the mayor from the commission
 When it became known Satur- day that the bill had been intro- duced without the light plant, an revealed the fact that the matter had been discussed in this city previously and that many in position to know knew that the bill had gone through in that way. One of the commissioners,
 (Continued on Page Four.)