Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1908-03-18

WHO CONTROLS
The STREETS
DR.. Johnson Writes Another Ar
ticle on the Telephone
Question.
Editor Willmar Tribune:-Last
Thursday Mr.. Tallman spoke to me
at the post office in regard to my
last article, and insisted that l had
mlsrepresented him; that he had in
fact not had that $4,000 ordinance
specially prepared for Willmar, but
that it was a general ordinance for
introduction in the towns touched
by the Minnesota Central. He also
said that he would write an article
giving his side of the question.
Until then l shall not touch on this
phase of the question any further.
But there are other features to this
telephone question-and we may as
we'll thresh it out while we are at
it.
One year ago one Of the newspa-
pers of this city astonished the or
binary citizens of Willmar by the
bold announcement-in yelled Ian
guage, of course, but plain enough
to be understood by anybody-that
the Northwestern Telephone Ex-
change Co. claimed to have per-
petual franchise in the streets of
Willmar. It was felt that this an
nouncement was inspired by the re-
representatives. of the telephone COM
pany and that it was thrown out as
a fe=ler to see how it would be re-
cieved by the citizens Of Willmar.
The citizens of Willmar respond
ed by calling mass meeting to dis
cuss the matter. The editor who
had acted as mouth organ Of the
telephone interests was present at
the meeting and was severely cross
questioned as to where he had got
his information about the telephone
question, but all to no purpose.
He would not reveal the official of
the company who had ms ired him
to sound the public.
However, at the close of the
meeting Mr.. j. Williams, the su-
perintendent Of the local company,
stood up and declared that he had
no doubt that his company would
apply for new charter when the
one in force should expire Git ex-
pired in May, 1907; that all that
was necessary for the city to do
was to elect a business council, and
he had no doubt that his company
would do the fair thing to the city.
Well, that declaration from Mr..
Williams satisfied the mass meeting
on the telephone question. We
heard no more about it until the
city council lately selected COM
mittee to 60 to the headquarters of
the company to try to ascertain the
status OF the question. And why
did they take this action? Because
the telephone company had made no
application for a renewal of it's
charter; had said nothing whatever,
but simply kept on doing business
at the old stand, occupying the
streets and boulevards of the city
and drawing their big, round divi-
dends from the business without so
much as saying "by your leave.'
Then there is the notorious fact
of the numerous expensive lawsuits
towns and cities are having with
this company all over the state.
Our nearest neighbors, Litchfeld
on the east and Granite Falls south
of US, have just passed through a
contest of this kind. How soon is
the turn coming to US to fight this
notorious monopoly?
am speaking simply as a citi-
zen, and taxpayer, but l take it
for granted that these were the
good and sufficient reasons why the
council acted in this matter. And
[ am sure that it's action meets
with the approval of all the citizens
except the representatives of the
company. All the council has done
so far is to investigate the ques-
ton, and to take steps to protect
the rights of the city in the premi-
SeS.
One would suppose that every
loyal citizen Of Willmar would ap-
prove Of this action of the council
and stand by the council in it's fight
for the interests of the city against
the interest Of a foreign corpora
ton whose only interest in Willmar
is to get all the money out of it
that it can. But: strange as it
may appear to the superficial OBJ.
server, there are representative
men in this city, as elsewhere-l
refer not now to employees Of the
company, as they are expected to