The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-04-23
Mayor German To Push His Ex,
aminationtnto Rates Charged
by the Gas Company
CONTRACTS MUST BE MADE
Present Contract for Street Lighting
Will Expire in Another Year and
Some Arrangement Must
Be Made at Once

Notwithstanding the fact that Mayor
German will not be the head executive
of the city after next week, the invest
igation of the rates charged by the
Kenosha Gas and Electric Company fol
lowing the complaint Of Mr.. German
is to be continued and the mayor said
this morning that acting as a private
citizen he would give the matter the
same consideration that he would have
given it had he been reelected as mayor
of the city. The State Railroad Com
mission in charge Of the investigation
has as yet done nothing to promote the
hearing ON the complaint made by
Mayor German and it may be several
weeks before the Commission is ready
to give the matter a hearing. Mayor
German is now ready with his evidence
and will appear in person before the
commission. He has urged the members
Of the Commission to place the hearing
of the Kenosha complaint as one Of the
first on the calendar of the Commission.
The experts Of the Commission have
been busy at work in other cities and
for this reason the preliminary work in
Kenosha has not as yet been done. It
is claimed that this work can all be
done in week SO that when the Com
mission sends the men to the city there
will be little delay expected.
One of the first matters to come be-
fore the new Council after it meets. on
next Monday will be the matter of a
municipal lighting plant. This PROPOSE
ton has been the slogan of the retiring
administration for two years and not
withstanding the fact that the people
voted in favor Of a municipal plant a
year ago, the plant is no nearer reali-
cation now than it was at that time. IF
the city is to build a municipal plant.
and there is no certainty that this is
the fact, something must be done at
once. 1t will be necessary for the new
Council to start at the base for this
work as the work that has been done by
the former Council in the way of secur-
ing plans and specifications will. be of
no value as conditions have changed and
the specifications made a year ago could
not be relied on today. There have been
several men looking for places as engi-
neers, but none of these men has made
formal application to the Council.
The contract with the Kenosha Gas
and Electric Light Company will ex-
pire early next year and the Council will
have less than a year in which to make
arrangements to secure lights for the
city. It is possible that the old com
pany will be willing to offer the city a
more advantageous rate, but the man
ager OF the company is slow to make
any proposition to the city at this time
and it is evident that the company will
wait until the ely shows its hand before
making any proposition. The city will
be left at the mercy Of the company
and will be forced to make some ar
rangement or have the city left in total
darkness. John I. Beggs had the city
OF Milwaukee in this same fix two years
ago and was in this manner enabled to
force the city to meet his terms or 90
without hight.
1t has been suggested to some of the
aldermen that an effort be made to Sc
cure competition with the local com
pany in the matter of supply lights for
the streets and to this end it has been
urged that bids for lighting the city
for periods of two, five and ten years
be asked for. The Kenosha Gas and
Electric Company would undoubtedly
bid on such contract and it is thought
possible that the Kenosha Electric
Railway Company might be brought
to place bid as we'll It is
certain that Kenosha will be left in
a bad position if the new Council does
not take the bull by the horns at once
and make some immediate arrangements
either to construct municipal plant or
to get new term contract for the light
ing of the city.