Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-31

In this city the company went into
a court of equity and applied for an
injunction to restrain the city from
destroying its property until the COM
pany could show that it has legal
right to operate here. A temporary
Injunction was issued, and this was
appealed to the appellate court, which
sustained the court here in its decision
in favor of the company. Some evil
dence was taken before the master in
chancery, when, because the same ele-
ments were largely the basis of the
Moline suit, The Rock Island case was
allowed to rest until the courts gave a
decision in the Moline suit.
The Moline case is a purely techni-
cal suit of quo warranto. filed by the
city calling on the company to come
into court and show by what technical
right it operates in Moline. The SUI
preme court has merely determined
that if the city had cause, the repeal
ing ordinance of 1908 is valid, and the
did not have cause, and that no terms
of the original franchise ordinance of
1883 were violated.
In Rock Islands case other elements
enter, the city maintaining that the
company is entitled to no Injunction,
as it is not seeking to do equity, in
that it has charged exorbitant rates
Mr.. Kenworthy states that in his opin-
ion the case does not rest entirely on
this rate matter, and that even should
the city abandon this line of contest,
| it can still defeat the company on the
ground of violations of the franchise
ordinance in other ways. The COM
pany has placed bond to indemnify
the city against any loss which may
result from the restraining order. He
maintained that under the rate contro-
versy, however, the city might win
Ieven should the company show that
| its franchise is valid technically.
Request Adoption.
At the conclusion of Mr. Ken
worthy's discussion of the legal points
| involved, Mayor Schaffer read a COM
munication from Mayor Levi, secre-
tary of the Industrial commission, re-
porting the action of that body and
other commercial organizations re-
lquesting that the Union Electric or
dinance be adopted, as has been al
ready outlined in The Argus.
| The communication reads: "In
view of the fact that the Union Elec-
trio Telephone & Telegraph company
has spent a large amount of money In
our city in establishing and maintain
| ing its plant; and, further, feeling that
1t would not be wise or desirable to
leave the city without proper compe
titiOn in the matter of telephone SER
vice, the board of control of the In
dustrial commission of Rock Island
at special meeting held March 25,
adopted the following resolutions" and
then are stated the resolutions here
tofore referred to in The Argus, re-
lquesting the council to reconsider it's
action of a week ago and immediately
pass the franchise ordinance of the
Union Electric company, believing
the adoption thereof to be for the best
interests of the city and the telephone
subscribers. The communication bears
the signature of the individual mem
bers of the board of control, and the
approval, over the individual sigma
lures of the directors of the Rock Isl
and Club, the Rock Island Boosters
Club, and also of Phil Mitchell as
president of the trustees of the In.
dustrial commission, and has as well
the approval of the Rock Island Bust
ness Mems association, although the
latter organization has not formally
lsignified its approval.
When these had been read, the mo
tons for favorable report on all OF
the ordinances were made by Alder
!. man Ostrom.
VIII Accept 1t.
E. ]. Burns, assistant manager OF
the Union Electric company, inter
viewed by an Argus representative
today, stated relative to the action OF
the council that the company will &C
cept the franchise ordinance and give
a satisfactory acceptance as well O
the police regulation ordinance If de
sired.
He states that even if the ordinanc,
!, is adopted and becomes effective a
once the Union Electric company doe
not intent to take advantage of tn,
fright to increase it's rates for the pres
ent, but that the present rates will
maintain until the company has install
ed and put in service the automati
: exchange system. The installation O
l this automatic service is one of tn
purposes the company has had in seel
ing a change in it's ordinance. 1t Wi
/ begin work as soon as authorized t
do so under the pending ordinance
but it will be months, and perhaps
year, before the company will hav
e completed its reconstruction work u
$ til this work is entirely completed, n
= change in telephone rates will be mad
Il by this company.
II A. J. Beverlin, manager of the Ce
u trail Union, stated today that viii
= he had been unable today to lear
III from the comDany's officials detjnitel