Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1908-09-09
'yUI DOWN ITS POLES
ithaca Council Takes Drastic
Action Against Union Tele.
phone Co.
COMPANY SERVES INJUNCTION
Work Begins on Sunday. Stopped by
Injunction at Midnight
Sunday.


Center street Ithaca was the scene OF
considerable excitement and much inter
set last Sunday afternoon, Early in the
afternoon President Frank Harrington
of Ithaca with gang of workmen began
tearing down the poles and wires on Cen
ter street belonging to the Union Tele-
phone company. 1t was but short time
before a big crowd of onlookers collected
This drastic step came as a climax to a
controversy between the telephone CON-
pany and the village authorities of Ithaca
that extends back several weeks.
Last July the village council of Ithaca
created what was known as paving dis
trict OH Pine River avenue and Center
streets, Ithaca. In The conditions of the
ordinance governing this new paving dis.
trict was one providing that all telephone
poles should be relegated to back streets or
alleys Soon after passing the ordinance
notice was served on the telephone COM
panies to remove their poles from the
block on Center street that the village
desired to pave.
The Union company prostested against
such action claiming their franchises
gave them the privilege of maintaining
poles on the streets. They called atten-
tion to the clause covering this point
which says that the company may inain-
tain IFS poles and wires on any street pro
vided such poles do not injuriously inter
fere with the public purposes of the
street And on this clause rests the
point at issue
Among reasons for objecting to moving
its poles, the company points out that
there are no parallel alleys on Center
street on which it could operate its lines.
And that to remove the lines to a still
greater distance would entail to great an
expense. Manager Melchers offered to
compromise the matter so that the viii
lage would pay part of the cost. The
Ithaca council refused to compromise
Mr.. Melchers then offered to make
joint issue before the circuit court of the
question of the company's right to main
tain its poles. The issue was to be a
friendly one and the side defeated was to
abide by the result This offer was also
refused. Further efforts were then made
to have the expense of removal borne
quitely. Melchers pointing out that the
proposed change meant putting up 81
poles where s now are used and the us
ing'of additional wire material But it
was impossible to get such proposition
considered
In the meantime the Ithaca council
threatened to remove the poles if the
company did not. The council sci sever
al different dates as the last day Of grace
The Union people, with these things in
mind went before Judge Kelley Searle
last week and secured an injunction re-
staining the villageauthori ties from mo-
Testing the company's property. This
injunction was not served on the village
authorities, it being by Mr.. Melcher' 5
statement, the company's intention to
serve it only in case its property was
molested. When the injunction was is
sued President Harrington was notified
and, according to the telephone company
officials, agreed i'll case it was determined
to force the issue TO notify the telephone
company in order that there would be no
destruction of property.
But the Ithaca village fathers stole
march on the telephone company by 90
ing after their property on Sunday. As
the injunction could not be served on
Sunday, the company's officials were OBJ
liged to stand by and see the poles taken
down. BY midnight Sunday two poles
had been removed and third one was
ready to fall At that hour the iniunc-
tion was served and the village authorities
desisted in their attack.
Tuesday morning the telephone com.
pany obtained another injunction which
restraints the village authorities from in
terfering with the companys mep max
ing repairs to tire wires. But it does not al
low the company to put the poles up
again.
On Saturday both sides will be heard
before Judge Searle The question IS
quite legal problem and will probably
be contested by civil suit.