The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-27
Legislation Aimed at How land Dry Goods Company Excites Opposition of
 Business Interests. Wallace G. Taylor Explains Purpose of Three Sinister Bills Now Before Gen.
 eral Assembly.
Counter Legislation Will Be Offered Clipping Area Oc- cupied by Lighting and Power Companies - B. Brewster-Greene Discuss es Legislation.

The desire of the United Illuminat- ing Company of this city and New Haven to increase it's monopoly of the
 business of electric lighting will prob ably be severely joited before the General Assembly adjourns.
 The Bridgeport Business Mems As sociation took up the matter of Sen- ate bills 203 and 2O4, at a meeting of the directors yesterday, in the Strat- field.
 After the bills had been mercilessly dissected by Former Fire Commission CT Wallace G. Taylor, representing the Rowland Dry Goods Company, they were referred to the joint committee of Businessmen, Bridgeport Board of Trade and Manufacturers Association.
 This undoubtedly means that the bills will be opposed by the business with Public Service Utilities.
 The lighting plants will not improb- ably find themselves in the situation of the boy in the fable, who took too big a handful and had to let go to get his hand out of the pitcher.
 The bills have already been explain ed in the Farmer. Bill 2O3 provides Lu6aS IL ally pciSOl UT COFpOrdLlOn snail engage in any business or in the sale of any commodity which is by law pro- hibited, then any person affected may have an injunction.
 Y The teeth of this charming piece of proposed legislation are in the fact that the lighting interest have already managed to get upon the statute books a law forbidding corporations to sell electricity for light and power. But no penalty is attached.
 But 203 is a far reaching bill. As MT. Taylor pointed out, it would pre- vent Warner Bros from conducting the printing establishment which is con- nected with their plant. It would re- quire every corporation to confine itself strictly to the particular purposes nam ed in it's articles of association. Bill 204 is to the same effect in an altered verbiage.
 Bill POP is an amendment to Sec. 3916 of the General Statutes.
 It puts teeth into the statute by giving to any electric light. company the power to secure an injunction against any corporation which tries to sell it's surplus electricity.
 It is commonly believed by local bus mess men that these bills spring from sources friendly to the United Hum mating Company and that they are primarily aimed to prevent the How. lana Dry GOOQS company rom ,SeIl1nS it's surplus electricityS to Thomas P. Taylor, for the purpose of lighting the Taylor building, which is adjacent to the Rowland store on Cannon street.
 E. Brewster Greene, secretary of the Manufacturers association, said that all would be able to pull together to defeat bills to prevent the sale of light and power by corporations not speci- hcally allowed to sell these commo- dities.
 The speaker said that any or all of the local factories might at sometime desire to furnish light or power to an- other concern.
 At present the electric light company has an entire monopoly of the streets. He used for illustration of. this claim the fact that Samuel H. Wheeler was unable to light the Stratfeld Hotel and the Security building with one plant, because this would involve pass ing under or over streets and through not his own.
 Upon motion of D. F. Wheeler all of the bills brought to notice by MT. Fay Tor were referred to the joint com mittee.
 It is likely that the business inter- ests will ask for legislation permitting any person to sell light and power to those in the same block, and empower ng private persons to cross streets to reach property held under one title.
 The bills were introduced into the Senate by Senator Philip l.. Holzer of this city.