Arizona republican., 1909-05-08
4 GAS WAR
 AT TUCSON Conflict Between City and the
 Lighting Company NEW ONE BEING ENCOURAGED
The Tucson Nine Practicing for the Coming Contest With Phoenix--The Hard Troubles of an oldProspec- tor in the Sierritas.

Tucson, May What appears to be a spirited battle between the Tucson non- partisan municipal administration and the Electric Light company over the light rates charged, promises to come to a speedy climax through the refusal of Mayor Ben Heney, brother of Francis J. Heney, the San Fran cisco graft prosecutor. to allow a bill for lights furnished at the city farm. The charge of the light company twenty cents per kilowatt and a meter rental of fifty cents each month-is considered by the city excessive. and it is likely that a test will be made in the courts to determine whether this is a reasonable charge, as required by the franchise.
 An added feature in the quiet strug- gle which is going on is an application from George W. StoneN& Co.,. a wealthy Cleveland corporation, for a gas fran chise in Tucson. The Cleveland com pany offers to manufacture gas here and charge a rate considerably lower than is charged by the present com pany. From present indications, Tue son may, within a short time, have two gas companies supplying their product for lighting and fuel purposes
 A good roads movement. which has been inaugurated here, will likely result in the establishment of a fine automobile driveway from Tucson to Patagonia. through the picturesque Santa Rita mountains. The distance is sixty eight miles. and it is planned to have a return route past the historic Tomacacori and San Xavier missions.
 Al Johns, who is one of the oldest prospectors in the southern part of the territory. is a victim of ill-luck which has been pursuing him relentlessly for some time past. It reached a climax when, after having been acquitted by a jury in Nogales on a charge of cat tle-stealing. Johns returned to his home in Madeira canyon. in the Santa Ritas. and found that dynamiters had completely wrecked fine log cabin which he had built there. Johns owns some valuable silver claims in the San ta Ritas. and he claimed that enemies were trying to railroad him to the peni- tentiary in order that they might get possession of his mining claims.
 The Tucson baseball team is prac- ticing daily in anticipation of game Tn PnOellA one week lTDll next Suu- day. It is expected that low round trip rate will be offered by the rail- road company and that several hun dred excursionists will visit the capital city to witness the contest Tucson will be strengthened in several posi- tions which were weak in the exciting contest which Tucson was lucky enough to win here last Sunday. The Phoenix aggregation made a great inn pression on the local fans, and they predict that the capital city will have good percentage of winnings before the close of the year.
 Reports from Silverbell state that the Fl Tiro company. in the Silverbell district, which is rapidly developing its property, is now employing 100 men at its mines.
 It is expected that the work of sink ing a new shaft on the Twin Buttes property will be commenced within short time The new shaft will be 500 feet in depth and will be double com partment The work will be done un- der the direction of Superintendent Me Dermott of the Twin Buttes, who has been given absolute authority to di- rect all the operations at the mine, as his judgment sees fit. The Twin