The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1909-05-11
DO YOU WISH
TO KILL THIS
UNFAIR LAW
Then Send Your Name to
the Secretary of Bridge
port Business Mems
Association.

vi ACCOHu OuO ACdIluS LII
Hartford, Thursday-Cir-
cular Letter Sent Out in
Which Law is Declared
Unconstitutional and Club
in Hands of Electric Com
panies.
The Bridgeport Business Mems AS
sociation has issued a circular letter,
in which it asks for help to kill Sec.
1896 of the General Statutes, by which
the manufacture of electricity is re-
stricted.
The letter is signed by George r.
Burnes, secretary, and reads in part
as follows:
1.-THE law was placed on the statute
books at the request of the Electric
Companies in 1898. In the opinion of
good lawyers, it is Unconstitutional.
But so long as it is on the books, it
is a club in the hands of the Electric
interests to prevent you from either
selling or buying electricity from your
next door neighbor or from any one
else in your block who could furnish it
to you at a saving. Will you help to
wipe it OFF,
bigger. the electric interests asked the
legislature to add to this law a section
providing that any one who violated
it should be enjoined. When it came
they asked that the bill they had pre-
pared might be withdrawn from the
committee on Judiciary before winch
it had gone for consideration Why?
Because so great opposition had been
created that they saw it was useless to
attempt to put through their original
programme.
Now they are on the defensive. The
rights of manufacturers and merchants
are being pressed as against those of
monopolies. We are asking the Ju-
dietary committee to report a substi-
tute bill repeating the above section
Of the statutes.
Twill you help? Write to Senator
Searles, State Capitol, Hartford, chair
| man of the Judiciary committee urg-
! ing repeal of the law. Write the un-
nearing at the Capitol, Thursday, May
| 10, at p. M If you cannot be pres
4 tent, authorize us to represent you at
the hearing in favor of the. repeal OF
| the law.
Repeal means delivery from threat
ened prosecution by the electric inter-
| eSts. 1t means assurance of ones
natural right to buy and sell any ar
ticle. 1t means that the electric in
terests cannot attempt to harass a
man who is engaged in a legitimate
business, so long as he does not at
tempt to trespass upon chartered
rights to the exclusive use of the
streets and highways.
| Repeal is only fair. 1t takes away
from the electric interests none of
their rights and privileges. 1t only
citizen, the anufacturer, and the mer-
chant
.'Act promptly Answer this at
once. Join in this attempt to give
| every man in Connecticut his constitu-
tional rights
! Ignorance of the law is inexcus-
able in the opinion Of the law it
self, but sometimes it does credit
to the ignorant-not to say to the
| law, too The Courant has to plead
guilty to such ignorance as was
displayed in the editorial article
published yesterday morning, de-
| nouncing a proposed outrage on
neighboring property-holders in
large cities. 1t seems, incredible
as the thing is, that the proposed
law is actually the law, established
| some hitch about getting at Offend
ers and so the attorney for the
grasping corporations was up on
| the Hill to get better grip.
Attorney Stiles Judson, who came
in with his disconcerting amend
ment to abolish the whole. law,
spoke out for decent comfy be-
tween neighbors and for liberation
enough to justify the notion of live
and let live. If the situation was
understood, everybody interested
would be up in arms on the SUBJ
/ ject. Just think of it; here are
two stores adjoining or two fac
| tories side by side; it dis today I'M
l. lawful for one of these to furnish
electricity to the other. You can
run a. heavy shaft across the inter-
| vening space and convey power
that way, but it is against the law
to run a light wire and send power
| in on that.
1t is perfectly reasonable to de-
mand that a charter be secured be-
i fore electricity is served to prop
erty that is across public high
/ way. When you come up against
| the public or begin to use their
streets, it is fair to insist on reg
ulation. But for an electric light
and power concern to interfere
\ when neighboring buildings on the
! same square propose to aid each
| other is putting both feet in the
i trough. 1t ought to tip the trough
II over
| The phrasing of the law is mean
ness itself. 1t applies to only
twelve towns in the State Twen-
/ ty-four representatives in the
House have constituents affected
by it, while 231 representatives
stand for communities that the law
does not hit at all. You can carry
on this business in Ansonfa, or
Greenwich, or Manchester, or Nau-
! gatuck. or Torrington, or Winsted,
or Willimantic, but you cannot do
it in Bridgeport, Danbury, Hart
ford, Meriden, Middletown. New
Britain, New Haven, New London,
Norwalk, Norwich, Stamford or
Waterbury. If several private
houses or business concerns ad-
joining and all in one square de-
sire to undertake cooperation,
they have just as good a moral
right to co-operat tie in electric power
as in steam power, in electric light