The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-18
ALDERMEN BY VOTE OF IS TO 6 REFUSE TO
 PROBE LIGHT MONOPOLY
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taInS It's charter. It has rights and powers as great as those of the city and in some instances greater No chartered concern is any greater than another corporation that derives it's source from the same fountain head.
 ''If these discrimina tions could be proven as you say couldn't the char ter of this company be taken away" asked Alderman Meyer
 '.It could, but would it be?'' re- piled MT. Day, eff discrimination counted for anything in losing char ters how about all of the railroads, who have been shown as discriminat- ing in rates during the past five years"
 Alderman Meyer said that if it had not been possible to make the rail- roads lose their charters that there was no lawful reason why they should mt have lost them for discriminating. MT. Day was given the privilege of the floor upon the motion of Alder man Primrose. He told the aldermen that the United lllumina ting Co.,, had not made the proposition to reduce the cost of lighting of their own free will He said that engineers named Winchester and Boyle, whom the committee had engaged, had informed them that the best they could have wished for was a reduction of from $3 to $5 per lamp and under the contract they were able to get a reduction of $5.47 per lamp.
 During the last election Former Mayor Lee made political capital out of the reduction as one of the achive- ments of his campaign. But last night Attorney Day said that the po- litical talk was all "clap trap" That there was no politics in the work of the committee. During his talk he said, Everyone knows that it is hard to get a civil answer from the repre- sentatives of the United Illuminating Co.,, in this city, and that he is prob ably the most unpopular man in the city of Bridgeport today
 MT. Day said that what the city wanted was concrete results and that the question was not should the city investigate further at this time but whether it should avail itself of the Opportunity to get cheaper electricity for the Is months the contract is to be run. He thought it was a serious question to be considered the expendi- ture of money for an investigation at this time when the city needed the money very badly
 Alderman Primrose, who moved the adoption of the majority report, said he thought the city should avail it. self to get the cheaper rates for the time the contract is to run and that the investigation could be made lat er if it was desired
 Alderman Jackson read a letter from Hartford to show that that city had two water power driven plants and that it was an advantage for that city.
 Alderman James Comlin asked for yea and a nay vote on the matter and was supported by Aldermen Henry Clampett, James P. O'Neil, and Me Murray.
 Alderman Mahoney said that New Haven had just made a five year con tract with the United Illuminating Co.,, to supply it with electricity at the same price that Bridgeport was to be supplied under the new agreement.
 Alderman McMurJay said that the original resolution to investigate the United Illuminating Co.,, was present. ed to the council by a Democratic aldermen the eve of his retirement. free will of the alderman and that there was no politics in the matter. He thought the resolution had borne fruit because the committee that had investigated had effected a comprom- ise whereby the city was to get cheap CT electricity. Even after the com mittee had reported the matter went to a committee of the council and another advantage was given the city by the reduction in the number of lights from $50 to 625 before the con- tract becomes operative. The alder
 
 done and that the company was talk ing so much that it could afford to give something at every turn to head off an investigation he thought the inquiry had better continue. He thought the minority report in favor of accepting the reduced rate and proceeding with an investigation was sound logical sense.
 Further he added '"The people of the city at the last election express ed themselves at the polls for a fur ther investigation of the company. AS freemen they said the platform upon which the present mayor and the Democratic aldermen were elected was good enough for them.
 ':The greatest sorrow in municipal elections comes when the candidates do not stand by their promises.
 eff they stood upon the platform up on which they were elected there would never be any regret for the election of any men to public ofice."
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