Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-02
MUNICIPAL PLANT AND
EDISON CO. MAY SETTLE
Rumors of Electric War in PaSa-
dena Are Apparently
Founded on Fact

PASADENA, June Am electrical
war is imminent in this city between
the Edison Electric company and the
municipal lighting plant and fuses are
set ready to be exploded, according TO
persistent rumors which were partially
verified yesterday. City officials ad-
nit that information has come 10 them
from apparently reliable sources to the
effect that the Edison company Is
planning a war of determination on
the city plant and that the rumors are
being investigated. District Manager
Mulligan of the Edison company made
a blanket denial of all rumors reclted
to him by a representative or Inc
Herald last evening.
The most recent report to the city
officials, and one which has caused
them to charge the batteries Of the
legal department ready for action, is
to the effect that the Edison people
have employed a "silver-tongued' so
licitor at an enormous salary to take
charge of the outside work here ana
that this solicitor has stated to a
prominent business man in confidence
that he understands his duty to be to
put the municipal plant out Of busl-
ness by talking customers over TO
the corporation which employs him.
City officials claim to have corTob-
orative evidence that former Edison
employees have stated on numerous oc-
casions that the company would be
willing to leave the Pasadena plant
alone except for the fact that other
cities on the coast show signs of en-
ulating the example of this city in
putting In municipal plants and that
the most logical way to discourage the
other cities is to put a crimp in the
local municipal plant.
The information regarding the high
salaried solicitor of the Edison COM
pany came to the city in a peculiar
way A prominent business man of
Pasadena, a friend of the city plant,
was sitting as juror in Los Angeles
recently when the solicitor in question
was called as q witness and in answer
to questions stated that his business
is head solicitor of the Edison COM
pany in Pasadena. The Pasadena
business man knew that the witness
had been employed as head man of a
leading installment house at $1,000 a
year and the fact that he would re-
iinquish so lucrative a position to So
licit for the electric company led to
an investigation, which brought forth
the information mentioned.
Other rumors which are being in
vestigated are to the effect that en-
ployes of the Edison company have
been known to disconnect city meters
in vacant houses and connect up with
the Edison wires, with the idea that
strangers moving into the houses
would call at the Edison offices to ar
range for Juice"
All this taken in connection with
past occurrences wherein Matthew
Slavin has had published in the local
papers from time to time "open let
ters" stating that experts who have
been employed by him have found the
municipal plant to be a losing propo-
sition and a letter recently made pub
lie by Mayor Farley stating that the
council believes that the articles
signed by Slavin are prepared and
paid for by the Edison company point
to a lively war and city officials say:
1--WE will fight 1t out along electrical
lines if it takes all summer"