Evening journal., 1911-10-10
NEW FRANCHISE.
John S. Hamilton Makes a Suggestion
TO the Applicants.

John =. Hamilton Makes Suggestion
TO the Applicants.
Editor of THE EVENING JOURNAL.
Just at present the people of Will |
fnington are hearing from those " no |
are applying for a franchise for a new
lighting plant, a great deal about the
beHefitslofrc in public utili-
ties. AS far as the laws controlling
public utilities are concerned the peo-
pie Of Wilmington have been living or
endeavoring to live under competi-
tive system ever since there was
public utility in the town, and what
have we, the writer would like to ask,
but monopoly. and monopoly at its
very worst. II is true the new COM
pany applying for a franchise offers
light and power thirty per cent. less
i'm price than was then the prevailing
charges, but the franchise is applied
for under a system of laws and on
terms that have always encouraged
and produced monopoly, and in the
nature of things can only be expected
to encourage and produce monopoly
in the future. It is the settled con-
viction of the writer. therefore. that
this franchise s.ould not be granted
on the terms laid down by Mr.. Under,
hill and his company.
Mr. Underhill says he has barrels
Of money behind him, and there is
more than a suspicion that there are
hogsheads of water in the other COM
pary, and Mr. Underhills company
might. therefore, drive the Whining
ton aud Philadelphia Traction Com
pany out of business, and behold, here
we would have the monopoly again,
and let It be remembered that y
would be a monopoly exploiting the
4 citizens of Wilmington on terms made
by the monopoly itself.
If Mr.. Underhill is sincere. and
wants to do the people of Whining
ton a real service and at the same
( time get in on a good thing himself,
let him go before the Street and Sewer
i Department and the Board of Public
z Utilities and make proposition
! something like this: We will furnish
light and power TO the people of Will
.mington at a price thirty per cent
less than the present charges; we
will continue to furnish light and
power at that price until our mel
profits reach, say ten per cent. When
this point is reached we will reduce
the price of light and power, or VIII
turn into the city treasury all money
i'm excess of the said ten per cent. In
addition to this we will pay into the
city treasury every year sum equiva-
lent to the city tax assessment on real
estate on every dollar of the capi.
talization of our company bonds anc
stock. This, to the writer, looks like
a very liberal proposition FROM thu
point of view of grant by the city
and it certainly should look well 4
Mr. UnderhiH, who is here apparent,
to do us good.
"A In the writer's opinion no franchise
should be granted on any terms othe
than something similar to the above
and he, the writer believes that tn
time is at hand when the granting o
81 a franchise, which does not thus en-
deavor to safeguard the peoples i'll
terests. will be regarded as fagran
and outrageous betrayal of sacre'
trust. The writer does not promis
chat Mr.. Underhill would get III
franchise even on the terms indicates
above. but the writer believes ther
N is a chance that the demand from tn
N niiblic would be so strong that III
authorities could not afford to ignor
i It.
Respectfully,
John s. Hamilton.
Wilmington, Del, October 3.