The Greeley tribune., 1912-01-25
EXPLAINS THE SITUATION

Why is the light and power. trust
lighting so desperately to prevent
Longmont from successfully build
ing her own planto
One reason is that the citizens of
Longmont were paying the trust
$4,000 per year for the service
rendered.
But the one paramount reason of
all reasons is the fact that all the
other towns and cities in northern
Colorado are anxiously watching
Longmont. hoping that she will
succeed, 80 that they In turn may
put to use the power of their re-
spective water plants.
II Longmont succeeds, each of
these other towns and cities will
begin soon to stop the drain on
them by the light and power trust
Think a moment what this drain
means.
Longmont's population is in
round numbers 5000. They paid
100000 annually to the trust
These figures were carefully OBJ
tained by the city authorities at the
beginning of their work on the
new city plant
But the people OF Longmont. OF
Boulder. of Fort Collins. of Greeley.
of every other city and town, indeed
all OF the farming population of
northern Colorado were long ago
= considered invoiced and bonded by
the trust when 1t established itself
In our state. and went to work
bleeding these citizens according
TO its carefully worked out plans.
We know now. from actual ex-
-perience in Longmont. that every
man. woman and child in the city
Is worth $500 each per year to the
trust. We know. too, that each Of
the other cities and towns In north
ern Colorado are Just as valuable
TO the beast as Longmont is. So
every man, woman and child within
these communities. has been val
-ued. invoiced, and bonded by It,
and it is actually engaged in fore
ing its tribute. Just because we
are here. we people OF northern
Colorado have been listed as prop
-erty OF the trust. The trust bor-
rowed an immense amount OF
money. What security did 1t have
upon which to borrow this money?
The security was the fact that II
had a corner on northern Colorado
had the only lines in that section
The people could not buy from any
one else. They we're at its mercy
Hence they were it's property. Sc
1t offered our people as security fol
the money loaners of the east
These trust promoters and support
ers loaned their money on this Sc
'curity. And now these bond hold
-ers are joining in with the trust IL
ats legal battle to keep us tied.
There are, according to the 1911
census, $4,000 people living II
northern Colorado cities and towns
They use proportionately as mucl
electricity for light and power a
LOngmont people do. So each o
these Inhabitants. each man, wo
man and child. in each of thes
cities and towns Is worth, accOrdin
to LOngmOnt's experience, at leas
$500 per year. A gross income O
$77O.0O0 from the urban populatio
alone. And we have no figures o
what the farm population Of thi
region IL worth, but the trust ha
oven the farmers listed. invoice
-and bonded. for 1t is keen in 1t
advertisements to show to them tn
wonderful benefits that electricit
brings to them. 1t got its clutche
ION the cities and towns, but don
you think for q minute that it fol
got the farmers.
With honeyed propositions
met town councils a few years age
propositions SO veiled that few SUI
pected who were behind then
Smooth agents of promoters go
franchises wherever they coult
then transferred their franchises t
the trust.
How long will the people q