The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-07-15
Favor Contract Terms But
Delay Taken for Public
Hearing.
EXPLAINED BY BOND
S. E. Swayne Says Contract
Was Very Best One TO
be Obtained. -

While council will take no Official
action on the proposed natural gas
contract with the Allegheny Gas COM
pany until after the public hearing.
which will be held next Monday. il In
understood that every member ap-
proves the contract as drawn.
The public meeting will be held
Monday morning AT o'clock at the
city building. at which time the citi-
zens are invited To be present and
present any recommendations or OBJ
Jections they may care TO make
II the hearing can be completed on
Monday the contract will be submitted
to council the same evening at its
regular meeting and acted upon. After
council has taken official action and
the contract has been signed. the ap-
plication will then be filed with the
public service commission to grant
the franchise
Council 10 Satisfied.
At the called meeting of council.
which was held last night, the pro-
posed contract was read section by
section and discussed. After explain
ations were made by City Attorney
William A. Bond and s Z. Swayne.
president of the commercial club, as
to why certain clauses were not in
the proposed contract. the members of
council present expressed themselves
as satisfied.
In presenting the matter to council
City Attorney Bond said that In order
that there should be no misunder-
standing as to why the city was not
able TO get certain sections written
into the contract he thought that
there should be a clear understanding
OF the negotiations from the begin
ming
Mr. Bond said that in the first place
the city had made the request of the
Logan Gas and Fuel company and the
Allegheny company that they supply
the city with natural gas, and that
they had agreed to come into the city
1 II they could do so without fghting for
franchise. The negotiations We're
carried on with the gas company by
the members of the public service COR
poration committee of the Commercial
club, together with the members of
the board of public work and Mr..
Bond, They prepared a contract
which II was thought would protect
the citizens of Richmond, and which
included all of the provisions that
could be reasonably asked for.
Refuse Some Provisions.
The company would not listen to
all of the provisions of the contract.
and declared that If these provisions
were insisted on il could not carry
on the negotiations further and that
the gas would be supplied to some
other Indiana city that would offer
more reasonable terms" Mr.. Bond
said
We were of the opinion that the
representatives of the company meant
what they said, and that unless Rich
mond was willing to make some COM
promise, We could not secure the ma
tural gas. The contract rs not exact
ly what We would like to have Il. but
We believe the city will be protected
by the new public service commits
. sion law.
In the first contract drawn, stipu-
lations were made as to quality and
quantity. heat units and pressure. and
many other provisions we would like
TO have had included. but the compa-
ny would not stand for these require
ments. and consequently we have ta-
ken what We could get. believing
that under the terms OF the contract
as ii now stands. il will mean a great
saving to the city"
The public utilities commission will
play an important part in the reguIa-
tion of the company and it's product.
the city attorney stated. The public
service commission act gives council
power to state the quality and char
acter OF any service rendered. so in
case the gas company should not
keep its franchise agreements, appeals
can be taken to the state commission.
AT the meeting of council there
were no citizens present except the
members of the public service corpo-
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