The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1913-11-21
GAS CO. ACCEPTS
CITY ORDINANCE.
Supt. Steenbergen Receives a
Letter to This Effect
From the St. Louis
REASSURES.CONSUMER
Col. Tonkin Visits Paris For
a Conference With
Mayor Hinton


tIlpulloH oI natural gas IN this city,
is in receipt of letter from the Off
Gals of the Light e Development Co.,
OF st. Louis, which own and controls
the local company, to the eff
feet that the company accepts the
terms of the city council regarding
the franchise which the company in
tends to operate under.
At the last meeting of the council
an ordinance was passed which re-
stricted the local company from
charging an amount in excess of the
rate provided in the franchise grant
ed the Central Kentucky Natural Gas
Co., and which was taken over by the
local concern. In addition to this the
the council acceded to the request of
the officials of the Light & Develop
ment Co., and left in force the fran
chise held by the company, which was
granted in 1910, and which provided
for a rate of $1.65 per thousand for
gas.
Following considerable agitation as
to the possibility of the distributors
of natural gas in this city, operating
under the franchise granted in 1910
to the Paris Gas e Electric Co., the
matter was taken up by Mayor Hin
ton, who to safeguard the interests of
the city, compelled the officials of the
Light & Development Co. to elect I'm
der which franchise it would oferate.
Mr.. w. H. Beck, secretary of the
Light & Development Co., came to
this city to confer with the officials
In an effort to straighten the entan-
clement, but after stating it was the
purpose of he company to operate
under the old franchise, a statement
was issued by Mayor Hinton in which
he said the case would be carried to
the court of last resort in an effort
to annul the old franchise and compel
the company to furnish natural gas
to the consumers at the rate specified
in the latter franchise.
Following a call for a special meet
ing of the City Council to take imme-
date action, Mr.. Beck requested that
this action be deferred until he could
returnto st. Louis. Following his
Wis Mr.. w. S. Smith, President of the
Light e Development Co., came to
Paris to appear before the Council
in the interest of his company and in
an effort to bring about an AMIGA
BILE djustment. In his statement
made to the Council Mr. Smith de-
clared it. was never the intention of
his company to operate under other
than the recent franchise granted to
the Central Kentucky Natural Gas
Co., and which was purchased w the
concern of which he was the head.
The ordinance, which proved &C
ceptable to Mr.. Smith was read in
the Council, and after it's passage by
the unanimous vote of the Board,
Mr.. Smith, On behalf of his company,
agreed upon his return to ST. Louis,
to formally accept the terms and pro-
visions of the ordinance before it
could go into effect
The letter directed to Superintend-
ent Steenbergen was yesterday pre-
sented to Mayor Hinton. Hon. c.
M. Thomas, attorney for the st. Lou
is company, returned after an alb
sence of a few days from the city,
and stated that he had not received
any communication from the com
pany which he represents.
COL. TONKIN VISITS PARIS.
Col. John Tonkin, of Oil City, Pa,
President of the Central Kentucky
Natural Gas Co., was visitor in
Paris Tuesday, coming here especial
| ly to look into the conditions and to
investigate the rumors that had been
carried to his ears that the purchas-
ers of 1913 franchise-The Light and
Development Co., of ST., Louis, No.
! intended to operate under the fran
] chise of 1910.
| Col. TOnkin spent some time in con-
sultation with Mayor ]. T. Hinton in
| regard to the matter and gave the in
| formation to the city's executive that
| Immediately upon receipt of the ru-
NOR which was in effect and which
occasioned decided unrest among the
prospective consumers of natural gas
| in this city, he Immediately tele-
graphed the st. Louis concern that he
would insist that the Paris Gas &
Electric Co. operate under the late
| franchise.
Later, he said, he received a reply
to the effect that it was the inten-
ton of the company to pursue no
other course than that with the ap-
prevail of the city officials as well as
the consumers of natural gas, and
! further than that the Light & Devel-
opment Co. was having papers pre-
pared that would prove satisfactory
After investigating the affair and
finding the people of Paris thorough
ly satisfied with the course of the
Paris Gas e Electric Co., which is
owned and operated by the Light &
Development Co. and assuring Mayor
Hinton that the Central Kentucky
Natural Gas Co. would in event of a
breach of contract insist upon the
local concern operating under the
1913 franchise, he left for Lexington
where he will spend few days be
fore returning home.