The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-06-04
TAYLOR CRuM
TAKES EXCEPTION

TIC The Forum: The executive
committee Of the commercial club has
gone on record in favor of permitting
the Byllesby Gas Co. to erect an
enormous gas container, 80 feet IN
diameter, with a capacity of 10000
cubic feet Of combustible and inflam-
mable gas, in a thickly populated sec
ton of the Fifth ward; and give as a
reason for such remarkable recon-
mendation that they made a promise
to this corporation not to obstruct its
operations in this city, as an induce
ment to it to build a trolley n to
Dilworth.
BY just what right or by what au-
thority these gentlemen assumed to
control this public service corpora
ton is not clear. The citizens of the
Fifth ward think they have a few
rights which this corporation should
not be permitted to trample under it's
steel, shod feet" they also resent the
interference of a few members OF the
commercial club, under the club name,
as the special pleaders of this cor
poration. They think these men could
be better employed using the COM
mercial badge, for the interest of the
city, generally, rather than by inter-
fering in the controversy between the
gas company and the citizens of the
Fifth ward. e
The stock argument. of these cor
poration parasites. is that the
gas works were there first and the
people who bought property there have
no right to complain.
The courts hold that when cities,
by reason of growth, expand into dis
tricts where offensive manufactures
are located, that plants which are
n%uisances must move on. Northwest
ern Fertilizing Co, VS.. village of Hyde
Park, 81 u. s.. supreme court, $50, l. ed.
"a, 1887; people VS.. Detroit White Lead
Co. 9 L. r. A. 722, CMich.) etc.
The fact is nat the gas company
acknowledged that it's works was a
nuisance and has been promising to
remove it, from it's present location,
since the time Seth Newman was city
attorney down to the time the fran
chise was bought by the Byllesby
octopus.
When the protests came up before
the last city council. Mayor Sweet di-
rected the city auditor to notify the
gas company of the objections of citi-
zens to the extension of the plant and
the erection of another huge gas con-
tainer in close proximity to their
homes, with the idea that when the
company was officially notified that the
matter was being considered by the
city the company would delay opera
tons until the matter was decided;
but the gas company was defiant and
proceeded to- go right along erlarg-
ing it's plant and evidently proposes to
run things to suit itself, regardless Of
the protests and legal rights of citi-
zens; and ~jeopardize the life, health.
comfort, property and peace Of mind
of hundreds OF citizens rather than re-
move this nuisance to a proper site.
The company says to them: IF you
don't like it, move away
Mike Foy said: y guess gas works
~nuisances remained In certain city
limits because it was cheaper to buy
aldermen than to move gas works"
Judge Fish, city attorney of Mime
apolis, in a letter recently said:
THE average city is rather helpless
in the hands of an enterprising and
INSCRIPTIONS public service corpora
ton. Eternal fight is the price of con-
troI."
We shall soon see whether Fargo is
"the average city and helpless in the
hands Of the Byllesby octopus. Yours
truly, Taylor Crum.
Attorney for protestarts.