Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-03-09
SAUNDERS MEASURE
PROVIDES FOR VOTE
General Manager Howell Has Had
Municipal Electric Lighting
Measure Amended.
HEARING BEFORE COMMITTEE
Room q staft correspondentl

CFrom a staff Correspondent
LINCOLN. March S-(special Tele-
gram Happening before the telephone
and telegraph committee Of the house to-
night IN the interest OF senate file No 6,
the Saunders bill TO enable the Omaha
Water board. OF which he Is the $500 a
year manager. TO go into the electric
fighting business in opposition to the
Omaha Electric Light company, r. b.
Howell took altogether a new view OF tho
situation than the one he advocated be-
fore the senate committee.
A month ago he held that the leSisla-
lure should give the Water board the
power TO go into the electric lighting busi-
ness. but did not press the 9oint that
the people Of Omaha were to have very
much 70 say about IL.
Tonight he was very anxious that the
committee should know that the hill had
been amended so that before the Water
board could embark in the lighting bust
ness the people should give their approval
OF a bond issue.
Rates I'm Two CiticE.
Mr.. Howell went over about the same
ground az in former speeches. presenting
one case where an electric light user had
paid t6.5s one month for his electricity in
his residence and that the same amount
of electricity could be secured in Lincoln
for about half.
He said every man on Sixteenth street
had different rate on his electricity and
declared Omaha couldn't regulate any
thing without going into lawsuit
W. +. Gurley speaking In behalf of the
company said Mr.. Howell had ransacked
tho whole city OF Omaha TO find some
electric light bill which he could use as
an argument before this committee. and
has found but one bill and that for one
Of the members OF the Water board OF
which he is manager.
virtual COnfIscatiOn.
He said the power which was sought In
this bill was not built upon good common
sense. The title OF the bill should be
changed 20 IAN act 10 permit certain
Water board TO obtain the property OF a
private competitor by lnsidious methods"
II was giving great power, not TO the
city OF Omaha, but to the Omaha Water
board. THIS board is coming before the
legislature with a proposition to allow
II TO so into competition with a corpor-
alton which paid taxes of different kinds.
They say 20 you said he, that we
pay no taxes, we pay no occupation tax.
we pay no tax on our franchise. but
you must give US the right to compete
against a company that pays all Of these
things for the support OF the government
OF tho city.
you are giving them such a power as
has never been given in any municipality
in these United States"
Quotes from Cummins.
Mr.. Gurley quoted from a speech by
Senator Cummins of Iowa, in the senate
on the ship purchase act. in which he said
that no city should operate plants of
any kind against a private plant.
He urged the committee TO remember
that II the city wanted to go into the
lighting business, It had the right under
the charter to condemn, purchase, and
acquire the Omaha Electric light plant
and that any legislation which allowed
municipal competition with a company
that had kept its promises TO the people
TO make lower rates last summer, and
had made another promise TO make a
stili greater cut the coming summer,
was unfair, and unjust.