Norwich bulletin., 1916-01-29

commission. who up to then had known only of the Uncas Power company as being in the field.
 Mayor Active Against 1t.
 The outcome of the meeting was an adjournment to the next afternoon, Sunday. Meanwhile MT. Shea argued with MT. Spalding and MT. Gilmour and also let Mayor T. c. Murphy know what the conditions were. He found in the mayor an active supporter and on that Sunday morning before the meeting Mayor Murphy was in com munication with every member of the commission, telling them that they could count upon him to fight to the last ditch against the signing of the 20 year contract.
 Term Is Cut Down. The outcome of the Sunday meet ing was contract at the price of II cents but for eight years with priv ueges of three ffve-year renewals. On Monday, the next day, the con- | tract was sent around for signatures and the names of President Donohue, MT. Gilmour and MT. Spalding were af- l fixed. When the messenger from At | torney ComstoclS's office reached Mir. | Shea's store, MT. Shea was not in. | The contract was left on his desk for him to sign, but when he came in he found that it was not already signed | by the Uncas Power company and that | the typewriter had been used to make the change from twenty to eight years. | He didn't like the looks of it that way and took it to Corporation Coun- | sel Joseph T. Tanning, upon whose | advice he did not sign, but held it up. He alno got MT. Spalding and MT. Gill mour to agree to withdraw their sig natures, giving as their reasons that | they had signed the contract without reading it and under false pretenses
 Called Another Meeting.
 The next move was another meeting called by these three members of the l board for the next Wednesday evening whcih was January 5th.
 At the meeting Attorney Comstocl was on hand but when MT. Shea in quired of the chairman if this was 2 public meeting or a meeting of the | board the attorney withdrew.
 MT. Shea made a motion to recon slider the action of the previous meet ing. President Donohue declined tC entertain it, neither would Vice Pres ident Whitaker put the motion.
 Motion to Erase Names.
 A motion by MT. Shea to operat,
 without a contract and giving tn
 right to erase the names of MT. Spald
 ing and MT. Gilmour was passed ant
 Corporation Counsel Tanning was des | ignated as the one legally to puncl out the names. This has since beer done.
 
 that at the meeting tonight a contrac was to be voted upon for an eight yea term with three renewal terms of f1v II years each. It was understood tha
 the names that would be affixed to i, would be President DonOhue's, M
 Spaldings and MT. Gilmour's to iwhic , they had already agreed through rep resentations that the city stood the ris . of suit if the contract were nc : signed.
 r MT. Gilmour said Friday evening ths 2 he had received no notice of the Satur | day meeting and he didn't wish to eS
 press any opinion on the situation unt F he gave it at a meeting.
 MT Shea said that his attitude wa , the grounds that we ought to see whs . have to offer.
 2 Secretary Spalding was out of tow = | and could not be reached. 2 Mayor Murphy thought also ths 9 there was plenty of time and the boar ought to hear from others. MT. Whitaker said that he felt it WE 5 not good judgment to take action with . out looking over the field if the Shol Line Electric Railway company ar
 the Connecticut Power company
 New London was prepared to subm e bids.
 d General Manager V. E. Bird of tt = Connecticut Power company said tf e company was preparing a propositio = If they got the contract they wou S have to build a new high power liI e from New London to Norwich.