The Seward gateway., 1916-09-12
Phone Franchise
 Comes Up Today
Question Discussed at Last Nights
 Meeting of City Council.

At four o'clock this afternoon after the meeting of the equalization board the proposed franchise for telephones, asked for by the Seward Electric Co.,, may be read a first time. At least it will come up for action and a vote will likely be taken. A meeting of the city council was held last night to take up the matter and prolonged discussion took place, the members of the city council, the city attorney and the at torneyS for the company taking part. The franchise was read It is for fifty years. Councilman Dougherty stated the belief again that it is not within the power of a city council to grant a franchise for telephones and in answer to a question City Attorney Green repeated his old contention that the act of congress did not provide for the granting of telephone fran chise. He admitted, however, that if the city did grant such a franchise or contract the city could not suffer by the failure of congress to provide for it as such franchise could not legally exist. He said the city could enter into a contract with the com pany which in its essentials would al- most amount to franchise. He also admitted that every town or nearly every town in Alaska has granted telephone franchises,
 Councilman Graef said telephones are necessary but he believed that some special arrangements should be made to secure special phone service for fire protection.
 Councilman Sauers asked why the city should hesitate to grant the fran chise if the company is willing tc ac- cept it. He said that probably when the law was passed it was not expect ed that Alaska would ever need tele- phones. He reminded the council that the company is giving good service and that if it ever failed to do so the city has a remedy in the fact that the franchise would not be exclusive. He expressed the belief that if the council has no right to give a fran chise the voting for the proposed fran chise could not be of harm to the city.
 Judge J. J. Finnegan, for the com pany, stated that a franchise means only contract really. A permit could not be accepted by the company as it would be all one sided and no company could be expected to extend its busi- ness, borrow money for improvements or anything else on such an arrange ment. The city would be out nothing he said, by granting a franchise. It only gives the company the means to expand.
 In the argument about the rates the fact was debated that the fran chise provided for reasonable" rates after the number of phone subscribers had reached six hundred. City AttOr- ney Green said the word reasonable" is delusion and a snare.
 "Where do you get that? That's socialism, came back Finnegan. I'm no socialist, says Green.
 Mir. Finnegan then reminded the council that a public utilities board is certain to be established in Alaska and that all arguments about future public utility charges are useless as such a board will control all rates.
 Mir. Dougherty suggested the ap- pointment of sort of arbitration committee of three, the company to appoint one, the council one and the two to appoint a third to fix rates when the six hundred subscribers are secured. Judge S. O. MorfOrd, for the company, pointed out that if either side refused to agree to such com mittee's finding it would mean going