The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-04-03
MAY MODIFY
THE FRANCHISE
But Barre City Councils Ac-
ton Last Night Seems
Contradictory
A MOTION CARRIED TO
STICK TO FRANCHISE
Another Later to Accept the
Three Resolutions Brought
in After a Conference

Contradictory moves were made by the
city council last evening in dealing with
the request of the Barre & Montpelier
Traction Il Power Co. TO adopt three
resolutions looking toward a modification
of the franchise and to-day opinion diff
fered as to whether or not the city's
governing board is committed to the pro-
posal that an easier operating schedule
be given the company as trade for as
sistance due the city under the present
| franchise in paving South Main street.
Mayor Glysson took firm stand against
any deviation from the present franchise,
even going so far as to leave the chair,
turn over the meeting temporarily to
President Bruce OF the aldermanic board,
| and move that the council stand pat on
the present franchise until it receives
| from the traction company guarantee
that it will discharge all present and an
ticipated obligations.
With only half of the body voting,
the motion made BY the mayor was car
ried, but the opinion obtains in some
quarters that the action thus taken was
nullified few moments later when Al
derman Rossi moved that the three reso-
buttons brought in by the special com
mittee which conferred with the~ Mont
pelier council committee last week be ac
cepted. His motion prevailed. Montpe-
lier's council met in special session at the
same hour and obedient to the request of
the Capital city councillors, the record of
the Barre councils action on the resolu
ton was teIephoned to Montpelier.
The first of the resolutions records
the councils and seieetmen of Barre, /
Montpelier and Berlin as fayoring new
franchise agreements with the traction /
company. each to have the same time
limit, provided satisfactory arrangements /
can be made by the company to comply |
with the requests made by Barre and /
Montpelier, j. G.. in the case Of the former |
to pay its share OF the cost in paving /
South Main street in the case Of the lat
ter to pay its share In the cost 81 the /
Rialto bridge construction. The third /
resolution states that it il the sense of
the three bodies representing the three
communities that the company should
from it, bondholders an authori-
tative presentation Of what il will do in
the matter Of extending the bond issue.
The second resolution, il may be not
ed. is dated roincidentlg with the date
when Montpeliers case against the trac
tion company must be entered in gu
preme court ii other arrangements are
not made. Ii provides that the traction
before April z, shall submit a
new proposed agreement 10 the two eoun-
els and selectmen for their approval or
rejection Should the new agreement be
accepted. il will supplant the franchise
by which the company has operated in
Barre since the road was established.
Before the resolutions were read the
Jerk presented lengthy statement from
General Manager Sands, in which he pre-
,ented in tabloid form the history OF the :
Dad and reduced to writing remarks
made BY him before the council in 1915
md again in 1917 Mr.. Sands laid due
tress ON the claim that the Tenney com 6
ANY and the Montpelier Il Barre Light FL
/ Power Co. are legally divorced from {
he traction company and repeated the
ssertion that the running expenses OF {
he road in the past three years exceed
d hv SIS 900 the revenue. He brought a
alient point when he said that the pub
ic service commission cannot interfere c
il regulating the affairs of the road so =
ong as il is under a municipal franchise y
nd thought that if the franchise OBJ '