The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-04-17
RAIDS ON FRANCHISES
Are Being Continued, with Few Prison
ers Brought Back.

| Barre and Montpelier municipal off
cials, who are collaborating with the
| Tenney company in writing tale of two
cities and a traction railroad held the
| second of a series of brotherly love con-
ferences at city hall last evening The
third of the intercity conferences will be
held at the capital next Monday night.
At one time or another during the
three hour session all of Barre's admin
istrative elect were present. Montpelier
was represented by it's Mayor Mitchell
and Aldermen Mills, Ryan and Gala
CHER, Berlin by Selectman Sawyer, and
the Tenney company by General Man
ager II. T. Sands, Atty. f. +. Gleason
and Supt. H. ID. Larrabee. G. L. Hunt,
the Montpelier city attorney, and City
Attorney Wishart of Barre were also
present. Mayor Glysson presided.
The conference was in the nature of a
star chamber affair, with all avenues of
publicity effectively plugged, so that a
public, waiting with bated breath to
know that the Tenney company's trac-
tion subsidy Is poorer than skinned
chalk,watcr. win have to take its report
warmed over. Insofar as the conference
found the traction officials ready with q
re-hssh OF its oft reiterated request for
concessions before it can discharge its
franchise obligations in Barre and Mont
peler the meeting came to naught, but
the three solicitors present, Messrs.
Wishart, Hunt and Gleason, are going to
work on something new for the meeting
next week.
Before Mr.. Sands gained his hearing,
Mayor Mitchell served up in a new and
humorous fashion the old maxim that it
is not good for the people to know their
own business by moving the body into
executive session. He said Something
about all newspapermen of the two
cities absenting themselves from the
council chamber in the interests of Sc
crecy, and while the serried ranks of
reporters marched from the room, Mr..
Sands unrolled his portmsntesu and be-
gan talking 1t develops that the com
pany is very unwilling to pay any of its
money for bridges and paving until il
has fractured the franchises now exist
ing and replaced them with agreements
that will insure easier operating sched
ules. When the company representatives
were asked outright if they had been to
the bondholders to ascertain what con-
cessions were necessary to gain an ex-
tension of the bonds, there was silence.
Members of the Barre council recorded
themselves as opposed to any arrange
ment that may open the way for a
schedule reduction and as the situation |
rests just now, it looks as if Mayor |
Glysson's declaration that guarantee
must be had before the council will treat |
for franchise changes represents the SEN
timent of his colleagues.
Among some of the Barre councillors,
the impression seems TO be growing in
grained that Montpelier is attempting to
use them for a catspsw to yank its own
Goals out of the fire. 1t is surmised, fur
ther, that the Montpelier council. having
been remunerated for a part of its cx-
penditure on the Rialto bridge, at the
sacrifice of valued features in the Barre
franchise. will leave this city with an
outside chance of getting the assistance
that is its due in paving South Main
street.