The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-03-27
TROLLEY FRANCHISE
VAS RATIFIED BY
MONTPELIER
Stormy City Meeting Voted 2i6 to i6s
on Matter Which Will Come Before
Barre Voters This Evening

its city council IA accepting the new
franchise of the Barre & Montpelier
Traction & Power companyi and simi
lar matter will come before the citizenl
of Barre in a city meeting at the opera
house tonight. The vote OF Montpeliel
was 2l0 favorable and 1853 opposed
Members of the Barre city council wer,
present at the meeting last night bat
had to leave before the balloting was
finished
The meeting was called 10 order by
Mayor 4. W. Mitchell after which Al.
derman Shmtleif offered resolution
that the franchise adopted by the city
council in November be ratified, TO which
was attached proyiso that the vote
was not to become effective until the
corporations portion of the Rialto bridge
construction was paid. lie stated that
the city council. excepting one man, ia :
vored the franchise Robert Whelau in
quired why the company did not pay its
debts before coming to the city for a
franchise
4 b. L. Bailey opposed the franchise on
the grounds that the provisions were in
favor of the company; leaving the mat
ter OF clearing the snow from the tracks
TO the street commissioner; that the city
must pay one half of the expenses of
moving poles; that there was no limit
to the fares which the company might
ask. for the city was dealing with cor
poration whose officers might not exist
tomorrow; that such corporation has
no soul. which brought applause He re-
fcrred to the injunction which restrained
the company from higher fare.
! +. L, Gleason, attorney for the com
pany, explained about the fares and how
the city council and company have
worked on the franchise for a year and
that the result was NE adoption by the
city council of franchise which the
council approved. He referred to the
hard work it is TO get money for new
bonds and that the old bondholders con
scented Ii they obtained the new fran
chise, to continue the bonds. The saving
by the winter schedule would be, he said,
about $1,000, and the company has not
the borrowing capacity they win have
with the new franchise, in which Barre |
will also profit, for there is $500 in
debtedness TO Barre.
Alderman ShurtleiT spoke Of the |
changed conditions, the vacant stores. /
the closing of the Cotton shops and that I
the council had in mind the welfare Of
the city when il adopted the franchise.
He said that the reason that articles. re-
ferring tho matters to the public service
commission, were inserted was because
under the city charter there is no pro-
vision and that unless the franchise was
adopted the city had no redress il the
wanted to do anything.
#. l.. Laird came near defeating the
project when he told the history of the
traction company how Messrs. Flynn and
who originally owned it, in.
vested but Si ystH IN ID and that the earn
ings took care OF the expenses and that
the outstanding bonds were those which
the construction company were given for
building the road and equipping it, He
then told OF the sale to Messrs. Cory
Deayitt and Frost for $4,000 and that
they sold to the present concern for
Sl35000 He claimed someone had made
A bunch of money out of the concern un
til that time He said the lighting com
pany sells power to the Tenney com
pany, who sell it TO the traction com ,
pany and the managements of the two /
concerns being the same, no business !
'ould be made TO pay under those condi
ions unless it was desired that it should /
,e made to pay. He brought r NJ. Cory | i
q his feet when he said that the com. !
,anY under the management of CORY, !
)eavitt & Frost had earned $1,000 year y
,ver expenses and that Messrs. CORY /
md Deavitt took this, dividing it as I
alaries .
Mr. Cory gave a history of the com i
ANY during the time Mr. Laird had re J
~ 10 {oIt +s,l
DOL off the audience, who gave Mr. Laird n
round of applause when he finished, as :
hev did Mr. Bailey Mr.. Cory ex- 4
lained that because the lighting com +
any was charging too much for power q
is company constructed another plant. !,
lie explained that Mr.. Laird did not set a,
he figures high enough, that they paid "
10000 for the business and then added !,
hat they invested $4,000 more in equip =,
lent but that they made no more than q,
nough to cover expenses. lie told Of !,
nc sale of the property when the Ten =,
ey interests wanted it. -
G, l.. Blanchard asked that interest be :,
1arged on the unpaid debt, which was a;
greed to by Mr. Shurtletf, and inserted
the motion. Mr.. Hunt took excep
ons to Mr.. Laird's charge that he wrote
report favoring the franchise in the
nnual city report. He was satisfied CT
vat il was the best way to settle the
tigation.
F. A. Howland, in a quiet manner quite
,ntrary to that used by most of the ti'
her speakers urged that the fares M
emcd to be taken care of and that the Oh
,esent managers seemed To fit into the Ba
tvs affairs better than the past had. as
e complmented the Barre city council ti'
ron having adopted the franchise, stat tri
z that they are more Jealous, generally wa
eaking, than Montpelier ON those III
ings, that we are more apt to allow tn
ings 10 slide along while the council tn
that city gets at the bottom OF things
? believed that the franchise would i'm vi
owe the feeling between citizens and be-
e traction people and hoped it would do
adopted which brought applause th'
A vote BY printed ballot was demand We
with the result obtained as stated in CIV
vor of the franchise.
CHURCH BENEFITS. an,