Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1920-12-22
BACK ON THE JOB
After Missing Two Issues Chronicle
Comes With Home News.


: For over year the busines!
houses of Crossville and numerou:
residences have been supplied will
/, electric lights from two-unit Der
CO plant owned and operated b,
Reed & Smith Company-now The
Reed Mercantile Company. Satur.
day night, December 4, one unit oi
the plant broke down and they were
unable to serve the general public
until Wednesday afternoon Decem-
Der, IS, at which time they had
repairs completed.
Effort to Get Power
Knowing it would be impossible for
the Chronicle to issue unless we
could secure power to run our type,
setting machine, the editor of the
Chronicle, on Monday following the
breakdown, went to Mr.. M. F. Reed,
Light Company, and requested that
he arrange to give us power for only
three days i'll the week - MONDAY,
Tuesday and Saturday-and explain
ed to that unless we could secure the
power it would be impossible for us
to issue the Chronicle. He declined
to furnish the power on the grounds
that if he turned the current on for
us all the business houses and resi-
dences would be using it and the
plant would soon be unbale to fur
nish any one. We replied that we
would go to the business men of the
town and explain the situation and
we felt sure they would all willingly
stay off the line in the daytime and
let us have power so Our business
would not be shut down, so far as is
suing the Chronicle was concerned,
and that we would gladly stay off the
line at night. Mr.. Reed would not
agree to that.
Could Have Furnished Us.
1t is perfectly plain to amy person
that if he can furnish the town with |
two units, he could furnish us with |
one unit, but he would not do it and |
as a result the Chronicle failed to
reach its readers with the local news
for two weeks. The editor of the
Chronicle has his personal belief as
to the real reason why Mr.. Reed
would not let us have power, but we
leave it to the public to form its own
opinoin on that point
His Inconsistency.
Mr.. Reed is the man who urged the
people so hard in his advertisement
to patronize home people and then
sent away for his printed stationery.
While asking the patronage of the
public he does the largest part of his
Advertising by means of sending
letters to the people
through the mails instead of putting
lis advertising in the local paper,
which would be the natural course
o pursue if he wished to see all
,ther business in the community
prosper. IL s
He also makes it point to talk
much of the large amount of money ,
le has saved the people of the county {
" making such low prices on his :
Merchandise The people must be +
heir own judge as to just how. much
here really is in his claims on that
oint but if it is in line with his ac- &
ons inpatronizing home institutions n
yhile calling on the general public "
, follow that course, the savings to =,
he public would not seems to have
cen very large. !,
Most Of the foregoing pertains to +,
,c material interest of the Chronicle =,
ublshing Company, in which the "
ubic cannot have any very great Il
terest For that reason we would
ot have mentioned it but for the
ct that in an indirect way it effects
le public as we'll as the Chronicle
1t is this way:
The True Position. ~
The Crossville Electric Light Com W
my became a public utility concer' {:
hen it set itself up to furnish lights III
ldpower for the general public. Just
the Chronicle becomes public
ility concern when it proffers to ce
rnish the people with the news of sh
is section and other places. When
r. Reed denied US power to operate w
r typesetting machine he not only be
Grated very materially against this III
siness, but at the same time made
impossible for us to serve the
blic as was our duty. In that par he
ular Mr.. Reed was operating dir so
.ly against the interests of the
bic as we'll as the interests of this ,
siness. eh
But that was not all that Mr.. r. r.
ed did. He not only refused to "
nish the Chronicle with power and
hts, but he went to the unreason-
e and unfair position of lighting wi
his own store with what seemed arc
Usual briiliancy while the other Il
;iness houses were in darkness or
re struggling along with lamps.
: was that ali. Not satisfied with sor