The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-17

cars in this city and that the city
should not have suocumbed to the
threats of the trolley company. The
pleas Of the company that they can
not run their roads on account of com
petition were characterized as puerile
and disgusting.
The present condition of the COM
pany was caused by the disregard of
the convenience and desires of the
company and brought the titney com
petition.
1T is I'm nsufferab1e thing" said
Judge DeForest, for the aldermen to
| suppress competition when the COM
pany can be compelled to perform the
obligations they assumed when they
accerted their franchise"
Judge Comley for the -eity said that
the talk of mandamus proceedings
was matter collateral to the issue
| and that mandamus would notrlie I'M
| til the company had actually stopped
running it's cars.
ION the other hand,'' said Judge
! Comley, 1--WE might have obtained a
mandatory Injunction, but in that
| case we would have been compelled
| to file a bond of 100000 or $1,000
900 to meet any loss the Connecticut
| Company should sustain in the event
| the company won the suit.
Ever since I have boarded this
ship of state, as city attorney, we
| have been in troubled waters and
| there has been storms and 1ightnings
| and thunders and charges of Interior
motives in everything that we have
done. When we passed the ordin-
| ance requiring brick to be used in
buildings it was said we did it in the
| interest of the North Haven brick
lizards. This is a regulatory ordin-
! ance the same as the ordinance fix
| ing the fire limits.
And the fact that it was passed by
| the aldermen removes the contention
that it is not reasonable, as the
courts have decided that any ordin-
ance passed by such a board is rea-
sonable.
1.-THE city by Issuing licenses to the
drivers cannot be said to have relin-
1 quished all control over the laws
that have been delegated to them.
THE ordinance says in effect that
every street in Bridgeport shall be a
traffic route except those named.
1.-THE threat Of the company to
withdraw it's cars may be connected
with the enactment of this ordinance
but If the ordinance is a legal ex-
ercise of the power granted by the
legislature it is reasonable. We
| cannot speculate on what might nave
lbeen in the minds of the aldermen
Wne nIley VOIGO LOT ILLS OIuiHdIIIS-
by the passage Of the ordinance
we have revoked all licenses, condi-
tionally. They are revoked only as
to the forbidding area. True, the
new license may be worth nothing.
We are not concerned about this. We
have the right to revoke. 1t is a
governmental duty and the city can
not be held responsible for the ex-
ercise of it.
Attorney Klein closed the argu-
ments and said that he was glad that
Judge Comley had made public the
reasons for the passage of the ordi-
nance and said the judge should disa-
buse himself of the idea that he was
being personally attacked.
He denied that the jitneymen had
recognized the authority and validity
of the old ordinance and incidentally
of the amendment by accepting Ii
censes issued by the Police Commits
sioners for the old routes.
1T is admitted that the ordinance
, was passed to allow the Connecticut
, Company to operate it's cars. 1t il
admitted that it was passed becaus'
of the threat of the Connecticut Com
pany. We have to get the working
. men of the city to the factories. viii
, the company do it. No. They wan
l to eliminate competition but they will
If the jitneys stop. Even If the cour
should decide in their favor in Thu
action and the jitneys should ceas'
, the company can Immediately shu
down, under their threat
= 1.-The people of Bridgeport have no
appeared before the aldermen asking
that the jitneys be put off tn
. streets. The welfare of the commu
nifty does not demand it. The vel
! fare of the community demands tina
4 they he allowed to remain as the
are'.
THE Board Of Aldermen in thi
. Ordinance do not fix routes as they
were given authority by the Legisla
: lture. They say that the Police Com