Seward daily gateway., 1925-10-06
OPINION HANDED DOWN BY JUDGE
 RITCHIE OCT. 3

livered to the Gateway copy of the opinion recently handed down by his honor, Judge E. E. Ritchie, in the case wherein Samuel M. Graf was plain tiff and the City of Seward ct al was the defendant. This opinion while quite lengthy, is of more or less in terest to every citizen, and several prominent residents have asked that it be published in toto, which is done The Gateway has no comment to make on the opinion believing that the case was threshed out in the courts and an unbiased and impartial decision ren- dered by the Court.
 The opinion says:
 Tt is conceded by counsel in this case that the main issue is the reas- Onableness or otherwise of the rates for electric lighting and power fixed by Ordinance No. IS of the Town of Sew ard for the product of plaintiffs cleo ftrical plant, which is the sole electri- cal plant in the Town of Seward, furnishing light and power to the in- habitants and to the town for street lighting. Incidental questions were argued to some extent in the trial but they have no particular bearing upon the chief issue
 Prior to the adoption of Ordinance No. IS, plaintiff and his predecessor in business had furnished light and power almost exclusively on flat rates and it is claimed by defendants and testimony was given to show that plaintiff had consistently refused, ex- cept in a few instances, to allow cleo tric current to be measured by me- ters and paid for accordingly. Ordi- nance No. 7S specifically procided that plaintiff must furnish meters to GUS toners whenever asked and that the rate for lighting purposes should be 12 1-2 cents per kilowatt, and a less rate for power. An important differ ence between plaintiff and the town is over street lighting All street lights had always been upon flat rates and a part of the street lighting system was composed of what the electri- clans describe as a system of multiple lights, system which is probably not we'll understood by anybody except al trio Joi 1o; |, could not install meters for the null tiple street lights except by changing the entire system at great expense.
 Shortly before the date fixed for Ordinance No. 7S to become effective to-wit, September 2, 1924, plaintiff in- stituted a suit asking for a permanent injunction to prevent the enforcement of ordinance No. 7S, alleging in his complaint that the rates fixed by said ordinance would be confscatory of his property and therefore an invasion of his constitutional rights. A temporary injunction was granted. About the same time the city asked for pe- remptory writ of mandamus from the court to compel acceptance by plain tiff of the ordinance rates and the SUD- plying of electric current under the terms of the ordinance. This case was afterwards consolidated with plaintiffs case.
 At preliminary hearing in Octo- Der, 1924, stipulation was made be- tween the parties providing that until the final determination of the suit plaintiff should furnish electric cur rent for lighting purposes at 15 cents a kilowatt, and 10 cents for power. It was also stipulated that it was desira- ble for those rates to be tested for a few months for such light as the re- suit might throw upon the reasonable ness of the ordinance rates.
 The cause came on for trial in the latter part of May, and continued aft CT an adjournment late in June. It was agreed throughout the trial by court and counsel that the court had /no power to fix rates, that it could only pass upon the reasonableness of the rates fixed by Ordinance No. 7S. At the conclusion of the testimony and argument of counsel the court announced it's decision that plaintiff had failed to prove his case; that on the whole evidence it was not appa- rent that the rates would be confis- catory, but stated that as that time was the season of the year when there is no darkness in Seward and con- sumption of current for lighting is very small it would probably be un- fair to plaintiff and cause him unnec- cessary loss if he were compelled at that particular time to change his sys- tenn of business and his rates to meet the requirements of the ordinance, and