The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-12-30
Paragraph in II Points Of
Mayors Program Gives
Rise to Belief.

Plans to take over the Citizens
Gas Company property for opera
ton as municipal utility in 1880,
under the terms Of the trust agree
ment Of 1905 today were believed to
have been referred to by Mayor l..
Ert Slack, In a cryptic paragraph in
his Platform for Indianapolis,
made public today.
The mayor, in a list of eleven
things he hopes to accomplish for
Indianapolis before his term ends In
1890, included this as No. 10:
Save the Citizens Gas Company
for the people and their best
service"
Slack refused to comment further
upon this.
Doubt Agreement Validity
For several years outside capital
has been attempting to obtain con-
troll of the gas company, on the be-
lief. it is understood, that the trust
agreement is not valid. Under the
trust agreement the city Is to have
the privilege of purchasing the
81, 100000 of common stock at par,
$25 a share and assuming obliga-
tions, which amount to approx
mately 100000.
Public service commission records
show the plant valued at more
than SIS, ,00O,O0
Under the trust agreement tho
holders of the common stock are
guaranteed dividends of 10 per cent
and prohibited from receiving more.
For the first time in several years
this dividend is paid in full. The
company fell behind during the war
period.
Organized in 1905
During a crisis in the city's gas
situation in 1905, a group of public
spirited citizens organized the citi-
zens company. The company was
to be owned and controlled locally
forever Their public spirit was evil
denced by this article Of the trust
agreement.
Article TO- When said certificate
holder shall have received by divi-
tihcate an amount equal to the face
value thereof, together with interest
there on at the rate Of 10 per cent
per annum, payable mi-annually,
then said certificates issued to said
subscribers shall be deemed fully
paid and cancelled and it shall be
the duty of the directors and trus-
tees of said company to convey said
gas plant and all property belonging
to said company to said city (Indi-
anapolis), to be owned and operated
or leased by it, and all rights, titles
and interest of said company or its
certificate holders, stockholders, Of
ficerS, directors or trustees, shall be
deemed to be fully paid and extin-
guished.'
Set Time as 1885
The city administration is under
stood to believe that the time to
exercise the privilege of taking over
the gas company automatically ar
rives early in 1880.
To exercise the privilege, the ad-
ministration is understood to be-
lieve that legislation will be neces-
sary.
To meet this situation these steps
have been proposed:
l. Creation by the 1929 Legislature
Of new bonding unit, similar to the
park and sanitary districts, which
would issue the $2,000000 in bonds
with which to buy the gas property,
because the civil city is too close to
its bonding limit to permit it to act
Would Retain Officials
2. After the city obtains the plant,
continuation of the present self-per-
petuating trustee from Of control,
trustees to name directors, as they
now do, with provisions that the
city manager and some of his aids
be in the directorate.
3. Retention in the operating |
positions of the present highly eff
ficient officials, including c. L. Kirk, |
vice president and general manager, |
on the theory that trained manage
ment would be as desirable under
municipal as under private owner
ship.