People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 April 1897 — No Franchise Yet. [ARTICLE]

No Franchise Yet.

The people of Rensselaer want municipal ownership of their electric lights and will sustain the council in refusing to grant an extension of the franchise of the General Electric Company, which is soon to expire. The company promises to improve the plant and reduce the cost of lighting the streets 5 per cent. What the people want is cheaper lights for their private use as well as for the city, and a five per cent reduction of prices won’t satisfy them either. Present rates can be cut one half and still meet legitimate expenses. It is done elsewhere and can be done here. The fact that the company want a ten year contract is sufficient evidence that the lighting business pays in Rensselaer. The further fact that the company has been asking the city to buy their property hei’e at twice its value is further evidence of the cinch they have.