Aberdeen Keeps the Lights On, Three Months at a Time

THE LIGHTS SHINE! The Citizens Provide the Means. Temporary Arrangements Made for Three Months, After Which It Is Believed the City Can Pay the Bill.

After the citizens' meeting last week, in which they stood up for the electric light company and demanded that the lights be continued, the light company put a new phase on the matter by declining to furnish the city with lights unless the citizens would guarantee them for the lights of the city, and notified their patrons that if this guarantee was not secured within ten days they would shut down the plant.

Pres. Bell therefore called a meeting of the board of directors of the chamber of commerce for Saturday evening, and one of the citizens and chamber for Monday evening.

At the meeting of the directors the subject was gone over thoroughly. Councilman Hood, one of the directors, had a carefully prepared estimate of the expenses of the city for the coming year, and figuring that there would be only four liquor licenses taken out and that but 75 per cent of the tax roll paid in during the year, it would be all the city could do to make both ends meet. There are some who believe that more than 75 per cent of the tax roll will be paid during the year, there will also be some of the delinquent taxes paid, and probably the fifth liquor license will be taken out, so that from these combined sources enough can be realized to pay for the lights. But the emergency demanded that some action be taken, and therefore the board decided to submit the following resolution to the meeting Monday evening:

Resolved, that this board recommends the appointment of a committee of five citizens who with the light committee of the council shall see where expenses can be cut down in running the city, and see what arrangements can be made with the electric light company for the continuance of the lights.

Monday evening at the citizens' meeting Wm. Anstie was chosen chairman and W. B. Mack secretary. Chas. R. Bell explained the object of the meeting; that the electric light company could not run without the patronage of the city, and the city was not in a position to legally contract an indebtedness therefor. Remarks were made by Messrs. Kaufman, Dabney, Mitchell, Johnson, Mason, Crowther, and others in favor of the lights. J. A. Hood read the statement he had submitted on Saturday evening, and the matter was gone over in much the same manner as at the meeting of directors.

Upon motion of Linn the finance committee was substituted for the light committee, and the resolution was then adopted. The chair appointed Messrs. Kaufman, Dabney, Johnson, Bell and Girton, and the meeting adjourned.

The committee met the next morning and formulated a plan to provide for the lights for three months, believing that at the end of that time the city would be in condition to take care of them altogether. The plan was to offer the light company $100 per month in cash or its equivalent, instead of the $140.50 general fund warrants which they had been receiving. This the light company finally agreed to accept. To raise this money by getting the city officials to submit to a ten percent reduction for this time, which they did; to raise as much as possible by subscription, and to pay the balance out of the street fund. The committee spent the greater part of the last two days soliciting, and went before the council last evening with $845 per month pledged. Objection was made by some of the subscribers to the city paying anything, and that if it did they would withdraw their subscriptions. That these objections might be overcome, the balance of the money was pledged by those present and the question settled.