Newport Weighs a Fifty-Year Electric Franchise

The executive committee of the Commercial Club, which holds a meeting every Wednesday evening, had some important matters up for discussion at its meeting last evening.

The matter of the application of the Northern Electric Co. for a fifty-year franchise and its bearings on the commercial interests of the town was thoroughly discussed. Information was furnished as to the standing and financial responsibility of H. M. Byllesby Co., of Chicago, who are behind the big power project. Their rating by commercial agencies and Chicago banks is very flattering, and there is every reason to believe that the operations of the company will prove very beneficial to the town and all of this territory. The company expects to spend about $85,000 to furnish Newport light and power, and to make this investment a profitable one will of necessity require a growth of the town and development of the country in which the power to be furnished will prove a large factor.

The company is going ahead with the planning of their system and will before long have started active work. Whether a steam plant will be installed here at once or a transmission line built from Sandpoint is not yet determined, but 24-hour light and power service are promised by the company to become a reality in the very near future.

The application for the franchise will come up for a hearing before the council April 20th. In order that the matter may become familiar to our citizens and that it may be discussed in all its bearings, a meeting of the club and all citizens interested is called to be held at the City Hall Friday evening, April 16.