Shall They Be Buried?

Last week reference was made to a bill introdiieecl by Senator Kempf, requiring all telephone, telegraph and electric light companies to place tneir wiicn uudground in cities and villages. In the flrst place, it is a question if the legislature knows what the needs of citC9 and villages are as well as do the councih of these cities and villüges. And tliis Is a subject that should be dealt with by those bodies. In the next place, outside of the very largest cities, these wires are harmless to any one. They tlo not interfere with any pereon'a business, or endanger the lives or property of any one. Upon a few of the stretts of Detroit, whcre so many wires are strung along by flve, six and scven story buildings they may prove h nuimnce in case of fire, and endanger to some extent human life, but of that the city authorities are probably better able to judge than is the state legislature. In cities like Ann Arbor, Jackson, or even Grand Rapids or East Saginaw, where the buildings seldom go beyond a third and never beyond a fourth story, this objection is done away with. It is a fact, however, that there are three or four different patents out tor running these wires underground, and the men owning them are dilligently lobbying for a law that will compel the companies rcferred to to place their wires underground. The gas companies, also, woukl be pleased to see the cost of operating electric lights increased, and the companies compelled to hury their wires - beyond resurrection. On the other hand, our telegraph and telephone companies would be seriously hainpeied by íuch a law, and the cost of conducting electilcity would be greatly increased to the companies. If any friend of the law proposed will give any irood or gufflcient reasons why such a bilí should pass, these columns art' opeu to him. A bill has passed the Iiou9e, and probably before this reaches our readers will have been passed by the senate, providIng for the increase of associate justices of the supreme court of this state to flve in number (at present there are four) and increasing the saiary lrom $3,500 to $5,000. If Gov. Alger siguí the same it wili become a law iu time for the different parties to make the extra nomination this spring, as the bill takes immediate effect. The term is also extended from eiglit to ten years. The law is all righl in every particular. The judicial business of the state deniands an extra judge, and $5,000 is a suftlcient salary to brlng good talent upon the bench. The dutgardly salaries paid state officials by the people of Michigan, is a disgrace. Prohibition may not be a fallure in Maine. However the pólice records of Portland, the chicf city of the state, show that there have been 22.647 persons arrested lu tli ut plaoe for belngcommon drunkards. Looks pretty bad, doesn't It?