49, ANNUAL REPORT 
“Later in the summer of 1889 an issue of bonds for $500,000 was ad- 
vertised. This announcement called forth into open battle a determined 
antagonist, the Standard Oil Company. By its agents injunction suits, 
based upon the alleged unconstitutionality of the act passed by the General 
Assembly, were filed both in the state and federal courts. The city won 
the case in both courts; still the Standard Oil Company caused circulars 
to be sent to dealers and investors in municipal bonds both in the United 
States and Europe, warning them against the purchase of the bonds as 
being illegal and void and issued under an act that was unconstitutional, 
giving notice that suits had been commenced in the courts. Furthermore, 
the movements of the trustees, or anyone authorized to sell the bonds, were 
so closely watched by spies, that whenever a trip was made to an eastern or 
western city by any of these men it was soon discovered that the enemy had 
preceded in order to close the ears of purchasers and their pocket-books 
as well. In the field the opposition of the Standard Oil Company was still 
-more troublesome, for the agents of that corporation left no territory un- 
visited, and in certain localities favoring the Toledo enterprise even rep- 
resented themselves as members of the board of trustees or as the presi- 
dent himself. Because of the unlimited capital of their corporation the 
agents advanced the price of rentals on undeveloped territory as much as 
T00o per cent.; and land formerly worth 25 cents an acre per annum for 
gas rental could not be secured for less than $10 or even $20 an acre by 
the Toledo trustees. Altogether the loss to the city, due largely to the op- 
position of the Standard Oil Company in the matter of bonds and of pur- 
chasing territory, has been estimated at more than a million dollars. 
“Notwithstanding all their troubles the trustees were finally able to 
secure natural gas, to construct a main line from the field, and to plant 
distributing pipes throughout the city. The supply of gas, however, soon 
became a vexatious problem, for at no time in winter was there enough 
gas to accommodate all consumers. The manufacturing plants were the 
first to have their connections removed, but even’then the patrons at a 
short distance from the main line suffered during the severe weather, while 
those on the outskirts had no gas at all. To relieve this condition the 
General Assembly was petitioned in 1892 to pass the necessary legislation 
to allow the city to issue bonds to the amount of $100,000 to meet the cost 
of bettering the gas plant and to secure a pumping station for the (Stuarts- 
ville) field. As soon as this work was completed and other pumps were 
introduced into the line the trustees were able to give fair satisfaction to 
the consumer until 1896. 
“To provide for the great expense of securing natural gas and of con- 
structing the gas plant, the city had sold from time to time the various 
issues of bonds here tabulated: 
