Whether or not the right of an American-owned company to produce and sell electric current can be nullified by the concession awarded to a British company by the Palestine government, will be decided in court here tomorrow when the case of the British-owned Jerusalem Electricity and Public Service Corporation vs. the Hassolel Company, owned by Salman White, an American citizen, comes up for a hearing.
The case arises from the objections of the Jerusalem Electricity and Public Service Corporation to the Hassolel Company’s generating power for the use of the “Doar Hayom,” which it owns, and for a number of other customers. The American-owned firm was the first to generate electricity in Jerusalem.
Before the War, M. Mavromatis, a Greek engineer, obtained a concession from the Turkish government to develop electric power in Jerusalem. When the British, through the Mandate, obtained control of Palestine, they awarded a similar concession to the Jewish engineer, Pinchas Ruttenberg. Litigation then ensued between Mavromatis and Ruttenberg, which was carried to the Hague Court, where Mavromatis won.
Since then, Mavromatis has sold his concession to the Jerusalem Electricity and Public Service Corporation, which now claims that it has a monopoly on electric generation and distribution in Jerusalem, a claim that is contested by the Hassolel Company.
The High Commissioner of Palestine and the Mayor of Jerusalem will also appear as claimants against the Hassolel Company and Norman Bentwich, attorney-general, will represent them. It is possible that the American consul will support the Hassolel Company, since its owner is an American citizen.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
