The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-10-29
STREET RAILROAD LICENSES.
-wO ufLLTON DOLL1Rs WANTED ny
IUE tIII'S Law OfIItER.
xx., ,ertnin wond. have not Paid License
ree. Kcccntiy-suits Pending. and what
u,y Come Of Thcm-Interesting Figures
,ror the Corporation Atorney's Books.

amy Come OF Thcm-InterestinR Figures |
from the Corporation Auorney's Books.
ri, street railroads of New York have for !
,,,r- refused to pay certain liccusc fccs and |
,,l., rtlnoy. clnimcd by the city as due under |
,h.ir charters and by force Of various ordi-
nance. and these arrears have been stead
iy ,,,umulating. Probably few New Workers
h,,,nny con.cliion of the magnitude Of this
a.,,rt,d Indebtedness the extent of litigation
resulting from il. or the grounds upon which
IN. .ity'- demands are resisted Suits arc now
,.nIug against the Central Park North and
Past River Railroad the Dry Dock. East Broad-
way and Battery. the Sixth Avenue. .hc Broad
wag and Scvrnlh Avenue. the Eighth Avenue.
NJ. Ninth AVcnuc. the Blocker street. the
F.,,y.,econd and Grand Street tn Houston
Suc,t. AMI the Hudson River. Suits are about
10 o., brought nEainst the Twcnty-thirl street
Railroad the Harlem. Morrisana and Ford
ham the Second Avenue. Third Avenue. and
F,ofh Avenue Railroads Some Of these ne
ti,r- are for license fees and others for per
ocntu,,, of th" companies. incomes. and the
claims made in them on behalf Of he city
Am ,uL' 10 hundreds Of thousands Of dollars.
~, years have elapsed since the first steps 10
enforce payment were taken, and since that
tirs. II the citys demands are maintanablc at
law delinquent fees and interest have accrued.
Most ~ these suits were begun in batch in
N,,emlcr. 1875. For long time before that
da'c 1thing had been said or done about the
claims now being pressed The decisions in
th. Court of Appeals mentioned below seemed
to -,,'le that neither the Second nor the Third
A, .nuc hailroad could be compelled To- pay
lr'u-c fees Tor their cars and there we're no
n IN n" hnn,!s Of the Corporation Counsel
VII il expected TO prosecute ,slly such SUITS on
behalf of IN" city as are brought 20 ~ notl ~
H.. DnnptrOilcr or the Common Council He
knows, in fact. whether moneys an tp thr CITY
rsi e H9l G@ly giHfn en- '4g e"cE%S
tiuu Couns,., re- rivcd notification IRON tho
Comp,rollcr's office IN regard to otllcr eliIins
minds In the ctys Finance Itpartn'nt Ihe
claims were "a, once looked into. tho law cN-
anined and tn evidence collnird. Ine, va
rious railroad companies wcr" requested 10
state the number Of ears in their p,ss'ss ON.
sn'ca license f., is claimed Tor ea'h car nut
they declined 20 do So and Il was nceessar" 10
send to Albany 10 eXnnne thr annnni rex, rus
alter The suits that are now pending were m
The dcf,n,e- to some of the actions include
thastatutc of limitations the companies claimi NJ
that. even thuugh the city be adJudgcd cntit ii
to Iccn,r lees Tor the six years pr,r,dinst the
dglr " h'ginnug suit the collection Ol all that
accrued more than six years prior 20 that time
il barred hy law The responsibility for per-
uiiitiug -u'h n period to clapso before institut-
INK suit lies. partly with the predecessors NJ
Comptroller Kelly. and partly With ine prcd'-
far ~ con .orn- the claims that might have been
Er'--"l priar to November $50 against tho
that TIA, question whether those RAILROADS. can
b. held t. liability has always been. and Is now
considered hy lawyers an open one. The de-
ci,ln II tho Court of Appeals was thought -
hayo settled that point adversely to the city.
might be- viewed as stiISes und,r the old city
ordinances. and that .hc licensr fe' paid by tho
later might hc made applicahle 10 tnem ,
beginning the pending suits against the rail
road companies wGs not equivalent 20 trying
them. Their commencement 1rN'med nc
claims involved but IL was cOn-id.r"d n useless
vast" of money t. bring them AL n trial nnt
the question whether they would h' sustained
III the courts had been decided la every case
IN which the city should be de- at'd, blli oi
costs ot hundred dollars or moro. and
AMI IN IN" larger cases thousands ni dollars.
might be- -adAl"d upon the municipality. 4 tost
case was Therefore selected in the suit against
The broadway and seventh Avenue iiulroad. in
which most @! the questions involved M the
other cases are brought Up with result. as
shown below. unfayOrablc 10 tn" Commonnlty.
Tho rity's appeal from the judgment IN that
case Will probably bc argued before the General
Term of the supreme Court next month. and If
II {, decided adversely To the city thor. another
Arpeela Nearly all Of the other cnse, are
awaiting the letermn nation of this appeal. and
ST SI M pSSn ,1 m to Sy be gs9fIt2 rs % N IHRn IR
COMPANIES sti.l persist in contcstlng them. Tho
nyrceins about the facts. The suit against the
Be-ckcr Street Railroad has been made an cx-
ception. ing, concern being in n" hands o.! a
receiver. II may be brought 10 trial this month.
iin frtfIo la ia urni ~ NttlN Ina
v,ri,u ~ iro LI,,i,s NJ, ,,vo ,.as,.- ,rs nr..,sc
iv aiit. H., ,i "f ,I.ir d"tsils -
III" S,''nJ ,y,.nic Roilroal ac,nrlinv "a
,b .,,,, 81 NJ Si',is,n,,n'l w., - III,
Comntr"li'r. nfl.', ~ o,y,s tbr citv IN. 559 25
mi IA ,,,il ir,n ~. n,uririna tr'osurv in ,,li
Ne tw"niyti, vo,re ~ re ctrnorn,' "y st"n|n
only i.sti A. N'nv vcars npr mn innf.,.tlinl
eg n, ~ i""f rSyo, H. .,, T., m q, .tti.,ncut
gre"t n,,,r nf s,i,s W.. ,, t,i'i me ~,
Tor mn 0nr nr..Y ,yhi"h Ii.an., was rlaiued
aud ,h.n IL ,,s ,r,,r,"J ,hot oil sh,,tiJ nhi" by
II, l.4,n ,,f ". II was shnyNu an tG, tri,I INT
in 1852 the lily gave the second Avenue Rail.
opor,,o D, r3 r,ilroai nnJ mi tl,Dr. Mas No.
proyl,ion IN tlaf na,rN"u,rnt rentiirin., thpin 10
iay aiy li,nns, Ind The Court 81 ATpefl- de.
ehlei ihni a .it, "riiuanc. snbs.rirntly on
acted in'n,.iu,, IL h.,'mse fe,' eni, 4 MOI nruIy
paiiy oiiai,l.l n, ~, n" iacisut,irr nm add
tinal frlI..ia-. r.ru.ittinr he "ytou~ion of it,
lin, thr0uEh Worth and Eighth streets and
oL-.,yhcrn ma "A rnulmission an. IiIfrd 10 n..
-, ,hn dntnnl,', tn iho city r"inrie,l in favor
Of hec,mthnv's raying onc-fhtll of ono per
cont on nl.Ir cross rocoiuts niinr n definite
Iaymrnt n = uuO Tor thn unDXuired rart Of
iS79 Thnir lnl.rnnrnt paymcnr. on his ac-
count wer.. For MA ~ 45Gu3; is7l q 600 is /:
ls7j. s97l7i7 Tic, dues from is-j have not
yoi boon cnleatel Although thr ; ',n!,d Ave.