The New York herald., 1879-07-10

at once Let the committee that is to investigate
Alderman Hsughton extend the scope of its inquiry
to other members Of the Board. and I'll guarantee
they will have enough to keep them busy during the
summer months, and away into next year too. for
that matter"
conversed spoke In similar manner and even more
vigorously.
The claim of the Rapid Transit Commissioners
that they still go and make their supplemental
reports the construction of the roads, despite
the action of the Aldermen, has created good deal
of discussion pro and con. The law pertinent to the
subject says:-
Said commissioners shall within thirty days after such
railway railways and il they find railway
as days Ak 'oS ss
sSas or seA s % ss
:. lccss the the route route or routes Of such railway
avenues. places lands in county except Bro.dwsy
ns S n qh
and except speh Of streets and are
% or occupied By an sissaed or Underground a' rail-
in eass an 1ss Ss
the ssaass.Ioae no, r.s.isn With
half value q o. the property bounded and the
o. f that portion Highway Upon which L
n to ,s or such & raw
Of such property owners cannot be obianea that the
General Term Of tho Supreme Court in the strict Of the
as S v due Of M
away railways ought 20 bo Constructed operated,
be taken In eu OF tho consent OF such
DOUBTFUL QUESTION.
This section. 1t will bo seen, is very important,
and is upon its construction that the final fate of
the rapid transit scheme must depend. The law
provides that the consent of the corporate uthori
ties be .'lrst' obtained. Does that mean that the
consent must be obtained before the plans for the
construction and operation Of the road all
pleted The Commissioners claim that it does not,
and insist that the Aldermen's action will not
amount to anything; that in fact any future Com
Council can pass upon the subject just as IL it
had never come up.
'.Suppose," as q friend of one of the Commission
ers said yesterday that the Commissioners give the
companies Ave years to build their roads, three years
from now what is to prevent them from coming be-
scheme? The law provides, you say, that the
sent OF the city authorities be first obtained. When?
Before the plans are completed? Clearly not. Con-
sequently the City Fathers acted too preciptately in
the matter. They should have waited until all the
thought necessary
This view was. however. not shared by other per-
sons. number of prominent municipal lawyers
hold that the course Of the Aldermen is final and
conclusive, and that any attempt to go on with their
work on the part Of the Commissioners would only
meet with failure.
WHAT MAY YET BE DONE.
One of the courses which the Board of Aldermen
was urged to pursue. by persons living in the an
nexed district and particularly by President Mott.
reject all that part Of the report relating to
establishing routes below the Harlem River ana to
adopt the plans laid out in Westchester county.
Several lawyers hold that this could have been
done and that it was not pursued is owing
appeared the surface. As it is the district above
the Harlem River must be without proper transit
that new commissioners will have to be appointed
and that all the work will have to be gone
again ANY n,sy non ana taxpayers can have
Mayor Cooper. Whether this course will be taken
will depend in great measure on what develop
ments become public within the next few weeks.
HARD AT WORK.
Despite the action Of the Board Of Aldermen
the Mayors Rapid Transit Commissioners were
EXCHANGE
yesterday morning. During the day they were
hard at work preparing their report Of the plans for
constructing the railways. with the necessary sup
ports, turnouts switches, sidings, connections
landing places. buildings. platforms. stairways ele
site appliances upon the routes and in the locations
determined by them. As one Of the Commissioners
be able to have their report ready for q few days
He intimated however, that the general style OF
work would conform to the present style Of the IL
railroads. and also to the topography OF the sections
of country through which the different roads
shall run.
Judge Foster the counsel to the Commissioners,
said that the law under which his clients acted
very plain and that the action Of the Board of Alder
men amounted to nothing: The Commissioners. he
the Mayor or Common Council. 1t was simply done
through courtesy. The act OF the Legislature COM
PEELED them. in the first place. to determine thirty
days after their organization whether steam railways
necessary. and. in they were to determine
or routes for such railways. According to the act
the Commissioners had the exclusive power to locate
the streets avenues places and lands in this
county, except broadway and Fifth avenue below
Fiftyninth street, and Fourth avenue above Forty
second street in this city. Judge Foster claimed
that the Commissioners could have kept all
their proceedings in their minute books until
they had completed their work, II they had SO de-
sired, and that the Law required them to notify the
public only twice-viz, ninety days after their Or
ganization, when they were obliged to invite the
submisson Of plans tor the construction and opera
tion Of such ilways, and within 100 days of their
organization. when they should open books of sub
ri>tio 10 fbac ar,ifa alafr~
panies. Judge Foster also said that the Commits
sioners were required to transfer to the corpora
tions, within month after they had been formed,
all plans, specifications drawings, maps, books and
papers in their possession, and that it then the
mission~fs. to obtain the consent of the Common
Council, and of more than one half OF the property
along their different routes. to the construc.
tion of the railroads. If such consent were refused
the decision was not fna but the corporations had
the privilege Of trying again until they succeeded
OF course the Commissioners had to fix certain
time for these railroads to be constructed and il
corporations failed to do they relnquished their
right unless they received an extension OF time from
the Legislature.
ZONE WHO KNOWS"
1t was stated by gentleman who claimed to have
personal knowledge Of the action of the Com
missoner ut their meeting that the subject Of
the main one of the meeting. and that COM
plete system was determined upon which would be
made public "oficialy" at the proper time. This
system, ii should be borne in mind, is to govern
only the routes fixed BY the present Commission,
e., the Vanderbilt route, US 1t is already called,
from City Hall to Harlem River and the curious net
work of routes devised for the Twenty-thrd and
Twenty-fourth wards. 1t has. of course, no
binding force on the existing roads and can
only influence prices on them by competition.
According to the schedule said to have
been determined upon the fare is to be Ave cents
all hours between the City Hall Forty second
street. From the City Hall to the Harlem River the
fare Is to be cents, excepting the commission
trains" On these 1t Is to be five cents. From the
City Hall the northern line of the city. according
TO the boundary line, the fare is to be twenty
cents, excepting the commission trains" On
these it is to be ten cents "Commission trans are
to be from hafpast five to half-past eight A. NJ
and from halt-past four to seven p. nj.
1t will be noticed that the only reduction from the
rates enforced on the two roads now in opera
ton the five cent fare to Forty second street and
the slight extension of the time during which the
'com mission trains are to be run And this
extension hardly brings the newly projected road
par with those in operation. since the passenger
from Kingsbridgc or williamsbridge will have to
earlier than the Harlem passenger to reach his
business ut the same hour.