San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-15

IN THE SOUP LAST.
Is There no Help for This City In
the Council?

Is There no Help for This City In
the Council?
The city council in changing the
petition Of the Land and Improve
ment Company to necessitate four
foot guage road To the fair grounds,
have knocked that Fair and EXPOSE
ton in the head. While the article
in yesterdays LIGHT was being read
all over town and accepted as stating
the exact facts, the Fair directors were
in session, and as result of their de-
alterations the Fair and Exposition
has been formally abandoned. There
is no need of mincing matters. Ifleft
as they now stand and no change is
made and no Fair held it will be an
everlasting disgrace to this city.
There is no use of any subterfuge.
The Fair Association has no interest
in any quarrel between rival lines OF
transit, but it cannot run fair with
out people, and is cannot get people to
that fair ground without rapid
transit line run by steam dummies
such as are run in nearly every city of
50,000 people in this country, and I'M
less they can land the people on the
fair ground they are justified in re-
fusing to make fool of the thing.
This city was damned all oyer the
south for lack of transportation facili-
ties to the last fair, and the enterprise
lost $4,000 in hard cash because those
who braved the wet and mud to come
to San Antonio could not reach the
grounds after getting here. The fair
directors won't do this thing again.
they have stuck their stakes,
NO TRANSPORTATION, NO FAIR,
and they ARE wise. Anything, any
body, any company that will give
them such transportation is accept.
able, but nothing is offered them.
What damage will four foot eight
and half inch guage do more than a
four foot guage? What Is the great
objection? Is it fear that the Sun
set or Arkansas Pass roads, over which
the dummy track would cross, will
make switch connections with the fair
ground road. They could not do
that if they wanted to. This whole
thing is subterfuge. Here is a city
of 30, 900 population. With grounds,
association. efficient managementa and
all else needed for holding an Interna-
dreds of thousands of dollars, the ctti-
zens are forced to see these advantag-
es all set aside because the council
| sees fit to refuse a franchise for four
foot eight inch gauge, while express
| ing perfect willingness to grant fran
chise for four foot gauge. The thing
is too prepOsterous for belief and yet
the council recorcs compel its accept
ance. This broad gauge is needed be-
cause the broad gauge dummies and
cars are in stock in the car and loco
motive works and do not need to be
built to order, and there is no time to
build anything save track and mighty
little time for that. Let the
council say plainly next Friday that
they are opposed to holding a fair,
and do not intend that the same
shall be held so long as they can
prevent it, or let them grant the fran
chise as asked by the Land and Im-
provement company and throw the
responsibility of holding Fair or re-
fusing to hold one upon the Fair ,di-
rectors. 1t is an everlasting shame to
put this city under the feet of Dallas
and Fort Worth this way, rob our
merchants and business men of the
trade they Justly expected when they
took stock in the Fair association,
and make the city itself kissing and
by-word over all the south. The
council have had it in their power to
prevent this all along. once more
they have it in their power to say
that practical franchise shall be
granted. If the gauge was all that
the council found fault with, why
was not the fault found long ago
and narrow gauge franchise
granted. One was asked for last
February. There is but one rem
edy now. If there be any. That
one one should be tried at all haz-
ards. That is, grant the petitioners
right to lay such track as they can
secure motor and rolling stock for in
the time elapsing between now and
November 1st. Do this gen tlemen
of the council or have the manhood
to say, we cannot grind any axes by
granting such franchise and so re-
fuse it.
Real Estate Deals.