The record-union., 1891-06-27
The street railway Question.


EDS. REcoRD-UNIoN: Concerning the
debate relative to street railway facilities,
the directory of the California Museum
Association, for which assume to speak,
being Chairman of its Committee on
Street Transportation, feels q lively in
terest. But it is a public-spirited one
no director has any personal ends to serve
in this matter. Caring for and conduct
ing the city's art gallery with economy
and spirit of earneStneSs, it desires, and
long has desired, a street railway to tap
the southwest section. 1t can be demon
strated that visitations to the city's gall
lery will be quadrupled, and possibly
more than that, if there is constructed
one carrier line down either Second or
Third streets from or X streets. Tho
board has repeatedly, year after year,
besought Mr.. Carey to utilize one of his
routes under franchise by such construc-
ton. lie has always expressed intention
to do so, but has not accomplished it, and
q present committee is again appealing
to builders to construct line. It is i'm
possible to satisfactorily maintain even a
free lecture course in winter or summer
at the gallery without better means of
transportation. The lack of it handicaps
not only the association, but the School
of Design sadly. and cripples it's useful
ness.
With proper transportation, the num-
Der of pupils in the school can be doubled.
Tourists can reach the gallery only
on foot or in hacks, and hundreds
monthly are kept away in conse-
quence. From 700 a month of vista
tions the register will show 5000
a month at the very lowest estimate, with
street railway facilities. Add to these the
local patronage OF the ward, the daily
patronage of the enlarged School of De-
sign, and the probability of frequent
opening of the gallery by night and the
large attendance upon frequent lectures
| Thus to. the 5000 of population in the
ward to locally use the road we will have
added $4,000 transients, at the lowest, due
to the gallery location, and it would prob
ably reach 40, 900 per year who would use
the line; this, carefully excluding per-
centage that would come by private
means. 1t is submitted that these con-
siderations quite equal guarantee, and
indicate that line through the southwest
section would pay.
In winter the gallery is especially handi-
capped, because of lack of conveyance.
The gallery is the one only property Of
this people for the entertainment of their
visitors. 1t is the source of more high
compliment and good words for Sacra-
mento than any other feature, and is a
means to rational enjoyment by citizens.
What it would be if connected with the
street railway systems is easily conceiv-
able.
The Museum Association has not an
tagoniZed the desire of any other section
to secure lines of street railway. The
members of the directory, if asked, would
probably be found to hold that if the peo-
pie on line Of streets petition for a street
railway their wishes should be graft
! fed, all other public rights being con-
sidered, and that they should not be
| denied because some other section has
not railway facilities. But what the asso-
citation desires, is that the streets leading
to the Art Gallery should not be tied up
with franchises that give the thickly-
| populated southwest end no railway, and
prevent others from doing so. The con-
dition of L street practically cuts the
southwest section Oft and isolates it. A
street railway will tend to destroy the
barrier. Such has been the effect in other
cities, and such was the result on Second
street from j to I in this city. While not
putting obstacles in the path of any
others in securing railway lines, the
association does not wish the claims of
| the handsome, well-built and thickly-
| settled section in which the gallery is To-
Gated to be ignored, and trusts that such
good will grow out of the present agita-
ton as will meet all desires, and especially
those of the institution which is so at
tractive feature, and that SO well repre-
sentS the refined tastes of the people.
PRESIDENT G.. NJ. A,