The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-07
FRANCHISE IS IN DANGER.
The Steam Motor Company's Line
Has Been Blockaded for q
I Week.
Residents Of West Side Suburb
Denied Cheap and Rapid
Transit.
Dnrinr the Zig STORM y Motor Wa De.
rallied and the Entire Line Ii
Blocked.

Poodle who live on knight street and
Hauser boulevard on the west side. and
further out toward the Hotel Rroadwater,
have been complaining of the poor service
furnished by the steam motor line, other
wise known in the SQUIRT which placed 1t IN
the hands OF Receiver Clark, rs the Helena,
Hot Springs and Smelter railway company.
Some of the compliments think 1t would
be a good idea to turn the waters OF the
Hot springs over the entire line OF the road
and thaw it out. For a week not a motor
has moved. The residents who built their
homes out on the west side naturally con-
sideyed the advantages of cheap and rapid
transit, which this line ! at one time
furnish, when they bought their lots and
built their houses in that suburb. Io get
to the business portion of the city, now,
and return costs a resident out on the motor
line 81 for the round trip, mot cheap by any
means, and the transit is made in a sleigh
or cab. These people have been compelled
to do this for the past week Mt great moon
yenience and loss of time. II they were in
a majority in the city council the franchise
of the road would be revoked at once and
given to men of enterprise who would
change it into an electric line, as they
think it should be. When the Broadwater
electric line was built out to the motel a
good portion of the west side was
dated in the way of quick and cheap trans
portation. But il does not reach the resi-
deuce part located further up the slope OF
the mountain. Those who live in that To-
cality have been entirely dependent upon
the steam motor line. they nave mac good
cause of complaint, they say. long before
the present wretched condition of affairs
began. Now they lave no service at
ali. When the line was put IN
charge of a receiver it was expected
that matters would be improved, but where
the change for the better comes IN IS not
easily seen. On the east side OF town and
less complaint, probably because of better
street railway facilities furnished by other
lines.
The receiver Of the road was out on
knight street, on the curve near Garfield,
Yesterday afternoon with a force OF ten
men. They found it hard work after
getting through the loose snow five o. SIX
inches above the rails. Under this the
sno was packed on the rails and ties al
most IA hard as ice. This is the worst
place on the road. At this point a week
ago to-day the motor was derailed while
trying to buck through the snow when the
late storm was at its height. An I'M
prOVlSeu hHOW PlpW Aaa OCoh oAo
motor and efforts was being made to keep
the line clear. MIR. Clarke said the
engineer sent the motor into the bank at a
high rate OF speed. completely demolishing
the plow and filling the cab with snow.
To get the motor on the rails again a
travelling jack was procured from the Mon
tana Central railway. This took some time,
meanwhile all traffic was blocked. The
engine was taken out to the round house.
It had been disabled In the b>~fe with the
snow bank and has been liz the hands of a
rapairer ever since. The line has not re-
covered from the setback it received a
mulated and soon had the line from the
Northern Pacific depot to the Hotel Broad
water completely at a %standstill.
Last Thursday a force of seven shOvellers
cleared the track from the Orc Elmo terrace
on Park avenue out to. the sharp
curve running into Knight street.
The ten shovellers near Garfield
were making such slow headway at two p.
m. Yesterday that the receiver gave up all
hope of getting the line clear as far as the
Electric Light building, at the corner of
Park and Sixth avenues by six o'clock last
night. He walked over the road from the
Orc Elmo terrace down to Sixth avenue and
Main street. He could not see the rails.
They were buried under the hard packed
snow, which is getting harder every hour
from the traffic on the two thoroughfares.
No attention has been paid to clearing the
track from Main street out into the east
side. If the receiver can get the motor
running from the Broadwater to Main
street he will thank his stars and consider
he has accomplished a good Zealand so
will the people out on Knight street.