Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-11
NO SEAT, NO FARE.
An Amendment Adopted to a Street
Railroad Bill.
DISTRICT DAY IN THE HOUSE.
Quite . Debate on the Bill Extending the
Time Within Which the Metropolitan Road
Shall Change Its Motive Power-Several
Amendments Proposed.


several bills had been passed by unanimous con-
sent he demanded the floor for the District
committee. However before the floor was
finally obtained by the District resolution
offered by Mr.. Grady of North Carolina was
agreed to, providing for the removal of the re-
mains o. ex-Congressman James Gillepsie from
the old cemetery in Georgetown and the in
terment in the Congressional cemetery, the ex-
penses to be paid by the House.
vAcArISG MADISON STREET.
Mr.. Hemphill on obtaining the floor asked
consent that the girls reformatory bill, which
was the pending bill. be passed over until the
next District day. He then called up Fl. r. 665S.
vacating Madison street, Georgetown, from
Pack street to Beattie and Hawkins
addition to Georgetown and to open
4 street east from the addition to Back street.
the ground to be donated TO the District 1t
was explained that the bill WAS simply to afford
means Of Strengthening the street. The bill
was passed.
MORE TINE FOR THE METROPOLITAN RAILROAD.
Mr.. Hemphill called up the resolution in re-
gard to the Metropolitan railroad. The joint
resolution provides that the time within which
the street railroad companies svailing them
selves of the privileges granted by the act max
ing appropriations to provide for the expense
for tue government of the District of Columbia
and approved August 6. 1890. SO far Us 1t applies
to the Metropolitan railroad, be extended for
one year from the date Of the passage OF the
act.
The report on the bill from Mr. Heard was
read and among other things said: Upon full
investigation your committee is satisfied that
the officers of the Metropolitan road have been
diligent and energetic in their efforts to obtain
and put in practical use the power specified in
the act of Congress and that it will be practi-
cally impossible for that company to complete
the work of substituting the new power within
the time mentioned in the act.
THE DELAYS that have occurred, and will
necessarily occur in completing the work Of
change, are caused by the difficulties that are
unayoidably incident to the use of storage bat
teries as the source of motive power The use
of cables on said road was demonstrated to be
impracticable by reason of the numerous and
severe curves i'll the lines, and the use of over
head wires as conductors of electricity Is pro-
Eibited by law. and therefore said company is
absolutely confined TO storage battery power"
Mr.. Heard explained the report and de-
scribed the actual necessity for the extension
of time i'll this case. The report contained q
letter from President Pearson of the railroad
describing the efforts which the road had made
and was making In the effort TO change the mo-
tive power &c the storage lattery as the only
practical power for the road.
MR.. BUCHANAN ASKS QUESTION.
Mr.. Buchanan On. j. wanted to know whether
cables were impracticable on the road Mr..
Heard said they were on account of the crowds,
but Mr.. Buchanan referred to the system in
san Francisco and seemed to think that cable
roa.ls were run there even against greater
difficulties. Mr.. Heard said the cable experts
had examined the question here and decided
against the practicability of using such sys-
tenn here without an absolute loss.
Mr.. Heard explained that the road had ex-
pended already quarter of a million dollars
and 1t was to the interest of the company to
get its power perfected as soon as possible. The
plant, be said in answer to a question, could
be used for overhead wires even if the storage
system failed. Mr.. buchanan wanted to know
how any road was going to put in overhead
wires when the law against it. He
then said he was by no means convinced that a
cable could not be operated. Mr.. Heard, how
ever said it was impossible, there were alto
gether too many curves
ANo SEAT NO FARE AMENDMENT.
Mr.. Cultivate (Ohio) offered an amendment
providing that within sixty days the road shall
so increase its facilities that no pas senger be
compelled to stand up and in no case shall the
company collect fares until seat
has been furnished. Mr.. Cultivate said that
not once during the winter had he been able to
ride the entire distance from the Capitol to
his home without being obliged to stand q pOr
ton of the way.
He had In the evenings seen the registers III
cars when they showed that $50 passengers had
ridden during the day, which meant an income
Of ga a day for single car.
TO APPLY TO ALL THE ROADS.
Mr.. Blount ga ) thought the provisions Of
the amendment should be put in a general bill
which should apply to all the roads in the city.
The complaint was OF long standing and moth
ing had ever been doEe to bring about any
relief. Mr.. Heard differed with MIR. Blount and
recited the fact that Congress had compelled
this very road to take of one-horse cars. Mr..
Blount replied that the evil he complained of
and which the amendment partially reached
was worse nov than it had ever been.
SHARP DISCUSSION.
The discussion then became somewhat sharp,
Mr.. B!ount denouncing the railroad in vigor-
Gus terms. Mr.. Cultivate said that there were
many other abuses by this road which needed
correction. but just at present he would be sat-
isfed if his amer dment could be adopted.
Mr. Hopk of Illinois said that for two
years this road had been attempting to per-
form imp disability. Instead Of putting in a
cable system the road had been expert
menting with storage ststem, which sys-
TEN had not proved success in
any city so far. He WAS willing. he said. to
vote for the bill providing that Mr.. Outh-
waite's amendment OF no seat no fare was
adortei and for the additional privileges the
public derived some benefit.
Mr.. Heard said he was willing to accept the
ing the House thought that that was a
practical way to get at the evil Mr..
Washington of Tennessee, however had
some amendments of a rather radical character
which he proposed The first of these limited
the time OF extension to six months while the
second allowed the privilege of using over
head wires erected under the approval of the
Commissioners. Mr.. Washington said that
| the storage system entirely impractical
BILE, and that it would be perpetratins farce
| to extend the time twelve months, during
| which the railroad would experiment on a sys-
tenn which would be as impossible at the end of
that time as II was at present. The overhead
wires. he held. constituted an entirely uuobjec-
| tlonable system.
DON'T WANT OVERHEAD WIRES.
Mr.. Hemphill remarked that the read was not
asking for an overhead system; that it was
satisfied that their storage system would prove
a perfect success and that all thew were
| asking was an extension of time to
| perfect that system. Mr.. Hemphill then
called for the previous Question but
Mr.. O'Neil Of Missouri objected strenuously re-
marking that if Mr.. Hemphill undertook anv
such tactics as that the bill would not be passed
during the afternoon.
MR.. oNEILs OBJECTION.
Mr.. O'Neil then took the floor in opposition
to the bill The Metropolitan railroad, he said,
was one Of the monopolies under which the
| community Of Washington had long been