St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-12-20
Some Slight Changes Made
in the Speed Regulation
Of Cars.
Assemblymen, Aldermen and
Attorneys Argue and
Finally Agree.
Proposed Overhead Wiring
Objected to as a Perma-
nent Thing.

| The assembly committee on streets
| held lengthy meeting last evening
and took some decisive steps on street
car matters. The members present
] were Chairman Doran and Messrs.
] Lightner, Reardon, Sandell and Van
Slyke.
The Aid. Warren ordinance, regulat-
ing the speed of street cars, was read
and acted upon by sections. The first
section limits the speed in the heart OF
the city, on both sides of the river, to
eight miles an hour, beyond that,
| to certain limits. to twelve miles
an hour, and from that on
the speed is not limited. AS, for in
stance, the cars operated on Wabasha
street must not run faster that eight
miles; OH University avenue out as far
as Dale street they may run IL miles.
and west of Dale they are unlimited.
| The eight-mile clause was first consld-
cred.
Mr.. Van Slyke asked Aid. Warren,
| who was present, why he wished the
| speed OF the cars limited?
AS Warren was about to answer, Mr..
| Lightner suggested that it was best to
inquire whether the street railway COM
pany objected to being limited.
Mr.. Hoskins, superintendent of the
st. Paul end of the railway, and M. ID.
Mum, attorney of the company, were
present. Mr.. Mum replied that the
company had very serious objections.
"The cars" said he, ''seldom run over
eight miles in the heart of the city. But
sometimes cars are delayed by break
ages or jumping the tracks, and then a
blockade follows. These blockades are
often on the loop. In such cases it is
necessary to operate the cars at a great
er speed so as to relieve the blockade
and spread the cars out on the tracks,"
Mr.. Lightner said he thought the cars
were too often run at very reckless
speed in the heart of the city. He had
ridden down Wabasha street on cars
which were going at much greater
speed than ten miles an hour. After
running discussion of fifteen minutes,
it was decided to change the speed in
this district to ten miles. Mr.. Mum did
not make serious objection to the
tWelve-mile clause, and this was allowed
to stand.
Warren's Reasons.
After the matter was pretty we'll
settled, Ald.Warren asked the privilege
of the floor and was granted it. He said
that his idea in limiting the speed in
the heart of the city to eight miles was
to compel Mr. Lowry to restore the cars
he had taken off. He has increased the
speed so that he can operate his lines
with less number of cars. He now
operates so few cars on each line that it
is next to impossible for the trainmen
to keep Oh schedule time. AS result
the cars are commonly behind time. and
crowded SO that people must hang on
the sides. The cars are hardly able to
stop long enough at any crossing to give
people safe opportunity to alight and
others to get on.
Aid. Zimmerman, who was also pres
ent said that, since the speed of the
Seventh street cable line had been in
creased to ten miles an hour, the people
of Dayton's bluff found very much to
complain of. = In the first place, it was
too great speed from WabaSha to
Broadway, and in the next place num-
Der of trains had been taken off, and
the frequent stoppages threw the trains
off time and caused the cars to become
greatly OvercrOWded.
But tie committee declined to change
the clause back to eight miles.
The third section which makes it the
duty of the motoneer to stop his car any
place when ordered to stop by police
officer, called Mr.. Mum out for cOnsid-
cradle objection. The purpose of this
section is in part to save collisions with
the fire department, AID collisions with
teams. MI Mum said that all the col
lisions with the fire department had
been unavoidable. This section, he said,
would make it possible for a man to
drive on the track in front of car and
block the way.
A Faugh-a-BallaghN Notion.
Mr.. Doran asked him if the company
wanted the privilege of running into a
conveyance which stood in the way and
knocking 1t off the track.
Mr.. Mum rather evaded the Ques-
ton, but practically admitted that that
was about what they wanted the priv
ilege of doing. The members of the
committee said that they could not con-
sent to any such idea.
Then Mr.. Mum said that the ordi-
nance provides no penalty for teamSter
who blockades the way. He SAID that
Ordinance 1927 provides that tie fran
chise of the company may be forfeited
when it permits its mOtoneers to run
into teams or fails to give the fire de-
partment the right OF way to fires.
The members of the committee said
that was not sufficient. They wanted
an ordinance which would authorize the
arrest and punishment of the trainmen.
Assistant City Attorney Phillips then
showed Mr.. Mum that the draft of the
ordinance provides a penalty for the
teamster who drives upon the tracks
and ObStIucts the cars unneceSSarily
The section was approved without
change.
The sixth section, which forbids the
stopping of street cars on crosswalks.
was stricken out. Another ordinance
forbids cars stopping on street cross
ings, and allows them to stop only on
the opposite side of a street crossing.
The section which forbade throwing
sand, salt, or any decomposlng sub
stance on the tracks. except under the
supervision OF the city engineer, caused
considerable discussion. At length Mr..
Lightner offered a substitute which
simply forbdS the company from allow
ing salt, sand. gravel, ETC.. to accumu-
late and remain on the streets, and
compels it to remove all Accommodations
of the kind. The substitute was ac-
cepted by the committee. The penal
clause of the ordinance imposes a fine
of not less than SO nor more than $50
u Rails and Bou1evarding.
The 'T'' rail repeating ordinance
came up next. 1t will be remembered
that the original lnterurban line ordi-
nance required Mr.. Lowry 10 boulevard
University avenue. Over year ago A
l.. Scott then general manager of the
street railway company, procured the
passage by the council of an ordinance
granting the company the privilege of