Morning journal and courier., 1893-02-17
THEIR COST.

and Callahan-Senate and House.
 HARTFORD, Feb. 16. - Especial l-Ex- Postmaster Clark of Birmingham, who now represents the General Electric company as manager of the railroad department, appeared before the committee on cities and boroughs at the capitol this afternoon and for three hours was questioned by the members of the committee and the 200 street railroad men and attorneys present regarding electric street railroads, their cost, speed, danger, etc. During the exam ination MT. Clark, who Is @ remarkably bright young man, and who thoroughly understands electric roads from beginning to end, said: As regards the cost of first class road, the equipment, consisting of good rails, cost of rails, tires and laying would cost $1O,0O0 per mile. The cost of paving with Belgian blocks would be $1O,- GOO mile also. If paving was not used of course the preparation of the road bed would be comparatively nothing. The overhead equipment of irst-clsss iron posts would cost $5,OOO per mile. Cheaper wooden posts would cost $2,OO0 mile. So that in cities the cost of erecting @ properly equipped road would cost $25,- 900 mile, and in ordinary country high ways would be SIS, 1000 per mile. To this we must add the cost of cars, $3,OO0 8 car, with an average of two CATS to the mile in ordinary rural districts, and six cars in the | cities. Add to this cost the plant, which would be $500 for each car in use. Elec- tricity can be used at this cost eight miles from the power plant. 50 that by putting | the plant in the center road of sixteen miles can be operated. The operat- ing expenses of such road twelve miles in length would be about s45, ,OOO in city of 3O,O0O inhabitants or about 60 per cent. of the earning which l would be about $75,000 This expense ' would be somewhat reduced if the entire way was not paved. If the roads were not paved in the suburbs it would be safe enough if the tracks were properly kept up and filled in after rain storms. Elec- tricity does not increase the necessity for 8 paved roadway more than horse power would.
 MT. Clark at this point gave way to Hiram Jacobs, New Haven's county commis- | eioner, who said: At the last as well ss at this session of the legislature introduced a bill for the improvement of the ' the in terest of any street railroad, but of our country roads, and certainly not for the Consolidated road, or for any other, if there is any other in Connecticut. I en- dorse most fully the statements of Cover nor Bulkeley made to your committee last week. One suggestion 1 would make, | would be that no electric road charter should be granted and allowed to become a law, until the towns through which 1t is | intended to run shall have voted to accept | it. Our roadways belong to the towns, | and are kept up at the towns expense; and | if the latter want electric roads, let the town at a regular town meeting vote to have them. I don't want my carriage wrecked or my neck broken, and then be obliged to sue corporation which has its assets only on paper. I want to
 have the town responsible and be able to look to them for such damages, and not to
 charters and their cheeky originators
 You need moro than charters to prote ct
 the people, you need good state laws regu
 lating these roads. Under laws today you are unable to give power which would
 allow any corporation to erect poles in
 front of any ones residence without the
 owners consent, because our law on the
 subject is unconstitutional, in that it don't
 provide for compensation to the party
 from whom the land is taken, as Is re-
 quired. If you grant these charters you
 have not only got to uphold this theft
 and help steal these highways, but you
 will be doing something contrary to oul
 constitution. have heard that the rail
 roads intend to fight some of the street
 railroad charters, and trust they will win
 I would rather meet @ locomotive than ar
 electric car on our highways. On our To-
 comotives we have trained engineers and ' olo okr{o lr Io-
 of Castle Garden, and at any time expec
 to zee the heathen Chinee acting as motor man and pulling the rope at the same tim'
 with his pigtail. Again, these cars trave
 on our highways, while the steam railroad go over their own private way and with | out grade crossings. Again say give tn, | towns the right to have the say in thes,
 matters. These people expect to get these
 charters and float these bonds under tn,
 manufacturing corporation must issue iti
 stock on its merits and be responsible
 therefor.
 MT. Clark again took the floor and con
 tinued-I came here not as citizen O. l Connecticut, but at the request of a cer
 tain corporation to give information, but
 must take exception to one or two things
 said by MT. Jacobs. This Is not an file
 gitimate steal of public highways. These
 highways were built for the people, and as
 the electric road Is the peoples carriage
 they should have them if they want them
 In some states it is not necessary for {
 railroad to apply for change of motive
 power, but can do so under their present
 charters. If the granting of these fran
 chises should be left to the towns, if don,
 in proper way, don't know but what il
 might be good thing. It may be trut
 that some are wildcat schemes, but thinl
 the most of the applications in this statt
 are legitimate ones. I think if these roads
 are not granted by special charter ol
 a commission, it might be best to leave
 them to tho towns. AS regards the carry
 ing of freight by these roads think they
 should be allowed to do so with some re-
 strictions. I don't think the ordinary
 street railroads of our cities should be
 freight roads, but I believe there are
 class of roads which the railroads do not
 reach, leading to manufactures where
 freight street railroads would be good
 thing. believe there are forty such loca- | tions in Connecticut. The grade at which | electric roads can be successfully operated
 is ten feet to the hundred, although in some places they go as high nineteen
 foot grade to the mile. In all roads the danger or risk is not an electrical risk, but
 one of brakes. If they do not work, why there is more or less danger, as a matter of course.
 IkEow of no state which has an electric road commission. In many states the
 railroad commissions have charge of this. l New Jersey has an electric commission, but this only applies to overhead wires.
 As to the profits of elsctric roads, there | ia no question but what it is more profit able to operate an electric road than g horse railroad. for the reason that they will carry more passengers. It is i'm portant, however, to remember that the electric equipment of five years ago has been supplanted by another and more l modern one, and that three years ago by still other improved power to- day. This has caused great many of the roads to | spend their earnings in that way, but we have now got to the point where our equip ment has reached ninety-two per cent. and | our dynamos ninety-seven per cent. of | efficiency, and there is a chance for roads to earn something. There is quite craze | for street railroad properties ln this state | just now, which has caused people to think | railroad properties more valuable than they really are.
 While believe in liberal policy by the legislature to electric railroads, yet it must | be remembered that the time is not far distant when these very steam railroads | will bs run by electricity, and you must | move carefully.
 The hearing was st this point continued until to- morrow afternoon. Mayor Sargent snd Corporation Council Driscoll of New Haven were present, but were not heard | on the matter.
 Resolutions were nassed in the senata