The record-union., 1893-02-20
THE STREET RAILWAY QUESTION

The position the RECORD UNION oc-
cupied last fall relative to the contest be-
tween the two electric street railway COM
panies for routes, justifies it in every par
ticular in now saying that there should
be justice done and no advantages taken
of changed conditions.
The Central Street Railway Company
and the Sacramento Power and Light
ences, and at the end of year the street
railway lines will all come under the
ownership of the new company, that last
named.
This new arrangement, however, sug-
gests change in the franchises granted
to the Sacramento Power and Light Com
pany, by which certain routes originally
yranted to it may be abandoned, and GER
tain other routes allowed so as to relate
all the parts of the street-car system har-
moniously, and connect them into one, or
whole system of routes, to be operated
under one management, at one cost.
There would appear to be no good rea-
authority granted to make these changes.
Certainly the holding of the company
soon to possess all the routes to the sys-
tenn laid out under contention and rivalry
would be unjust and would not tend to
encourage the company to give the serv-
ice desired by the people. 1t would di-
vide the road into unrelated sections and
prevent its operation economically.
The wisdom of tho changes asked for.
then, are conceded. But at this point the
Trustees are besought to inflict upon the
new company as the price of consent tc
the notifications, certain penalties in the
way of payments to the city in excess o
those originally imposed.
To do this will be unfair and may re-
suit in exceeding injury to the city. NJ
such imposition ofpenalties has been Wis
tied upon the Central Company and it il
not possible to put them upon the prop
erty represented by that company. be
cause vested rights have grown up, anC
the rights of third parties have intervenet
under them, with which the city canno
interfere.
But the present purpose would seen
to be to hold club over the head of tn
the new terms that will really burdel
both the old and new systems-under tn
threat to refuse the privilege of unifyin
the two systems when the control be
comes one.
We cannot believe that the City Trus
tees will consent to this unfair, this bull
doing and crippling policy. Just wha
motive lies behind the scheme we knov
not, but that it is in the interest of th
public we cannot conceive. The neV
company comes forward frankly and ask
leave to relinquish certain routes and
substitute others that will first, connet
all the lines closely and permit of the
operation in unity; second, to build add
tional lines which will develop outlyin
sections and afford the largest accommC
dation to the greatest number, and max
8 comprehensive system of the sire
railways OF Sacramento.
IT is asked, however, as we have statet
that the company be refused the right
make this readjustment, unless 1t wi
CONSENT to new conditions imposing ne
burdens upon it, and which have n
been visited upon any other company ar
cannot be directly imposed on the rout
of the original company.
These conditions will, the new con
many saws, cripple its capacity, which
have looked forward to as a powerf
aoent in the speedy Introduction into th
citv of electric motive power from Il
initial stations to be established at Il
Folsom dam: and this we believe, and
one can say that this journal has snow
any partiality to the new company
the time the franchises were granted
that company the RECoRD-UNIoN warm
the people that the so-called competi'
lines could not be operated upon the pa
allels asked for; we held with some q