The morning call., 1893-06-09

aud Market streets. Il took an hour or
more TO draw that one pole from the loo e
soil in which il was pianted, but by that
tme Welch and his helpers had acquired
an experience that enabled them 10 clear
the block by $50 O'clock. Work by the
railroad people had ceased soon afer noon
and by diDner-time Fifth street was guilt
less OF any suspicion of ar electric road.
The Mayor had watched the operations
all the afternoon, assisted by large crowd
OF people and by Captain Short and sew
eral policemen, who Kept the populace out
of danger.
1t was not until $50 P. NJ. that Mayor
Ellert made up his mind TO clear Seventh
street too, but he concluded then that he
might as well make clean job Of it, and
gave orders accordingly. Early in the
evening Seventh street was likewise
cleared, and nothing was left of the incip-
lent road but few holes. partly filled with
cavlDg sand.
None OF the officials of the Market
street company we're on the scene during
the afternoon. but their deadly rivals, the
Omnibus people. watched the proceedings
with much interest. Several of the officials
of that company were there ready to eX-
plain on inquiry that the Market-street
people were IN Just the same position that
! they were when they began putting up
poles on Market street, and that the Mar
ket-street people had no more rights than
| they had.
Mayor Ellert consulted City and County
Attorney Creswell before he took the ac-
ton he did, and he went ahead largely on
! the advice ne received.
Neither official studied out all the fran
chises and legal techncalities bearing on
! the case. In most cases it's terrible lob
| to figure out just what rights street rail
way company has at certain point, and
when and how those rights were acquired
| for franchises are often piled on top Of one
/ nd dad trat fc,r
combined in way that it is not easy TO
! unravel.
The Mayor did not base his action, how
ever, on any denial of the right of the COM
paby, under some franchise, to use cleo
tricity on the streets at point. He lust
stopped the work and pulled up the poles
on general principles; or rather on the
claim that whatever the franchise rights If
| the company might be their roads were
still subject TO regulation by the Super
vis0rs and by The police power of the city.
Il take the stand" said the Mayor yes
terday, that the poles and wires which
the company Is putting up are Ob6truc-
tiOns TO the streets. dangerous 10 life and
nterferes with the work of the Fire De-
partment. and that it has no right to put
them up without permission. Then the
franchises permitting the use of electricity
stipuate that it shall be with modern ap-
pliances an0 requirements, and it must be
shown that their methods conform to this
requirement. / would make no objections
if 1t was being done in the suburbs. but |
am OF going to let trolley wires go up in
the business portion uf the city unless a
company establishes its legal right to put
them up. In court is the place for these
rights to be determined, and l am going to
let them be determined there"
The Market-street company will seek to
gain its asserted rights in court of course.
but by what meth od it does notyet appear.
NJ. c. Haley of the Markei-street company
said yesterday that no injunction against
the city authorities would be asked. The
company is going to do the business in
some other way, but what that way was
he wouldn't say.
The two lines started and stopped yes
terday were intended To be quite extensive
trolley electric roads. The FiIth-street
line would extend down Fifth along the
present horsecar line to Fourth and Towns
end and on out to the Potrero
The Seventh-street line would extend
over a number of streets ont to South San
francisco, via Brannan, Eighth, Kansas,
Santa Clara. Conuecticut, Solano and
Kentucky streets and Railroad avenue.
The Fifth-street operations are really be-
ing conducted by the City Railway Com
Dany, which is. however, but one of the
cor oTporatlons belonging To the Market-street
people.
In 1868 the Potrero and Bay View Rail-
Ioau Su,h pahy, NO" ahotneF portion Of
The Malket-street MONOPOLY, obtained a
franchise from the Legislature to build
and operate line between Bay View and
the Polrero and also from Marker street
along Fifth to Bluxome and to Fourth
street, the present route of the Fiftf-street
horsecar lire. In 1878 this franchise was
extended to fifty years from the original
date.
About 1878 the CITY Railway Company.
then controlled by Woodward, proprietor r
of Woodward's Gardens, aud which was