The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-03-14
NO FRANCHISES YET GIVEN
Board of Works Proceeds in a Leisurely
Fashion in Its Study of the Question.
McDonald's Representative Rather Discour-
aged-New Capitalists Making Inquiries
Citizens Reorganization.

proposition of its own. which all Of the
competing companies will be asked TO con-
sider. and ON which they will be asked to
bid. This uitImatum was given out by the
board at It's meeting yesterday morning.
and it caused some p%avy-blue remarks to
be made by several gentlemen who had ap-
peared before the board with the hopes that
they would receive from it some assurances
In regard to the matters pertaining to
street-rsilwsy franchises In which they
were particularly interested. Some of
those interested believe il means that the
board has determined TO grant only q gen.
eral franchise, which will include all of the
various routes which are now under dis
c~ussion. that il will not listen to any
arrangement whereby they may be appor-
toned out separately. and that there will
be no competition.
No member of tine board was willing to
cay when 1t would be ready with this prop
osition of which it spoke, OF in fact any
thing moro than that when the right time
came IL would be glad to have as many
companies before il as would come. and
that it proposed giving the franchise to the
one that would do the best by the city. In
other words. the companies will be pitted
against each other, and the board will lie
back. and take notes on the tight. From
it Il may hope to gain some knowledge
which IL had not thought of before. The
nature of the boards proposition is yet in
embryo lt will depend largely on the re-
suit of the legal Investigations now being
made by the city attorney. and his assist
ents. These will not be completed until
some time during the latter part Of the
week. and the board will then require more or
less-more IL the future be judged by the
%past-time to contemplate them. and then to
draw mp it's formula In the meantime the
various representatives OF the companies
In the field have nothing to do but wait.
BEFORE THE BOARD.
Yesterday morning Mr.. G. A. Munson.
Judge Clay pool and attorneys w. L. Tay-
lor and Leon Bailey. representing the Me-
Donald Broad Ripple enterprise. appeared
before the board as it was in the midst of
it's regular business. They took their seats.
and, after they had waited some time. Dir.
Conduit. of the board. said. as though adj
dressing no one in particular, that there
would be no street car matter M for con-
alteration at that meeting or during the
day. Mr.. Munson at once spoke M,
saying that 1t had been his understanding
that he would receive some sort of a reply
from the board at that time In regard to
the various DTODOSlslODS which ne, In Dee
half of MIR. Mcdonald, had made it. Mr..
Conduit assured hlm that suoh was not
she intention of the board. Judge Clay
pool then took mp the discussion, say
Ing that their advances were IN good
faith. and that they did not see why
they should be put of from time TO time.
particularly as 1t was near the time when
his people would want to begin work. The
road they projected building, he said. was
distinctly q summer road, and his people
Haaired Tn Jaf IT in 0naraflnp aa annn "a
possible. or If they were not going to be
given the right to build it. they wanted to
know it, so that they need not be wastiDR
any more time about 1t. Mr.. Conduit only
another summer. The evident disinter.
~estedness OF the board in the matter seemed
TO be exceedingly eXesperatlng to the
msgnates. and to Judge ClaypoOl in partic-
uiar. and he started TO make q sharp reply
but checked himself. They then adjourned
TO the corridor. where they held q short
consultation. and then left the building.
Mr.. Munson SAID afterward that he
was not at all pleased with the shape
things were taking, and that he felt that
his company had received less encourage
Dent this time than ever before. "Of
course they will take their time, m We
can do nothing to hurry them" he said,
but it does seem as though we have now
waited a sufficiently long time for them to
arrive at an CONCLUSION that they may
want TO. We have made them PROPOSE
tons such as they have never received be-
fore from any one else. and We have incor-
porated in our papers all that they have
suggested. We have offered them any
guarantee of our good faith that they
might desire to demand. and have done
everything in our power to put our case
two or three times that at certain dates
they would give US some definite answer
on which we might go TO work, but have
failed 10 do so. and now they put us of
"a -
derstand what they mean by it,"
Nr. Munson left the city last night.
and will not return until there Is some I'M
mediate prospect OF the board arriving at
some idea as to what il will do. Mr.. De-
frees, OF the board, said that, as far rs he
knew, there had been no understanding
with MIR. Munson that he was TO have had
m answer yesterday. and said further that
the board did not propose TO be hurried in
the matter. and that it would be some time
before action would be taken in any of the
matters. Though none OF those directly
Interested said so In ae many words. the
action of the board yesterday practically
put an end to all hopes hat any may have
bad for q read In operation to Broad Kip
pie the coming summer or. at least, until
late in il.
Such a road might be put In operation
could work be begun on IL at once. but that
10 now out of the question. The d~ilatory
actions OF the board are being condemned
BY many, and one gentleman interested IN
the project said of them: lit Is my opinion
that the board Is afraid TO make any de-
cision In the matter. The truth of it is
that IL has before it o problem which Is
Just q little larger than it is used to band
ling and it does not know what to do with
It. Another thing that looks funny Is that
MP to the present time the Citizens COM
pany has not appeared to be the least bit
worried about what the other companies
were proposing To do. That is not like
their actions In similar cases before. They
have always come right TO the front either
with counter propositions or with some
scheme to defeat tbeir wOuid-b be rivals. 1t
looks TO me like a cut and dried affair and
that the Citizens people understand that
nothing will be done until they are ready
to come in with their say. The board
doubtless thinks them to be the best and
strongest bidders in the field. and 1t has
consented TO wait their pleasure"
Through the law tirm OF Herod IL Her0d
D party OF Eastern capitalists made in.
FURY before the board yesterday in regard
q securing a st~reet-rallway franchise. Mr..
Yerod was gwen the same answer as were
Ye Others. be said afterwards that the
Dsople for whom be was appearing bad as
eet no defined plan of action as to what
they would do. They had simply learned
That the franchise for n street-railway
Plant was mp for competition in the way of
bidding in this city, and they desired TO
know the situation. Mr.. Herod said that
he was not at liberty TO divulge thor
names.
CITIZENS REORGANIZATION.
The members of the old and new syndi-
Gates, representing the ownership of the
Citizens company. met IN Chicago yester-
day for the purpose of making the formal