The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-15
SAYS IT IS NO BLuFF.
The Electric Railways President Gets
His Dander Up.

President Collins Of the Electric rail
way and the Savannah Real Estate, Loan
and Building Company is stirred up over
the estimate put upon the notice given by
the latter company to the city at the
meeting Of council this week. Mr.. Collins
says that If the mayor thinks he is bluf-
ing he viii find himself sadly mistaken.
In the first place. he said, 1.-THE notice
. was given by the Savannah Real Estate,
. Loan and Building Company and not by
the Electric railway, and it was very un-
J called for on the part of the mayor, 10 say
/ the least. TO drag the railway company
! into a matter in which it had no counec-
ton. IL would be well for the mayor TO
inform himself upon these subjects before
/ expressing himself so freely.
In the next place continued Mr. Col
/ Inns, the righJs-Of-way referred to we're
/ granted the city by the real estate com
/ pany when the franchise for the Electric
/ Railway Company was granted something
I over three years ago. The streets run
ming east and west through the cOmpanys
! property were granted then on condition
that these streets should be opened
| across the Savannah, Florida and West
! ern railway by the city as soon as ii was
practicable 20 do 50. The right-of-way
I for the streets running north and south
through the same property was granted
later, when the Electric Railway Com
pany was given permission 10 build its
line through the market. on the condition
that the connecting streets north and
south should be opened up"
DO you really intend, then. to with
draw the grant OF rightsof-way for these
streets" President Collins was asked
That Is exactly what we propose to
do he replied, unless the city opens the
streets in question by Jan. 10, the time
specified in the notice. The city has had
over three years now in which TO open
these streets, and nothing has been done
We considered that ample time has been
allowed and that if nothing is done by the
time named that we have the right TO
withdraw our grant,
But the mayor says the grant is in
definite and cannot be withdrawn"
1--WE have the best of legal advice to the
contrary"
suppose the city should only open two
or three of the strests as was contem-
plated sometime ago. What then2' Mr.
Collins was asked.
"Our contract with the city,n he re-
piled, ''calls for the opening Of all the
streets from Gwinnett street south to
Anderson street and we will not be salts
fled with anything less. 10 will do US but
little good to have only one or two streets
opened through our property. The real
estate company has not suffered less than
$4,000 damage by reason Of the failure of
the city to open these streets as agreed
upon. The rights of way offered TO the
city could not be purchased for less than
$4,000.
How about Barnard street which the
mayor says the Electric Railway will
have to open south from Barnard street
TO TWELFTH"
That is where the mayor drags the
Electric Railway into this matter again
without cause or reason. 1t had nothing
10 do with the notice of the withdrawal
of the rights-of-way east of the Savau-
nah, Florida and Western Railway. The
Electric Railway has no contract with
the city for the opening Of Barnard street
and If any such contract exists with the
Savannah Street Railway Company we
have never been notified of the fact We
are amply guaranteed against all the obli-
cations Of that company. The opening of
Barnard street has nothing whatever to
do with the opening of the streets across
the Savannah, Florida and Western Rail-
way"