The evening world., 1894-04-12
Metropolitan Company Asks Legislation
10 Give 1t All Of the Street
Below Twenty third.
OPPOSED TO TRACKS NORTH OF THAT.
John D. Crimmins Says tho Consent Of PROP.
erty-0wners Can Be Got-His Ambi-
tious Traction Scheme.
Special 10 The WORLDLY

ALBANY. April ll-Addditional evil
dence of the existence of a Tammany-
Republican deal appeared in the Assem-
bly, to-day, when a bill surrendering the
lower portion of Fifth avenue to the big
street railroad syndicate was introduced
by unanimous consent. The bill was pre-
scented by Patrick II. Roche CDem), of
the Fourth New York District, and
there is ground for the suspicion that
efforts were made to keep 1t from reach
ing the correspondents. The bill provides
for amending section 4 of chapter 81 of
the laws OF 1885, which reads, Except
for the necessary crossing OF railroads
laid or to be laid upon Fifth avenue at the
intersection of other streets. no railroad
shall be laid upon. above or along any
part Of Fifth avenue in the city of New
York" by adding the words north of
T~wenty-third street. after the words
any part Of Fifth avenue
If this bill becomes n law It will enable
the street railroad octopus In the city OF
New York to operate n railroad from
Tw~enty-third street through Fifth ave-
nue. to Washington Square. providing the
necessary consent OF two-thirds of the
property-owners on that thoroughfare
can he obtained.
only u single copy OF the bill was pre-
scented and this was poked away in a
pigeon-hole behind the clerks desk.
When the correspondent of The World
asked to see 1t he was informed that 1t
had been sent to the printers, n 1t
was only after the correspondent had in
sisted that he had a right to see the bill
that 1t was reluctantly produced.
Assemblyman Roche declared that the
bill did nothing more than permit tracks
to be laid across Fifth avenue. He said
the bill was sent to him by Luke Coz
zens. counsel for the railroad syndicate,
and John d. Crimmins. and that he had
introduced it by request.
This Is the only occasion this session
that n bill has got in without some
member demanding information concern
ing 1t. The interest of the Tammany
men. of course. lay in pushing the meas
ure. John ID. Crimmins could easily ar
range for their silence, but the permission
given by the Republicans to permit the
Introduction of a bill by such a rabid
Tammany man as Mr.. Roche is pretty
clear evidence that some sort of an I'M
d"rstanding had been had with them.
Mcssrs. Lawson. Robertson and Sheffield,
the three Republican members from New
York. sat silently in their places.
President John ID. Crimmins. Of the
metropolitan Street Railway Company,
and its financial hacker. the Metropoii-
about this legislation. BY a World re-
porter last night, at his residence, No.
40 East Sixty-eighth street.
,onr company Is responsible for, the
have asked for the exemption. by the
Legislature. o. that portion of Fifth
avenue south of Twenty-;hlrd street,
or more properly south Of the junction
force, which prohibits the building of a
railway upon Fifth avenue.
averue law has been questioned. and
there Is a Fifth Avenue Railway Com
pany, fully organized and ready to act
should the law ever be upset. We
road built upon Fifth avenue north of
its iuncturc with Broadway.
There has been no undue sccresy
about the matter" continued Mr.. Grim
Minis, Long before the bill was intro
dured personally visited many of the
of fwcnty-third street, as well as those
interested in the side streets, both east
and west. ] also sent canvassers about,
ana sent out circular letters as veil.
~ $50 hHN ~ VI NiS
owners in regard to our proposition to
build upon the south end OF the avenue.
1t was found that a majority Of the
owners of property affected realize that
Flfth avenue south of T~wenty-third
street Is a business street. They APP
p%r@c!ate that fact, and know that the
pose, would g'eatly benefit them. AL
most a majority of the property owners
have already consented to the plan we
propose, and values have increased in
| lntlripltlDn of nnr mans hpinp ga rrial
cut.
when the construction Of our Lex
inEton avenue line is completed from
Tw~enty-third street to Harlem the
broadway line, which would become the
main trunk, south of Twenty-third
street, would be overtaxed. At times we
thirty seconds Roadway, and at other
times, during the rush hours, the cars
are only fifteen seconds apart. 1t would
be a physical tmpossibility TO move any
great amount of additional rattle over
Broadway south OF T~wcnty-third street.
In the event of Fifth avenue south of
TO US by the Legislature we propose to
make connections at the junction of
broadway ,hr9ugh Firth avenue,
nr9nnd Washington Square to South
ties owned by our company, through
South Firth avenue, West Broadway
and Church street to the Battery. This
would parallel the present broadway
line south of Twenty-third street, and
AFFORD ample facilities. In addition to
this, the plans call for further cross
town facilities by means of II line
through liroome and Watts street to the
pesbruases street ferry, with n trans
fer system, so that people in any part
of the city north of Twenty-third street
AN he carried for single fares either
to the Battery or to any of the ferries
on the north or East River.
The opening up of even a portion of
Fifth avenue Tor railway purposes may
cause some to believe that the entire
street would eventually, be asked for,
our company would have no need OF
Firth ayen-e north of Twenty-third
street after our Lexington avenue line
Is finished. We already have the Sixth
avenue line. and would not want another
10 compete with that line. In fact, our
company would. for its own interest,
vigorously oppose any line On Fifth ave
nu" north of fwenty-third street.
"Our company has assumed the re-
sponsibilitv of giving service upon the
broadway Tine that is superior to that
of any other street line in the world.
We desire II place all our lines Upon the
same high plane. To do this with profit
to ourselves We must consider the CON
vcnicnCe OF the public. We are now so
equipped that no other company in the
/ pllr can afford TO render ANYTHING Ike