The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-11
The Market Street Railway
Company and Its Com
petitors.
TWO PER CENT DIFFERENCE.
Some Franchises Having the AWk-
ward Little Clause and What
Became Of Them.


their gross receipts into the City treasury.
Extensions of franchises granted ear
Her than 1889, and which themselves do
not carry that clause, are not so taxed.
That means to say that the Market
street Railway Company can extend its
lines in every direction to the City and
County line, for the nominal sum of $500
for each extension and group of extensions,
and be required to pay nothing further for
its privileges, while any other concern
wishing to build line will be taxed 2 per
cent of the gross earnings, and required to
pay $4,000 in the first instance.
This is another thoughtful illustration
OF the many artful uses of that word Eek
tension" no reference to which can be
found in any of the laws regulating the
granting of franchises.
The fact is that the further one goes into
the study of street railway legislation in
this City the more the wonders unfold.
The franchises have been granted and re-
granted, extended, re-extended rami6ed
and abandoned in whole and in part until
| only the high-salaried lawyers of the big
corporation know anything of them.
They, no doubt, through careful study,
know every winding OF the labyrinth.
The grants overlap each other in many
cases, so that where the conditions of one
are onerous the big company effects to be
operating under the others.
Certain it is every competitor is at a dis
advantage, and they use every means of
| keeping them so-cbief of which means is
the Solid Fights of Boards of Supervisors.
Here is franchise, however, which has
| per cent clause in it, which ought to
| make it difficult for even the company's
lawyers to find a way round. 1t was
granted December 20, 1890, to the City
Railroad Company. The franchise became
the property of the Market-street Railway
Company at the time OF the consolidation.
One year ago the company reported to the
expert of the Finance Committee of the
Board of Supervisors that only one or two
blocks had been laid, that there was no
part of it in operation, and that there were
no receipts. The franchise was granted in
December, 1890, member-and last year
only few blocks had been laid. The
terms of this franchise are unusual. They
are as follows:
ton of any portion of this road sworn state
ment shall be made, certified to by the expert of
the Finance Committee, showing gross receipts
and per cent paid thereon.
The operation of "any portion of the
franchise" required payment of 2 per
cent. That is very different from and
much more awkward than those per cent
provisions that read lone year after COM
pletion of this franchise"
Therefore as recently as year ago the
company reports that mo part of the road
is in operation" But there are time limits
under which these franchises are forfeited
if their conditions are not fulfilled, SO that
yesterday, upon inquiry at the office of the
company. Superintendent of Construction
III. III. Lynch stated to a CALL man that
the line was all built except strip on
Page street, which had been formally
abandoned.
The route in this franchise is as follows:
Commencing at Mission and Fourteenth, to
Potter, Market, Page, Masonic avenue, Fred
erick street to First avenue.
Commencing again at West Mission, to Brady,
Market Page.
Here are four other franchises, most of
them small ones, now comprised in the
Market-street system, all containing the
2 per cent provision, none OF which are
completed.
The first, granted to Stump Doble and
others November Is, 1884, is as follows:
Commencing at Mission and Sixth streets, on
Brannan, Eighth, Channel, Kansas and Ken
lucky, Railroad to Sixteenth avenues.
Mr.. Lynch reports with regard to this
that there is trouble about the grades at
Sixteenth and Bryant streets, and for this
the road is not built between Townsend
and Kansas streets. The time does not
run out until November of next year.
A branch of the same, commencing at
Kentucky and Solano, out Kentucky to
Fourth to King, is running.
The next franchise was granted June
3, 1892, to the Ocean Beach Railway Com
pany, and commences at Fell and Stanyan
streets, Fulton, First avenue, Cliff House
road to the end thereof. Mr.. Lynch re-
ports the same difficulty about grades and
the road as built does not extend beyond
Thirteenth auenue outward.
The branch of the same road franchise
granted the same time commencing at
Church and Thirtieth on Church. to Her
mann, to Fillmore, was all abandoned
the now famous Church-street franchise.
The franchise commencing at Church
and Ridley, on Ridley to Fillmore, to the
northern end thereof, has been in opera
ton month.
On the branch commencing at Illinois and
Sixteenth streets, on Sixteenth to Market,
to Seventeenth, to Ashbury, Clayton, Carl
and Frederick streets, there is the same
complaint about grades on the latter part
The first part is in operation.
The same complaint is made on the
branch commencing at Turk and Fill
more, on Turk to First avenue, B street,
Gate Park. The road is running to De-
visadero.
Following is the report concerning a
franchise granted on December 6, 1892.
The branch commencing at Castro and
Seventeenth, on Castro, Ridley, Devisadero
to its northerly end. The part on Deyisa-
dero and Page to Jackson is running. Com
mencing again at Potter and Twenty-sec-
ond streets to Chattanooga, Twenty-fourth
to Hoffman avenue, has been running for
three months.
Commencing at Twenty and Do
lores streets, on Dolores, Twenty-fourth
to Chattanooga, running. Commencing
at Twenty-fourth and Noe, on Noe to
Jersey, is a side track.
Commencing again at Market and Sew
enth streets. on Seventh to King, nothing
has been done; time expires December,
1896.
Commencing at Napa and Kentucky
streets, on Napa to Maryland, nothing
done as yet
For these four franchises the terms are
that two years after the completion of the
roads, sworn statements must be filed and
per cent paid on the gross receipts.