The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-03-20
BIG RAILROAD HEARING
THE COMMITTEE ROOM AT HART
FORD PACKED YESTERDAY.

Powerful Address BY Vice President nan
of the Consolidated Road-The Steam
Roads VS.. the Electric Roads-Other Adj
dresses-Other Matters Before the Gen
eraI Assembly Yesterday.
Hartford March 19.-The room OF the
committee ON railroads was packed
with people at 1890 this morning, the
hour at which arguments were to be
made before the committee on railroads
by attornies for the steam roads, against
pending bills chartering electric roads
on. parallel routes with the steam roads,
The Consolidated road was represented
by Vice President Hall and Hon. Henry
c. Robinson. Others present included
Judge \. B. Lockwood of Bridgeport,
Robert E. Colt president of the New
London Northern railroad, Judge eager
of Derby, Attorney Perry of Bridge
port e. S. Robbins, attorney for the
New England road, and Morris F. Sey-
mour of Bridgeport.
Vice President John M. Hall, the first
speaker, in long argument, spoke in
part as follows:
MR.. HALLS REMARKS.
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen Of the
COMMITTEES:
I appear here to-day with my broth
er, Robinson, representing the manage
ment and interests of the New York,
New Haven and Hartford Railroad
company, for the purpose of offering
4s,,.,f n a.
sonable concerning the pending &ppli-
cations for new charters and extern
sons Of electric street railway COM
panies At the beginning of the dis
cussion desire to say that the cor
poration represent is not here in the
attitude of hostility to electric roads,
as such, within their legitimate and
proper sphere 1t recognizes fully both
the utility and desirability and neces-
sity and convenience Of this mode of
transportation in the cities and large
towns 1t could not if it would, and
would not if it could put any obstacle
in the way of the full development of
electric communication wherever the
actual convenience and necessity of
the people demand it.
Let it be understood then that the
steam roads are not hostile in any
manner to electric roads, as such, with
in proper and reasonable bounds. The
time has come, however, as it seems
to us, when the state should adopt
some definite policy as to the regula-
ton and\ restraint of electric roads
within proper bounds, so that the vest
ed rights of the steam roads may be
fairly protected against unjust and I'M
fair competition. Two years ago an
electric wave swept over the state,
and the legislature granted a large
number of charters under which some
roads have been built and many aban-
doned The steam roads made no OPP
position to the electric schemes, ex-
cept it supposed it had provided that
no electric road should cross a steam
railroad at grade. It was mistaken.
The legislature thought the general
law they had passed covered this
ground, but our supreme court found that
it did not, and the people made it the
first business of this session to so amend
the law that no more such death traps
can be constructed in Connecticut by
either electric or steam roads. No one
connected with the New Haven road at
the time of this wholesale grant of cleo
trio charters supposed that there was a
scheme developed by the New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, New York and Massa-
chusetts syndicates, who own almost
all the stock Of the electric roads in
this state, to parallel the Consolidated
road it's entire length from Springfield to
New York But if you will examine this
map which | now show you, you will
see that with the roads already built
and with the extension now before you
nj ,aI., x,1a+1
and only a. very few short links will
complete it. This shows the direct pur-
pose to parallel, not for the purpose of
accommodating the necessities of the |
public, but to appropriate the highways |
of the state and to use them to compete |
with the costly steam roads for its en-
tire length by an absolute system of |
paralelism. If it be the policy of the |
state of Connecticut to make pres
ent of the use of its highways to foreign |
syndicates for the purpose of interfer-
ing with the vested rights and property
interests of our own citizens it is time
all our people, and especially those who
have invested their money in steam rail-
road property or securities understood
it.
Let me call your attention. just at this
point to the confusion which exists in
the discussion of this matter by our set
ting the electric roads in class by
themselves and the steam roads in an
other class. The difference between a
steam road and an electric road is
simply in the method of applying the
energy developed by the combustion of
coal. The power in the electric road is
obtained by stationary boilers and the
energy is transmitted over a wire to the
point where required for use. The loco
motive of the steam road develops the
energy by more wasteful process of
combustion but applies it directly to
the cylinders which are coupled to the
driving wheels as the source of energy
moves over the tracks. The ability to
move in both cases is created by the
friction between the wheels and the
rails. The Transmission of power to an
electric car is applied, by the rotary mo- ,
ton of an electric motor, directly to the
axle. If direct steam power could be
applied in the same way there would ,
be great economy, principally because :
in a locomotive an average of one ton in
weight (piston, piston rods, and con- !