Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-01

Had 1t not been for the intervention of
the court the trolley poles on New York
avenue, which today became, by operation
of the statutes. Illegal occupants of the
highway, would doubtless by this time
have been removed. The court by grant
ing temporary restraining order and max
Ing 1t returnable a week after the anti
trolley law goes into effect, has granted to
the corporation an extension of time which
Congress denied. and 1t is barely possible
unless the attorneys for the District are
exceedingly earnest and vigiIant, that the
company, through the laws delays. may be
eble to postpone action on the part of the
comniss oners until Congress meets There
Is the best of evidence that this has been
the plan of the corporation from the begin
ming, and that at no time has there been
airy sincere intention to displace the over
head trolley in the city with any other sys
tenn. whatever may have been the demon.
strations to the contrary. The Star has the
most direct testimony that the company
knew positively that the bill granting the
extension which Is made the basis Of the
plea before Judge Cox could not possibly
pass ard that this Information reached the
directors Immediately after the passage of
the amendment through the House by
trick. This was early in February, at the
same time that the company had applied
for and obtained a permit to establish the
magnetic system of propulsion on New
York avenue. At that time one of the
prominently active of the roads officials
went TO a Senator who was thoroughly well
Informed upon local street railway matters
ard pleaded that an effort should be made
to push the extension through the Senate.
The Senator assured him that the bill could
rot by any possibility pass Tearing that
provision, ard that, If he desired to keep
POLES on the avenue he had far better trust
10 luck to maintain them than to raise the
question for a moment In the Senate. This
Senator knew. as the director knew, that
as the Senate teen stood, and as it pre-
suTably stands today, any legislation
granting further life to the overhead troll
ley in this city was an impossibi;ity, and
that the mere suggestion of that means of
motive power in the upper house would be
a signal for storm of indignant protesta-
ton. With this Knowledge, W hich may pos
sibly have come to the director even earlier
than the date mentioned, the company
must have known that all hope of obtaining
the extension was futile. At that time the
best of expert opinion was that the mag
netic system proposed could be fully in
stalled in ninety days. There then re-
manned of the time granted to the trolley
over four months and half. and over
month of session before adjournment. The
plain duty of the company it would SEEM
after learning that this extension was be-
ycnd the range of possibility, was to utilize
the remaining days of the session to obtain
Ccnsr- ssioral authority to issue more bonds
to obtain money with which to effect the
change in the motive power of the road.
This, it is known, would have been granted
without question and in ample season.
Having given such an earnest of intention
of doing something in conformity with law
and public sentiment, the company would
doubtless have met with little or no OBJ
struction from the Commissioners at this
date. The action of the directors In now
going into court with such a plea as that
which has been made the basis of the ap-
rIication for an injunction shows that they
are indeed trusting to luck to maintain
the poles and wires and are determined to
utilize every technicality to avoid doing
what is their plain duty.