Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-10
HORSES OR TROLLEY?
What President Newbold Promises
to Do.
PLANS FOR TIE LEXINGTON ROAD
He Says It Will Soon Be Equipped
With a Good System.
rs FOR TIE LEXINGTON ROAD
THE BELT LINE ALSO

PRESIDENT Newbold OF the lexington and
Belt railways was in the city last evening.
He said to Star reporter that he had been
actively at work upon the improvements
of which he had given assurance through
The Star. After unexpected difficulties and
delays, he had secured, he said, the addi-
tional horses necessary 10 restore the Belt
line to its original condition as belt, and
in the meanwhile he had been preparing
the way for the promised speedy installa-
ton of an underground electric system
upon the two roads. II recognize" he
said, 'the reasonableness of the public out
cry, to which The Star has given voice,
against the continued existence of the troll
ley poles New York avenue, and the
company is willing and even desrous to
remove them just as soon as a substitute
motive power that will be satisfactory to
the community can be put in. Some time
ago arranged with Mr.. SaXton, who made
the 9th street electric line, to go over the
lexington line from New York avenue and
Boundary to Center market, and TO SUP
NIT a detailed estimate of the cost of
equipping this section of the road with the
system used on 9th street. He has SUBJ
mitted these figures to me, and they aggre-
gate in the neighborhood of $3.50 600 in
cluding some $4,000 for necessary enlarge
ment and improvement of the power house
which is used for the lexington overhead
the machinery in this power house is old
and crude. and that to supply the power
to operate both the underground system
and trolley we would be obliged to add two
or three additional units to the power
house, as it would be necessary to run sep
arate generators for the two systems, the
overhead and the underground.
Il have been unwilling to push ahead
and incur the large necessary expense in
volved in supplying the roads with rapid
transit without the formal sanction of the
system to be used, by the directors Of the
company building the road between here
and Baltimore. and with which 1 am as
sociated, which owns a controlling interest
in the Belt and lexington lines. Owing to
srmmer absences from the country, have
been unable to get together a quorum of
directors until today.
A Meeting I'm Baltimore.
"A meeting was held in Baltimore this
morning of the directors of the construc-
ton company, and l submitted Mr.. Sax
tons figures, and urged the immediate
equipment Of the Indicated section of the.
road with an underground electric system.
The only question raised was whether it
would be more desirable to put in i'm
mediately the proposed small section of
road. utilizing the present lexington power
Eouse, at cost for enlargement of some
$1,000. which would finally be wasted
since this Power house is to be abandoned
or to begin as speedily as practicable the
installation of the underground electric
system over the whole OF the lexington
and Belt lines, the power to be obtained
from the great power house at Hyattsville,
which is intended to supply the electricity
for the Washington end of the Baltimore
and Washington railway and the local sub
sidiary Ines 1t was decided that Mr.
HUFF, the electric engineer of the company
should visit Washington tomorrow to make
an examination and report of the electric
equipment required to operate both the
lexington and Belt lines. AS soon as this
iC od nh fo1 rr-sI
the question will be promptly decided, and
steps taken to put the same in operation.
II the decision is to contract for and be-
gin work upon all parts of both railways
rather than to equip at this time as a dis
tlnct work the section upon which the
illegal poles ere found, 1t will be necessary
to put in horses temporarily upon New
York avenue.
The Horse Question.
Il have not been unmindful of The Stars
suggestions on that point, but unless it is
unavoidable the company does not wish
to go to several thousand dollars expense
for temporary horses, which will be practi-
cally worthless in short time through the
installation of a rapid transit system.
am told that the substitution of horses for
the trolley would be injurious both to the
company and its suburban patrons An
official of the lexington company, who ex-
amined the question at my request, reports
avenue would, l think, practically DESTROY
all Of our Sunday and excursion travel, as
there would be no way of reaching the
trolley cars except by riding on the horse
cars, and very few people would care to
ride couple of mics on a horse car in
order to ride about the same distance on
the trolley cars, so that in this way the road
would lose one of its principal sources of
revenue. The Catholic University at Brook
land opens the Mcmahon Hall of Philosophy
in October aid expects very large num-
Der of students from all parts of the world
THE greater part of these students must
board in the city and ride in and out daily
in the cars. 1t will be a very serious dis
advantage to the university If these stu
dents must tIarsfer at the boundary and
come in town on the horse cars. A ma jor-
ity of them ride in to.7th street and New
York avenue and take the cable from there
There is also to be quite a great celebra-
ton at the university in October at which
nearly all the distinguished Roman Catho-
lie prelates in the country will be present
and the authorities of the university are
particularly anxious that we have the troll
ley cars on New York avenue at that time.
Putting hc1se cars on New York avenue
would seriously inconvenience nearly all
the patrons of the road, and would GER
tainly affect the value of property in Eek
ington and Brookland, and would, there
fore, work injury to the road
"Of course, j recognize that the company
has no risht to maintain illegal obstruc-
tions, no matter how much it's business
hope is that the compal by beginning i'm
medately and vigorously the work of
equipping New York avenue with the up-
derground system will cause the public it.
self to be unwilling to Inconvenience both
itself and the company by compelling the
Use of horses for the short time before
the underground system will be in running
order.
An Alternative Promise.
"I feel authorized to promise the people
of Washington, through The Star, either
one CT two things; either the company will
begin promptly and finish speedily an un-
derground system of rapid transit from the
New York avenue station of the Baltimore
and Ohio to Center market, which will
allow the trolley cars to run through to
Center market without change or il will
decide to begin as soon as practicable AMI
as one operation the equipment of the
whole of the lexington and Belt lines with
an underground system, utilizing the Hy-
attsville power house, in which event. as
considerable time will be necessary to ac-
complish the change, horses must be put
for a while on New York avenue and the
poles removed. 1 repeat most emphaticaIly
what / said before to The S'ar
as the recognized anti-trolley cham
pion of the ctty's interests, that
the company has not the slightest in