Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-10
What President Newbold Promises
to Do.
PLANS FOR THE LEXINGTON ROAD
He Says 1t Will Soon Be Equipped
With Good System.
THE BELT LINE ALSO

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 unexpec ted difficulties and
delays, he had secured, he said, the addi-
tonal horses necessary to restore the Belt
line to its original condition as belt, and
IN the meanwhile he lad been preparing
the way for the promised speedy installa-
ton of an underground electric system
upon the two roads. Il 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 on New York avenue, and the
company is willing and even DESTROYS 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 l 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 SUD-
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 $25O0OO, in
GLIDING some $1,000 for necessary enlarge
nent and improvement of the power house
which is used for the lexington overhead
trolley. 1t is reported to me that some of
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 1t 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 l am as
ISOLATED, which owns a controlling interest
in the Belt and lexington lines. Owing to
Summer absences from the country, l have
been unable to get together a quorum of
directors until today.
A Meeting in Baltimore.
"A meeting was held in Baltimore this
morning of the directors of the construc-
ton company, and 1 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
house. 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 HyattsS;lle
which is intended to supply the electricity
for the Washington END of the Baltimore
and Washington railway and the local SUBJ
sidfary lines. 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
report is nade, which Will be Immediately,
the question will be promptly decided and
steps taken to put the same In operation
If the decision is to contract for and be-
gin work upon all parts of both railways
rather than to equip al thi; time as a dis
illegal poles are found, it will be necessary
to put in horses temporarily upon New
York avenue.
The Horse Question.
II have not been unmindful of The Stars
suggestions on that point hut unless it is
unavoidable the company does not wish
to go to several thousand dollars expense
tor temporary horses, which will be practi-
cally worthless in a short time through the
installation of a rapid transit system. l
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
that to take down the poles New York !
avenue you'd, 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 miles 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 and expects a 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 ard out daily |
IN the cars. 1t will be very serious dis
advantage to the university If these stu
dents must trarsfer at the boundary and |
come in town on the horse cars. A major |
ty of them ride in to eth 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 hcrse cars on New York avenue
would seriously Inconvenience nearly all
Iainly affect the value of property in Eek
ngton and Brookland, and would, there
fore. work injury to the road
"Of course, l recognize that the company
has no right to maintain illegal obstruc-
lions, no matter how much it's business
nay be injured by their removal, but my
nope is that the compaf y by beginning I'M
media tely and vigorously the work of
New York avenue with the IN
lerground system will cause the public it
self to be unwilling to inconvenience both
tself and the company by compelling the
.se of horses for the short time before
he underground system will be in running
rider.
An Alternative Promise.
Il feel authorized to promise the people
If Washington, through The Star, either
me Of two things; either the company will
,egin promptly and finish speedily an un-
foreground system of rapid transit from the
New York avenue station of the Baltimore
md Ohio to Center market, which will
allow the trolley cars to run through to
Center market without change, or it will
lecide to begin as soon as practicable, AMI
Is one operation the equipment of the
whole of the lexington and Belt lines with
IN underground system, utilizing the Hy-
lttsville power house, in which event, as |
time will be necessary to ac-
omplish the change, horses must be put |
or a while en- New York avenue and the
,oies removed 1 repeat most emphaticaIIy
What / said before to The S'ar
Is the recognized anti-trolley cham