The Portland daily press., 1895-06-25
SHALL TWO COMPANIES,
Which are Differently Organized
and Restricted,
OPERATE THE SOUTH PORTLAND
ELECTRIC ROAD,

When They are Composed of the Same Men
County Attorney True and Judge #.
w. Robinson Said No Very Decidedly
Clarence Hale Esq. Said Yes Quite as
Decidedly-The Railroad Commission
ers Must Settle 1t.
The railroad commissioners, Messrs.
Peakes, Chadbourne, and Danforth held
a hearing at the West End hotel yester-
day forenoon to consider the petition of
the Cape Elizabeth Electric Railway Com
pany for approval of the location of its
tracks. Since the adverse decision of the
railroad commissioners the company has
Of course abandoned any attempt to lay a
double track in the road bed of South
Portland streets, as it had begun to do
and did do for distance of two miles.
There were present in the cool spacious
parlors of the hotel all the attorneys and
county and town officials and promoters
of the railroad that were present at the
previous hearing
Clarence Hale Esq, attorney for the
railroad, began proceedings, by calling
attention to the company's petition for
the approval of the proposed location of
its tracks and by introducing the follow
ing resolution, adopted by the directors of
the Portland and Cape Elizabeth Railway
company on the 22d inst.
Resolved, That this corporation does
hereby reaffirm the assignment and relin-
quishment heretofore made by this COM
pany to the Cape Elizabeth Street Rail
way company of all the right, title and
interest which the Portland and Cape
Elizabeth company has by reason of its
charter or otherwise, to build street
railway on any or all of such streets or
highways in the town of South Portland
as the Cape Elizabeth Street Railway
company has located it's right upon and
this corporation does hereby correct ssthat
the location of the Cape Elizabeth Street
Railway company be changed from the
former location made by the selectmen of
South Portland to the location made and
approved by said selectmen on June
10Th 1895. This affirmation is made
provided said railroad commissioners
approve of said location of said Cape
Elizabeth Street Railway company.
After the reading of this resolution
Judge Robinson, who represented the
town of Cape Elizabeth, said that he
wished it understood that he opposed
the introduction of those resolutions
Mr.. Hale said that the question was
upon public convenience. He only wished
to call attention to the fact that the lead
ing objection has been made by the town
of Cape Elizabeth and some of its in
habitants. The road occupies but dis
tance of 1900 or 1900 feet of the highway
over which the town of Cape Elizabeth
travels. If you say that this is you have
the right to say SO. think that it is not
County Attorney True opposed the in
PRODUCTION of the above resolutions be-
cause he did not recognize the legal ex-
istence of the two companies in this
connection. He desired to make an OBJ
lection to the allowance of any location to
the Cape Elizabeth Electric Railway COM
pany on the ground that because of the
special charter the commissioners had
been ousted from their authority in the
matter. He wished to make the point
that when the special charter was re-
ceived by the company it was accepted by
them and they are bound by its RESPONSE
Ul1lblCS oto well DIS ltS "A cor
poration cannot go to the Legislature and
obtain special privileges and afterward
attempt to accept the benefits of such leg
islation and evade the responsibilities.
Mr.. True contended that they have no
right to accept the charter as far as Port
land bridge and then decline to be bound
by its responsibilities beyond that bridge
For instance in the original special char
ter there is an obligation that the COM
pany shall run cars to Willard during the
winter months, but if the two separate
companies were recognized, they would
be under no obligations to do this. He
claimed that they had no right to take
part of the charter and throw away part
Of it by introducing that resolution of its
directors that had been introduced at that
time.
r 1t seemed to him in all fairness that the
Board ought to decline to take jurisdic-
tion on the premises. The com pany hay