The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-25
MAY BE EASY ON THE ROAD.
a MODIFICATION OF THE VI. ID. &
:. ORDINANCE PROBABLE.

The Terminal Grants Twice Renew
ed Before and the COunci1 In
cIined TO Push the Company TO
FuInI Its TermS-The Company
Not Willing TO Pay $4,000 Down,
But Ready to Pay That sum when
the Line il Completed Here-It
Has Fifty Miles Of Road without
"A Bond and Only the Hard Times
Have Prevented Its Floating
Bonds to Complete the Line to sa-
vannah.
The city council is debating whether it
viii make any concessions to the Macon,
Dublin and Savannah railroad in order
10 allow it to retain its hold upon sew
erl lots Of land west OF the city and the
right 10 use certain streets.
These privileges were granted the rail-
road company about four years ago when
il first proposed building into Savannah.
and the company at that time paid $500
into the city treasury as some cOmpen-
sation for the grant and as a guarantee
Of its good faith. The grant was for one
year and at the end of that time was
renewed for another year by council, the
H.
Nannan railroad being confident that they
would complete the road within that time.
Al the end Of the second year when the
Inc was sui no nearer Savannah than be-
fore the grant was renewed second time,
THIS time for two years, the company
paying &,5JO more into the city treasury
Tor TINS favor. The financial stringency
was then at its hight but the expectation
was that change for the better would
soon take place when the company would
nodt IT'S bonds and secure the money
Is
hardly necessary to state that the I'M
pfoNement I'm the financial conditions has
bSen very gradual and the stockholders
ol me company nave not yet seen their
way clear to floating their bonds and the
ROAD Is no nearer Savannah than II was
Wnen the grant was first renewed.
Inc company has requested the renewal
q the grant for another two years and
Inls Time wants IL on easier terms. 1t
points 70 the fact that Ii has already paid
{9,Vvy INTO me city treasury, which outlay
mas been of no advantage TO il so far and
mat circumstances have been against II.
LAe oHef made by the company is to pay
80 cash to the city now and at the end Of
me two years if the road is completed TO
Jne city by that time, $500. If the road is
not completed as agreed upon the prop
efty reVerts TO the city and the company
loses the money which it has paid in.
Inc council, however, seems to have lost
1dIln N the intention of the company to
complete its line to Savannah and insists
on the payment of $500 down as a re-
GuIslte 70 the renewal of the grant with
Wlthin the next two years any other COM
pany should complete its line fifty miles
rom savannah the city reserves the right
20 grant THIS property to the company
without recourse on the part of the Ma
con, Dublin and Savannah. This is the
lqH0r Oh the ordinance introduced in coun-
81! from the committee of the whole and
which is now under consideration
Az the last meeting of council when the
w. Osborne attorney for the Macon, Dub
I'm ana savannah, urged a modifica ton of
us conditions for reasons already stated
IN effect Mr.. Osborne said that the com
pany did not ask for an absolute grant of
the terminal property for the next two
years, but simply the right TO use the
case the road should be built to Savannah
within two years. 1t was willing that the
cry should reserve the right to bestow
the grant on any other company at any
time within the two years Should IL see f+
to do so. After this statement bv Mr. Os
borne the ordinance was referred back to
me lne committee or the whole for further
Mayor Myers, when spoken to about
the matter, said that the council is di-
Nlded on the matter and is uncertain
what it will do. The lots granted to the
Macon, Dublin and Savannah are valua-
bic property, and are about the only ter
mlnal Iacinues now owned by the city
which 1t can offer as an inducement to
railroads desiring to build here. This be-
ing the case, some of the members think
that the city should not let the property
go easily, and that the grant should nor
be continued to the Macon, Dublin and
savannah, except upon such conditions
as Will insure an effort on the part of
the company to comply with It's terms.
on the other hand, the friends Of the
company point to the fact that it now has
fifty miles of railroad complete and in
operation between Macon and Dublin,
upon which not a dollar OF bonds has
been issued, that it has strong financial
backing, and that there is good reason
to believe that the company honestly de-
sires and intends to complete its line
to this port, and that the 5000, which it
has already paid into the city treasury,
extent that it should be allowed to use
the terminals if it can possibly do so
Some modification of the ordinance as it
now stands is not unlikely.