New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-15
THATRAPID TRANSIT MIDDLE
THE BOARD FORMALLY REJECTS THE
ELEVATED COMPANY'S APPLICATION.

NUMEROUS DEFECTS IN THE PLAN POINTED OUT
IN LETTER TO GEORGE J. GouLD-rhE
COMMISSIONERS HAVE no POWER TO AS
SURE IMMUNITY FROM DAMAGES.
The answer OF the Board Of Rapid Transit 10 INC
application of the Manhattan Elevated RAILWAY
Co,,nory % extend It's lines was yesterday adj
dressed to George j. Gould. president OF inc CUM
pany The answer was ordered al the i"'' '"O
ing of the Board 1t is as follows: ,.
The Board of Rapid Transit Railroad S9'' vnur
sioners has considered ine ps modified by its
communication Of July 10 last ana stde Of the
noard u The Board regrets not to ind your appli
cation to be in form 10 permit u,lin,e ~ 20 sne-
on It's it ON, 70 your company certain defects or
difficulties which 1t hopes that 'he 'oP'
In Your formal letter Of July Is last which ac
companied your amended appiicauom, so nroposed
were satisfactory to the property holders OF st
Twcnty-third and Twentyfourth wards ana would oI
substantially no claims for land daindseS Mo-
be made and YOU expressly declared your apll o
TORS to be based these assuranC MA sized
tbs by Stating that your company would build no
additional railroad whatever ~ vour appica-
ton be conditional upon that lmihuri'! II % Wv"
that the Board cannot CONSIDER
CAN GRANT NO SUCH IMMUNITY
The Board has no power under the Rapid Transit
law 10 assure any such immunity 10 private CUT
poratlon building and owning new ROAD OF extern
sion of an existing road As your application covers
the occupat6n Of upward of thirty miles oil streets
with new railroad and the construction OF aduiona,
tracks on onward Of twenty-five niles Vi - an33
many miles of additional tracks are proposed On olu
se:led and closely built streets Il IL pam "a oI o
such immunity Is likely 10 be assuieu ~ r.o IA
uniay agreement Of all t3e proPs Ss Board can in
The Board must ask that your application be made
absolute and not conditional upon any matter De-
yond It's power control or effect .,.,s T.,
Upon the ninth and tenth routes mentioned IN
from "Westchesier-ave along Intervaie-ave TIE
old Boston Post Road and other streets 10 .he
Fordham station of the Harlem Railroad northeriy
10 Gunhln road, and thence returning s0uther!y
EIrhih-ave and One-hundredand -ffty- hfth-si your
application asks for raiiroad on me 5hidJon by
statute to grant any right TO construct railroad on
the surface Of street.
THE LEGISLATURES VIEW NOT KNOWN.
In your letter you suggest that II your company
and this Board reach agreemnt for such routes
the Legislature will no, refuse to make the neces-
sary amendments OF the law. This Board cannot
know what view the Legislature will take OF thai
matter Il is clear that the Board can neither make
nor cons Ter any agreement which IL has not actual
i5o~ mon the expectation of legislation would be
To delay for probably eight nine months any fur,
their effori to solve the rapd-ransit problem ana
then perhaps to find he delay 10 have been quite
futile The Board trusts that You Will amend your
application that il shall ask only what the Board
has the power TO grant. . -
The application includes ten new routes. to occupy
south OF the Harlem River. Centre. Canal. West,
Christopher and West Twenty third sts Greenwich
bridge Road and north Of the Harlem to occupy
many miles of principal streets: and II includes the
ea H' e To- P@oad To G he routes
greatly in character. some being downtown extern
city some being short, like the route from Green.
wch-ave. along Christopher-st. TO West-st., and
s an ne esc gaT 81 ysem he in
cudes upward of thirty miles Of new routes and #
il should be granted to the extent asked, II would
by elevated railroads in New-York city in the con-
troll Of your company. The Board has not under
stood that application is separately made by your
that your company is not even morally bound unless
the application be granted as an entirety. Your
cation so that the Board may know which OF the
routes and which Of the additional tracks your
Of the Board on other routes and additions.
NO DEFINITE PROMISE GIVEN.
The application gives no promise build any
new road or additional track I'm case this Board
grants the franchise 1t says nothing to when
any new road or addition will be built. In your
letter Of July Is. you declare your "belief' that
the Board of Directors OF the Manhattan Com
pany will agree to complete within five years all
Of the lines and facilities for which the company
makes application" Is the Board TO understand
such agreement to be part Of the application?
redress is the city to have against the company?
VIII not the company agree within shorter periods.
say, two three ard -four years, to complete certain
of the routes or certain portions of them? VIII ii
not undertake TO complete certain amount of
work by the end Of the first year certain amount
hy the cnd of the second year. and so on? II the
company will noI be bound in these respects, does
not its application simply ask for a I'VE years
option. the existence Of which must go long
way to prevent rapdtransit work by the city or
10y other individuals than your company during the
whole OF that time, and absolutely without assur-
ance OF any relief even from your company? The
Board cannot grant an Application unless upon a
binding and enforceable obligation on the company
to promptly and substantially begin and with rea-
struction Precisely what the company will do in
this respect should he stated in the application.
LAW REQUIRES AN ADDITIONAL RENTAL.
The law compels the Board to require an annual
rental TO the city for every and every ad-
ditional facility granted YOU company. on this
subject your application Is silent In the opinion OF
the Board no application under the statute IL COM
pete which does not explicitly propose such n rental
The information upon which us amount and terms
must be fixed are peculiarly within the knowledge Of
your company.
In A number Of cases the application asks for adj
ditional facilities in streets which are already so oc-
cupied by railroad structures as 10 make ii impor-
tant that the Board know where and how your adj
dtional structures are 10 be paced In the Iiowery,
tracks, making in an four elevated railroad tracks
There are already four surface road tracks between
the curbs. The merit Of the application may seriously
depend upon the spaces proposed 70 be left for or
binary street traffic
The Board hopes that in amending the application.
the route crossing Broadway at Cana-st may be
omitted.
THE SINGLEFARE PROPOSITION
The guarantee which we understand you intend
to give to carry a passenger from one end Of the
city to the other end of the city for a single fare
is an important element in your proposition The
Board would be glad II your proposition were to
ask from the Board that only which It IS lawfulI,
able TO give while youi proposition should contain
| nj 1p To