Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-02-16
GAR TRACK QUESTION
Richmond Railway and Electric Com
pauy Again Defines Its Position.
DENIES ANY UNDERSTANDING.
No other Agreement ~ to broad
street Than In Contained In the
Traction Compnny's Ordinance
statement of what II Proposed.

W
The following Is another chapter In
| the interesting discussion as to whether
there shall be two or four street railway
tracks on Broad street:
To the People OF Richmond:
The question OF two tracks or four
| tracks on Broad street. and the ordi-
nance now pending In the Board OF AL
dermen, are matters in which you are
vitality Interested and which you have
the right to thoroughly understand, and l
therefore ask your attention to a few OF
| the facts In the case.
! !. That the Broad-street line has not
been long ago equipped with electricity
has not been the fault Of the old CON-
| pany. for It was asked by the city au-
thorities to delay such equipment TIL az
ter the City Hall was completed. and then
till after the new Jefferson Hotel was
finished. In order that the tracks might
be used for the hauling OF freight. These
facts were stated In substance by the
City Engineer at q recent meeting Of the
Street Committed.
After the completion OF the Jefferson
the City Railway Company again asked
permission to- electrify the Broad-street
line. long before the traction company
was ever formed. but II was met by var-
Gus projects of different companies. which
caused delay. and finally resulted In the
refusal OF the Street Committee to re-
affirm the old ordinance granting the
right asked for.
USED THEM A YEAR AGO.
2 1t has been urged that the old COM
pany has been neglectful OF the rights
of the people and regardless Of the orders
and directions of the City Engineer ana
Street Committee. and great stress Is laid
upon the charge that though the City
Engineer has been demanding the use
of the girder rail for n long time, yet
none were ever obtained until the trac-
ton company began its work.
In the first. place think II the people
will look back upon the condition OF the
street-car situation as II was, say eight
years ago, and remember how man,
lines have been built since then, and
how the service has been improved and
added to in every direction. they will
| realize that perhaps in this case the
| devil is not as black as he is painted
Our company has undoubtedly aided most
materially In the DEVELOPMENT OF the city
In many directions, and has maintained
a service, which, though not without its
faults. and by no means perfect, yet mas
added greatly TO the convenience and
comfort of the public.
AS to the girder rail- can only quote
| again the City Engineers language TO
| the Street Committee last Monday night,
In which he said that girder rail OF al
most identically the same shane was
used by the old company in Fulton. on
! Louisiana avenue and Lester street, Iuiiy
] year ago, and that the construction
/ with the concrete bed and the like was
| identical with that now required or the
| traction company, except that crushed
granite was used in the concrete instead
| of the gravel which has been allowed 10
| the traction company.
II was impossible to get the mills 10
| roll the exact form Of the girder rail now
| used by both companies until Just ABOUT
the time the traction company started us
| work, but having arranged its mills Tor
| our orders, they were able TO fill the
| traction company's orders along with
ours, and therefore much more promptly
| for them than for US.
We take without murmur all the
blame that we deserve. but we are not
| willing to be blamed because of misstate-
| ments or rnisapprehensiCr Of the facts.
and we do lay great stress on the. fact
all new tracks was used by us under the
| directions of the City Engineer quite
| year before the traction company was
thought Of.
! QUESTION OF FOUR TRACKS.
| g. There can be no doubt about the I'M
sightliness OF the proposed four tracks or
| Broad street. or the fact that they Will
not only seriously damage property and
/ business on that beautiful street, but
| will be a constant source of danger TO
1
| Street-Committee meeting that il was
"only a shop street." and that as It was
not used for pleasure driving, II would
not, in his judgment. be seriously hurt
by four tracks. Suppose it is only
"shop street. as he calls 1t, your wives
and your children go on 1t to make their
| purchases and their lives are as dear to
you there as they. would be If they were
pleasure driving in some more favored
| locality!
T. When we ask to be allowed TO run
| over the tracks OF the traction company
| from Ninth to Laurel streets we are told
| by its partisans that this would not be
! fair to the new company-that Ii would
be taking from them "the cream OF their
business" To this we answer that what
we offer them In return for this privilege
"cream" instead of rObbing them OF IL.
We OFFER In consideration for using their
tracks this short distance for our electric
cars. not horse-cars. that they may trans
| fer any or all OF their passengers In any
direction over any or all Of our lines, or
| that they may take any or all of their
cars over any or all of our lines in any
direction, or they may do both Of these
things. and the respective payments and
division OF fares and all such matters
shall be determined by an impartial board
of arbitrator. selected according to the
terms of their franchise. In other words.
we will give them the benefit Of all of
| our many miles OF feeders and branch
| lines In every direction. so that they may
/ Eatnef passengers from or sen0 tnem 10
every part of Richmond and Manchester
and the surrounding country. Is not this
fair?
ALLOWED USE OF THEIRS.
s. We have already agreed with the
! traction company that they shall run
| their cars over our tracks on Broad
| street from Twenty-fourth to Twenty
ninth streets, and from Harrison to Han
cock, in accordance with the provisions
of the franchise of our Clay-strcet line,
4 xyh is IN Wi
theirs. and thus without fight or pro-
| test have allowed them TO use six blocks
of our tracks. In spite OF their obsti-
nate refusal TO allow Us the use OF any
| part of their track on any terms what
| ever. Have we not played fair" with
this traction company, which pretends TO
be so considerable of the rights and the
6. In addition to the terms we have
! offered the traction company. We have
said to the city: IF you will give us
what we ask, and allow us thus to perfect
! our system, We will give up sll our special
| rights on Broad street; we Will give up
and take up all our tracks on Broad
street between Ninth and LAUREL we
will electrify the Eighth-street and Ninth
street connections and the Laurel-street
| extension. and will extend the latter TO
| Rlver-View Park; we viii electrify the
Marshall-street loop and then there will
| be no more horse-cars In Richmond; and
we will also issue and sell, good over all
our lines. six tickets for &c. school-chil-
the school week. and half-fare tickets,
good from to in the morning every
day but Sunday.
Can any enc fail to see in these con-
cessions great benefits and advantages to
every man. woman. and child in Rich
mond?
THE FRACTIONS ONLY ANSWER
7. The only answer made by the traction
company to all our offers Is that they
will listen 10 no proposition but our giving
up our rights and tracks on Broad street.
and dumping all our passengers. drawn
from every quarter into their laps. This
of course we cannot do. We will compete
with them 10 the end on equal terms,
II we may--on unequal terms II we must.