The Saint Paul globe., 1897-08-19

INDICATION AROUSED
Wherever one went about the city
yesterday he might hear the universal
outburst of Indignation over the propo-
sition made by the street railway COM
pany to the city council for a virtual
gift of the streets of ST. Paul and a
license to follow it's own sweet will
for term of years. The more one
studies this remarkable document the
more is he impressed with the abso-
lutte surrender to the wishes of the
company that it proposes. We do not
see how any member of either branch
of the common council could vote for
this ordinance without displaying pub
licly his badge Of ownership The only
item of the new adjustment that could
be possibly construed as a benefit to
anybody is the arrangement to run
the interurban and some other cars
down Fourth street, instead of Fifth,
TO Broadway and thence around a
larger loop by way of Seventh, Robert
and Eighth streets. This is at best a
doubtful blessing, and, no counterpoise
to the enormous advantages that the
railway company asks. We have al
ready pointed out and will enumerate
them again, that there may be no pos
sible opportunity for the public to re-
main ignorant of what the street rail-
way company desires to do.
1t intends to abandon for all time
to come the only correct and safe
method of dealing with the Selby hill
problem. Instead of cutting down the
hill, as the safety Of the public and
Its own interests require it asks to be
allowed to change the cable to an elec-
trio line by the use of an unspecifiad
safety device placed somewhere on the
hill We have the assurance of the
company itself, given several months
ago, when the council was inclined to
make such a proposition on it's own
part that there was no device that
could be operated safely and success
fully Now 1t proposes to use one Of
these appliances which it has itself
condemned, and we have no assurance
that it would not be of such character
as to inf1ict severe damage to property
In the vicinity, the cost Of which would
fall upon the city, in the event of such
an agreement being made.
1t proposes to destroy University ave-
nue. beyond Dale street for purposes
of travel and to make this end of Uni
versity avenue and the whole of Wa
basha street unsafe for pedestrians or
wheeled vehicles To allow street cars
TO be run at high rate of speed along
these streets is an outrage that ought
not to be contemplated for one mo-
ment. For the route beyond Dale
street, it attempts to disguise it's DUR
pose under the euphonious phrase of
putting in Switches and sidetraclxs "
We all know that to run way cars ar
intervals Of not less than ten minutes
In connection with through cars run at
railroad speed, would require, prac-
tically, a system of four continuous
tracks This would appropriate the
great highway between these two cit
les for railroad purposes, and the
amazing thing is that, in return for this
surrender of principal street and q
barring out from it Of public travel.
the company asks to be allowed to in
crease its scale of charge to Is cents.
If any council can be brought to as
sent to this, there is nothing which
the street railway company can ask
that If cannot pet
The pretended concession of remov-
Ing its tracks from Lexington avenue
and placing them on Smelling instead
Is another blow at the interests of the
city. What this means is that the en-
tire business of the Hamline and st.
Anthony Park district and the fair
grounds shall be transferred from st.
Paul to Minneapolis. Smelling avenue
is one mile nearer that city
than Lexington avenue. To make
the former the only line of
street railway connection between
the territory mentioned and the busi-
iness center Of either city is to vir-
tually transfer all the business of these
important suburbs to the city up the