The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-05
STREET RAILWAYS BIG GRAB.
NO TIME LOST IN ACCEPTING THE
CITY's CONCESSIONS.


Deal Regarded with DisfavOr by
the PubIic-The Caucus Before the
Meeting of Council said to Have
Reen n Lively One-The Minority
ResEed For Further Time For
Consideration of the Report, But
the Majority Would Hear of No De-
Iay-ActinE Mayor Hamilton Dis
approves the Report as Adopted
The terms Of the report of the street and
lane committee upon the revision OF the
street railway system as adopted by the
city council, were accepted yesterday IN
, writing BY the representatives Of the Sa-
vannah. Thunderbolt and Isle Of Hope
Railway Company. 1t Is the intention Of
the company to begin the work of recon-
etructing and rearranging its system at
an early date.
The immediate adoption Of the report by
council in the form submitted by the com
rnittee was the subject of general discus
sion. The opinion was generally expressed
that council had acted hastily in the mat
ter and that in doing so it had given the
street railway company much the better
of the bargain. II was pointed out that
the Savannah, Thunderbot and Isle of
Hope railway had practically been given
complete possession of the streets of the
CITY for railway purposes to the exclusion
of all possible competitors.
By the plan adopted by council and now
accepted by the city, the company Will
have double tracks on East Broad, HAP
ersharn. Abercorn, Barnard and West
Broad streets, a single track on Whitaker
T,nl which
amounts TO an exclusive franchise. The
council Is bound under It's agreement with
the railway company to charge any other
company desiring to use Price street be-
tween St Julian and Duffy streets, 81 per
running foot, the sum to be turned over by
council to the Savannah, ThunderboN ana
Isle of Hope Railway company. As the dis
tance embraced in this grant is about
mile and a quarter, any other company
wishing TO use this portion of Price street
will be compelled to pay about S59'VVO 10
the Savannah, Thunderbolt and Isle or
Hope railway. Considerable doubt Is ex-
pressed as to the legality of this
portion of the agreement In fact, 1t Is
said that City Attorney Adams stated IN
the caucus before the council meeting that
this part of the agreement would be legal
" binding only upon the present council,
and that its successors would not be bound
by. IL except in so far as they chose 10
consider the city morally bound by the
agreement entered into by the present
council. With Price street closed TO COM
petitors and the other streets occupied,
with the exception of portion OF Mont
gomery, there Is little possibility or proba-
bility of street railway competition. Sa-
vannah, therefore, has a street railway
monopoly.
The exclusive control of the street rail-
way situation by one system would not
be a matter of much concern to the or
binary citizen, provided there were any
guarantees that an improved service
would be given and maintained, and
due regard shown to the comfort and con-
yenience of the public. 1t is said to De
the intention of the company TO operate
cars at intervals of five minutes or less
on the Barnard Whitaker and Abercorn
belt and at intervals of about ten minutes
on the outer belt The question IS wheth-
er the service will be maintained and in
what manner it will be maintained. VIII
worn out tracks, ramshackle and DIRTY
cars, sagging overhead wires and rottlng
poles be the portion of the Savannah pup
lie after a few years. Savannah mas hau
considerable experience with poorly equip
ped and poorly conducted street railways.
These matters, it Is pointed out, are but
halfway provided for by ordinance. The
( general feeling is that the hope enter
tained by many citizens that the oppor-
tunity offered council by the proposed re-
HTTHuRGuell OIL lfe street. runway oSSNcAAA5
to bind the company to maintain service
of a high standard would be taken advan-
tage of, has not been realized.
The question was fought out in
secret caucus, otherwise there might
have been some very interest
ing reading for the readers of
the Morning News yesterday morning
The discussion is said TO have been quite
warm. Aldermen WyIy and Quicken
heimer urged and begged that further
4 time be allowed for consideration of the
committees report. The motion to adopt
the report was passed after a short dis
cussion. Aldermen Wylly and Quicken
heimer then sought reconsideration. At
their request Alderman Reid moved TO
reconsider, and the motion was seconded
by Alderman O'Donnell. The question
was then argued at length, the aldermen
opposing Immediate action on the report,
urging that there had been no time Tor
consideration of the question by the alder
men, other than those on the street and
lane committee They asked that the mat
ter be allowed to lay over until the next
meeting of council that each alderman De
furnished a copy of the report, ana the
map showing the plan placed on eXhlDl-
ton at the city exchange for the Informal
ton of all interested.
The majority declined to consent to this.
The minority asked for a week, and this
also, was refused. Alderman Quicken
n6lueF asked lndI a SptCidl HScAhS w
called Saturday to pass upon the report
This was refused, as were also the re-
quests of Alderman Wylly for forty-eight
and then for twenty-four hours for con-
sheraton. There were just ten members
present besides the acting mayor, and fiVe
of these being members of the street anc
lane committee, the odds were easily II
favor of the committee. Alderman Davis
and the other members of the committee
insisted that they had thoroughly gone
into the subject, having held number O
meetings and spent some time in consid
ering the matter, consequently they helt
that they thoroughly understood the mat
ter and that Ii was not necessary for the
other members of council to give the mat
ter any further consideration than coulC
be given il at that meeting.
Alderman Hamilton was opposed to i'm
mediate action upon the report but be
ing in the chair did not take an active
part in the discussion. At his suggestion
the representatives of the street railway
company, Hon. Pope Barrow, Col Gar
rard and Mr.. Hartman, were called in
and asked II they had any objection to
postponement of the matter. They replied