The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-19
WILL STICK TO ITS EFFORT.
CENTRAL ANXIOUS TO SECURE THE
RIVER STREET FRANCHISE.

Would Have Begun Work on the
Line Very Soon Had Not Council
! RecOnsIdered It's ActiOn-Capt. FL.
c. Cunninghnm's View of the Sit
uatiOn-snys the Freight Bureau
Fails to Make n Distinction be-
tween Transfer Charges and
Freight Charges.
The Central Railroad will stick to ats
effort to get the River street franchise
from Council, Notwithstanding the action
of the freight bureau. Capt. H. C. Gun
nngham OF Messrs. Lawton & Cunning
ham, counsel for the road, says the de-
lay that will now be had before the road
can make its extension to connect with
the Plant System. provided the City Coun-
ell does not revoke the franchise, as re-
GREETED, as the officials wanted to get
right to work.
Had you secured passage through any
of the property that lies between the last
city street on which you were to run and
the point al which you were to connect
with the Tybee Railroad?" Capt. Gun
ningham was asked last night.
No" he replied, I'VE had not gone that
far along; but we had ascertained who
the owners of the property are, a thing
that is sometimes difficult to establish.
One of the two tracts through which we
would run belongs to the heirs of the late
G. b. Lamar, end the other to the es-
tate of the last Charles Lamar. We
would have gone right on to work to Sc
cure a way through this property If the
franchise allowing us to use the city's
streets to get to it had not been held up
The extension is something the Central
has been wanting for a long time and no
delay would have been had in pushing 1t
through"
Capt. Cunningham says Capt. D. G.
Purse, commissioner of the freight bu-
reau, deals too much in generalities in
his statement OF the objections to the
road being allowed the franchise without
further and more mature consideration
He makes the statement that the COM
merce OF Savannah is being greatly ham
pered by terminal charges that Bruins
wick and Charleston have no terminal
charges" said Capt. Cunningham. Il
don't know that those cities have, but l
believe they have such charges. The ter
minals are there, and it is unlikely that
the owners would not want to make some
thing out OF them. Capt. Purse says we
are making a pile of money. Well, 1
hope we are. l don't know that we are,
for l have never looked into that side of
the matter"
The terminal and transfer charges We're
touched upon by Capt. Cunningham. He
said probably the real trouble with the
FIR A., FDa1 - Il
stand the distinction between transfer
charges and freightlng charges. The dol
lar that is charged for transferring a car
from the Plant System or the Florida Cen
trail and Peninsuar to the wharf is not
objected to SO much as is the freight
charge that is made when dealer on
River street loads a and expects 1t
to be sent to some point two miles away,
though still on the terminal tracks, for
the same charge as is made for a simple
transfer. This is the attorneys view of It.,
and he says the Central chooses to con-
slider that it has a perfect and legal right
to make a distinction between freight and
transfer charges.
Capt. Cunningham holds that the River
street line was built long before the
freight bureau sprang into existence, and
that the road certainly has a right to
manage its own property.
''The line was built after great trouble,
Strong OppOSlttOn 10 the lEdnC01SG DelnB
granted having been overcome, both in
Council and from the merchants along
River street. The Central paid $4,000 to
widen the western end of River street to
get the line through" said Capt. Cum
bingham. Capt. Purse has claimed the
Central has no right to River street, and
he has showed that such was the law
That was all he showed though, for he
had not read the amendments that had
been added to the act that gave the Cen
trail the right to use tracks in Savannah,
except between East and West Broad
streets. 1 do not think it was intended
by this act to prohibit the use of River
street, as is indicated by our having Sc
cured the later charter allowing us its
use"
No explicit demands were made by Capt
Purse in his petition that Council recon-
slider its action granting the franchise,
and Capt Cunningham says that on this
account there is nothing about the mat
ter to which he can reply. 1t win be
taken up again at the next meeting of
Council, when. it is said, Ii will probably
be turned over to a committee for oonsid-
Grafton and a report.