The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-19

This morning in all probability work
Will be stopped on the trolley of the
Scranton and Pittston Railway COM
pany which is designed to connect
Rendham and Duryea, the present ter
minals of the Scranton Railway COM
pany's Taylor line and the Wyoming
Valley Traction companys Pittston
line.
The citizens of Old Forge, or at least
a committee of them claiming to rep
resent the general sentiment of the
borough have taken 1t upon them
selves to annul the franchise recently
granted by the borough council and
as first step in the movement they
yesterday petltioned for and secured
from Judge Edwards a preliminary in
junction halting the company's opcrl-
tions on the borough streets. The in
junction was granted conditional up
on the filing of a sufficient bond and
this the attorneys for the petitioners,
II. NJ. Hannah and J. T. McColIom.
say will be presented this morning.
The committee is composed of Char
les j. Keogh, r. Willis Reese. John
j. Ttmlin, John N. Cooke, William
Reph, p. J. Fallon, +. ]. Stuart. George
Stafford. John A. Wood, Richard W.
Howard, Patton Taylor, Frank X.
Coyne and Wallace Ormiston.
They say they are by no means
averse to n street railway goinS
through the borough, nor will they OBJ
ject to the Pittston and Scranton com
pany being given the franchise, but
they do most seriously object to the
terms Of the ordinance granting the
franchise and to the means by which
it's passage was secured.
COULD NOT MAKE TERMS.
This same company, it is claimed
negotiated for a right of way through
the municipality when it was a to vn-
ship, but as it was necessary under
the laws governing townships to se-
cure the consent of property holders
along the route the company could not
make the terms 1t wanted and allowed
the project to drop, although an agree
ment which the property holders
thought was very liberal on their part
was arrived at and a supposed accept
ance of the terms of the agreement
filed by the company.
1t is next alleged that the company
was instrumental in having the form
of government changed from township
to borough, under which latter a bur-
CESS and council are the only ones to
be considered in negotiating for a
| right of way. The town was incorpor-
ated into a borough May ., 1899. May
16, the elections were held. June
the councils passed over the veto OF
Burgess Kennedy an ordinance grant
ing the Pittston and Scranton Rail
way company right of way through
the borough. And this was after g
similar ordinance passed by council
and vetoed by the burgess had failei
This remarkable activity in legislatinp
for the railway company is pointed
out by the petitioners as a sort of q
preface to their allegations touchine
upon the means that were used in
securing the passage of the ordinance
| These means are best illustrated in the
| language of the bill in equity under
which the injunction was granted:
SERIOUS CHARGES.
"That said ordinance was fraudu.
| lently and cOrruptly procured to bt
| passed by said street railway com
| pany and it's agents, and that priol
to the passage of said ordinance by
said councilmen, divers gifts anC
bribes were offered. promised and giver
to them, by said street railway com
| pany and their agents, to procure the
| passage of said ordinance, and tha
said ordinance was drawn up and pre-
pared by said company and it's agents
| as your orators are informed and YER
| lily believe"
The council, composed of Thomas
| Kilcoyne, Antoine Blancardi, p. F
| Coyne, Robert Staff, Thomas stephens