The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-06
WILL ASK A REHEARING
CITY NOT TO ABANDON STREET CAR
CASE IN SUPREME COURT.
Report ns to Price City Company Is
to Receive for Franchise
Denied.

Since the fact was published some days
ago in the Journal that the city administra-
tion was satisfied negotiations are pending
for a settlement Of the street-car situation,
by which one Of the two companies would
absorb the other there have been various
stories in circulation concerning the basis of
such a settlement. The latest is that the
Citizens Street-railroad Company is to ac-
quire the rights Of the City Company, pay
ing $4,000 cash and after increasing its
bonded debt deliver to the owners of the
City Company $1,000 600 of bonds. This last
report is denied point blank by those inter
ested in the City Company. Some of the men
interested in the City Company referred
reporter to Allen NJ Fletcher yesterday.
What is there new in the street-car situa-
tion?" Mr. Fletcher was asked last night.
Nothing"
What about the report that the City Com
pany is to receive 100000 cash and $3,O00,OO
bonds from the Citizens Company for its,
rights?'
This is the first have heard of that re-
port. 1t is not true"
Mr.. Fletcher further said that there was
nothing he could say at this time with refer
ence to the future plans of the City Com
pany
In connection with the story of settle
ment by which the City Company is to with
draw on the above proposition it is further
said that the Citizens Company proposes
to have existing laws repealed by the Legis-
lature and then secure a new franchise from
the city.
That's a cool proposition, to say the
least" said City Attorney Kern, for any
company to propose to repeal laws and then
get a new franchise. I imagine that the Leg
islature would have something to say about
repeating laws and the city something to
say about a new franchise"
Mr.. Kern said that the petition of the city
for rehearing of the case in the Supreme
Court, under which the rights of the City
Company were recently established, would
be ready to file in a week or ten days No
oral argument is heard on a petition for re-
hearing. and it is necessary to get all the
facts that were presented in the original ar
gument before the court in written form.
This takes some time. I'VE have sixty days
from the date of the decision" said Mr.
Kern. Il do not suppose that there will be
any new points brought out, as the case
was pretty carefully covered before.
There was a discussion of the street-car
situation between the mayor and the Board
of Works yesterday morning, during the
course of which the mayor said that he knew
nothing of any formal negotiations being on
member of the board said that he could
not see why the Citizens Company would
put up $35O0.0C0 simply to have the City Com
pany get out of the road If the City Com
pany were out of the field and the Citizens
Company were TO ask for a new franchise
the first thing any board would have to do
would be to provide that the fare should be
cents That would be a clean cut in rev.
enues of 40 per cent to begin with. He
thought that it would be better for the Citi-
zenS' Company to acquire the City Com
pany's contract, which provides for fares
not lower than six for Is cents, besides re-
funding street improvement charges and
paying gross sum to the city. 1t is to run
for thirty years. In the eyes of the admin
istration the Citizens Company could do no
better than take the City Companys con-
tract, as what it would save in higher fares
than 8 cents would more than equal what it
would lose in paying for past street i'm
provements and the sum given to the city.
Another thing pointed out is that if the
Citizens Company were to pay the City
Company to get out of the. way and the
Citizens Company were to ask the city for
q new franchise, there is nothing that would
prevent a third company from being organ
lied. which might come in underbid the
Citizens Company and then propose to sell
out to 1t again. With this fact in mind, the
administration Is convinced that one of the
two companies will proceed to carry on the
street-car business in Indianapolis after the
Citizens Company's franchise rights expire
in 1901.