The San Francisco call., 1899-06-26
THE CORKSCREW LINE.

THE CALL from the beginning Of the contro-
versy with the. Market-street Railway Com
pany has endeavored to find and to support a
method of supplying increased railway facilities to
the property owners and the business in the
northeastern quarter of San Francisco Much OF the
Market-street monopoly scheme has been necessarily
abandoned because the essential to its original
adoption could not be obtained. But part of the
scheme is now being pressed under OF the rea-
sonable and just CorkscreW extension, which is an
unnecessary abandonment OF public rights and inter
ests and open to every objection that has been gen
orally approved
1t was insisted by The Call which merely expressed
sound public opinion in an inteigible way that un-
less indispensable no new franchise whatever should
be granted the Maket-street consolidation until the
new charter became operative. The plan spread
a network OF franchises and privileges over the
north end of San Francisco that would destroy all
possible competition and enable the Market-strcet
Railway Company to hold the streets in wise This
manifestly unnecessary for the sole purpose to
which the present application has been restricted
With the trolley reluctantly tolerated upon the Post
street system and its connections with the new fran
chse for single block Taylor street and, was
ultimately concluded, the projecting OF the Sansome-
street track northwar to the bay complete and rapid
communication between the northeast and the south
west quarters OF the city, with all necessary accom-
panying and connecting facilities, would be estab-
lished When, however, under of disused fran
chses Geary street. it was intended to employ the
trolley that street from Taylor street to Grant
avenue, franchise was proposed on Grant ave
from Geary to Bush street, and thence down
Bush to SansOme street. that certainly un-
necessary for legitimate accommodation and would
have had the effect of riveting the Marketstreet
nopoly a most important and growing business
portion of San Francisco
1t is now designed, and we regret to say with the
apparent appreciation of Mayor Phelan, who, this
the gas question, has abandoned his originally
upright position simply to drop block of this
extensive and valuable franchise and place the point
CT its commencement at Post street instead of Geary
street. Thus, on the street-raway question on
the gas question: compromise, understood by Mr..
Phelan practical surrender OF public rights and in
terests in important particulars new franchise from
Post to Bush street Grant and thence down
Bush street to Sansome street, is a very important
withdrawal of the little franchise capital there is left
to the municipality and positive and unnecessary
donation the Market-street Railway Company, the
effect and intention of which are to make that monop
oily virtually invulnerable
Whatever inducements may have been insidiously
offered, however weakly Mr.. Phean may recede from
positions that in the first instance probably un-
necessarily vigorous, The Call does not propose to
abandon the protection OF the public interests, nor
under the specious pretext of meeting righteous
demand, to to steal that is as bad in prn-
cipe, though less in extent, than the robbery first
projected.
The Call hopes that the Supervisors may stand by
their colors