The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-08-29
OBJECTS AND PLANS
OF RAPID TRANSIT co.
"Amalgamation Plan" Would
Water the Capital $45O,OOO and Give Tram
ways Co., Absolute Control for 30 Years.

AS an electric system is to be sub
sututed for the present horse cars, the
entire rail plant of the Tram Com
pany amounts to SO much SCRAP iron
SO far as any value to an electric rail-
road is concerned. The rails are too
Ilght, and are not of the proper guage.
All the tangible property which the
Tram Company can convey to an cleo
trio company is it's collection of min
iature mules and bronco ponies and
the two or three small pieces of land
on which its stables stand At tha
outside this would not bring in the
market more than $4,000.
In other words, the Tramway Com
pany proposes to turn over it's fran
ch1se, and property worth in the mar
ket not more than 5000 and receive
therefor $475,000; or, in other words.
they want $450,0O0 for their franchise
1t did not seem to the Rapid Tran
sit Company that it was worth this
sum, for four main reasons, among
others:
First The Tramway Company fran
chise only has about Is years to run.
The Rapid Transit Company has q
franchise for 80 years. The PROPOSE
ton therefore was, not only to give
the Iramway Company control of the
consolidated company, and to guaran-
tee TO the Tramway Company an an
| nual five per cent return on the full
| amount of its watered capital of
$475, 1000, but also to give it the
benefit for 80 years of the much
wider and far-reaching franchise of
the Rapid Transit Company and there
by hand the city over, tied hand and
foot, to the tender mercies of the pro-
gressive Tram Company for another
generation. If the Rapid Transit
Directors had done this thing they
would have deserved lamp post JUS
tice, whether they obtained it or not.
WATERED CAPITAL PROPOSED.
Second. AS the new company would
acquire only $25, 900 worth of property
and issue therefor obligations to the
amount Of $475,0OO it would be water
ing it's capital to that amount and be-
gin life with a crushing load on its
back. By ignoring the Tram Company
that amount of money will very nearly
pay for the Rapid Transit's entire
plant.
AREA COVERED BY RESPECTIVE
FRANCHISES
Third. The Tram Company's fran
chise covers very limited section of
the city. For example, it only reaches
to Kapiolani Park on the beach: to
Punahou street toward Manoa; to the
foot of Judd Hill toward Nuuanu; and
to the kamehameha School toward
Eva. The city is growing rapidly in
every direction beyond these limits.
Electric communication with the dis
tricts lying beyond these points will
soon place one half, if not more, of the
population of the city beyond these
points.
The Rapid Transit franchise extends
to all of these outlying districts and to
every part thereof, and the consent of
one-half of the adjoining property own
ers and the Executive Council will en-
able it to lay it's tracks on any street
in the city, including all of those Occu-
pied by the Tram Company
The Tramway Company cannot go
beyond it's present limits except by
specific legislative sanction; and with
its past record in view it is not likely
that any Hawaiian Legislature will
ever grant it any more privileges than
it now possesses.
With a franchise covering a wide
and pOpulous field in which the Tram
way Co. cannot compete, why should
the Rapid Transit Company surrender
control to the latter company and
water its capital by the sum of $45O, 600
for the sake, simply, of eliminating
competition from the centre of town.
where it has, in any event, an equal
chance with the Tramway COMPANY of
securing the public patronage?
(Confinued on PaCoo