Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-12
S 7 E ADV NOON 6
The District Should Re Getting Fifty
Dollars Per Day.
City and Suburban Line Has No,
Completed Road in the
Time Allowed.

me district is earning money just now at
the rate OF $50 day, without paying out
anything more tangible in return than pa
thence with an antiquated street railway
service along one of the routes This is
the result Of the failure of the City and
Suburban company to substitute electricity
for horse power on the city portions of its
system by the 9th of June, as required by
law. Counting today fifteen days have now
passed since that time, and thus the COM
pany stands indebted to the District to date
in the sum of $3.50, and still the $50 INSTALL
ments continue in the absence of electrical
cars on New York avenue.
Much interest is being taken by the citi-
zens In this case because of their desire
to know whether the Commissioners will
enforce the penalty which is so plainly in
CURED by the company. Naturally no steps
can be taken to this end until the transac-
ton is completed, OF until patience OBJ
Vlously ceases to be virtuous. Thus the
time is not at hand to expect official action
toward the collection of the penalty.
Meanwhile that portion of the New York
avenue line lying between the boundary
and North Capitol street, little more than
one block, is on horse-car basis, while
that portion of the same branch from North
Capitol street and New York avenue to the
Pennsylvania avenue station, a distance of
over mile, is not operated at all. There is
no service whatever on New York avenue
west of North Capitol street, and thus the
statute is in violation in two particulars,
and the company is mourning the risk of
running foul of the abandoned tracks act
as to a most important section of its system.
The delay Is caused by the failure of the
company to secure the completion of the
lexington loop in time to permit the city
portion to be operated according to the law
The loop itself and that portion of the I'M
foreground service outside of the city need
not be finished and in operation before Sep
TENDER 3, but as the tracks are now ar
ranged the loop is necessary for the opera
ton of the city portion, as there is no cross
over at the head of New York avenue,
where the tracks leave the city limits The
underground work is practically finished,
and but little remains but the last finishing
touches of the electrical installation, the
connecting up from ducts to conduit and
the final adjustment of the tracks.
There is, however, serious hiatus in
these few details. The lack of few dozen
insulators is said to cause all the trouble.
connected with the enterprise seems able
or willing to tell and meanwhile the tracks
recently laid in lexington and those laid
long ago on New York avenue and 18th
street lie idle while decrepit horses pull
few rickety cars between the North Capitol
street electric line at New York avenue
and the suburban trolley line at Sd and T
streets, on a ten-minute schedule. This
connecting link in the rapid-tr chain
causes much trouble, and at times a seri-
GUS congestion at the junction points, while
the traffic is unevenly distributed in conse-
quence of the infrequency of the horse
cars.