The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-23

~ PSOf"e e"o - N"' W - -" ~
9 chises oggregating IN value 9
G many hundreds of thousands G
= of dollars.
In this wholesale attempt to grab the
right of way over dozens of the principal
streets of the city the railroad corpora
ton has not overlooked the franchise for
the Geary-street road. In order to get in
ahead of the provisions OF the new char
ter, the corporation, acting in the name of
the Geary-street Park and Ocean Rail
road Company, offers to surrender to the
city its present franchise for the Geary
street cable road, which expires in 1903,
provided the Board of Supervisors Will
advertise for bids for the sale of the fran
chise under the present law. This and the
other franchises asked for would, If grant
ed, shut out competition in the matter of
the operation of street railroads so eff
fectually that the Market-street Railroad
Company would be put in possession of
vast monopoly, in the hands Of which the
people of the city would be powerless.
A hurried meeting of the Street Com
mittee of the Board of Supervisors was
called yesterday afternoon just before the
meeting of the board, the only person
present besides members of the com
mittee being Superintendent Henry Lynch
of the Market-street company. To the
committee Lynch presented the petitions
of the corporation, together with type
written recommendation to be made by
the committee to the board. This recon-
mendation embraces all that the corpora
ton asks for in the petitions and some
thing more. 1t was Immediately adopted
and embraced in the committee report,
which was presented to the board a Few
minutes later. Only the discovery that IN
its haste the corporation had overlooked
an important and necessary proceeding
prevented favorable action being taken on
the recommendation Immediately. AS II
is the matter was postponed Tor one week
and the public Will have an opportunity 10
express an opinion through those mem
bers of the board who Will oppose the at
tempted wholesale steal of franchises.
The petition of the railroad company IN
the matter of the Geary-street tranchlSe
sets forth that the present 1ranchlse VIII
expire November g. 1903 that the road
is now paralleled by electric roads, tact
that makes 1t necessary to completely re
construct the line; that the cost OIL such
reconstruction Is wholly out OF the ques-
ton under existing franchises because
they have but a short time TO run.
Continuing, the petition reads:
Your petitioner therefore prays that your
honorable board Will grant 10 the hgnest
bidder according to law, new franchise
for a single or double track railroad over
the entire route Of your petitioner present
railroad as hereinbefore described, with all
necessary stations, side tracks, switches,
rlrnOuts and appliances, Tor the term Oh
fifty years under such restrictions, condl-
tions and limitations as 70 your honorable
board shall seem proper, with the right TO
operate the same by electricity, with moo
ern appliances or such other motive power
as may be allowed by law Your petitioner
herewith presents and files draft OF a
proposed new franchise therefor, the terms
and conditions whereof it prays may be
deemed acceptable to your honorable body
And as a condition precedent to the grant
of said new franchise herelnbefore applied
far YOUR petitioner hereby offers to surren-
H. aforementioned
scribed as Order No. 1869 OF November .,
1873. Order No, 1915 of September =, 1879;
and Order No. 1890 of December 9, 1890. and
each and all of the rights and privileges
held hereunder by your petitioner, said
to take effect and be in force only upon the
award of a franchise over said route
as hereinbefore applied for.
And your petitioner will ever pray etc.
BY order OF its board Of directors. with
the consent of its stockholders.
GEARY STREET. PARK AND OCEAN
RAILROAD COMPANY.
BY ]. L. WILLCUTT, Secretary.
The draft of franchise accompanying
of the route now occupied by the Geary
street road. the conditions of the fran
chise being that the track or tracks must
be placed as nearly as possible in the cen
ter of the street: to plank, pave or ma
cadamize between the tracks and for two
feet on each side, and to keep the same
constantly in good repair; the tracks to be
no more than five feet between rails; the
owners of the franchise to pay the city
annually a percentage Ito be fixed of the
gross receipts of the road, providing that
first five years; work on the road shall be
started within one year of the granting
of the franchise, and the road Shall be
completed within three years; permission
is granted to use electricity as motive
power. the corporation being bound to run
cars at intervals Of not less than fifteen
minutes between the hours of a. m. and
8 D. M; police officers and mail carriers
are permitted to ride on cars free of
charge
The report of the Committee on Streets
recommends that the petition of the cor
poration be granted and that the proposed
new franchise be granted as provided by
law.
The second petition, in which the corpo-
ration seeks to secure franchises on
streets in almost every quarter of the
city is remarkable in it's completeness