The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-11-25
PROPOSED ORDINANCE
As TO MAIN ST, TRACKS
Explanation as to Who Would Have the
Advantage, Only Question Of
Who Would Give. the
Better Service.

It is further provided that in accepting
the. right to run on the Man Street tracks
the Richmond Traction Company shall be
bound, in running its cars on those tracks,
! to conform to the use Of any system
Of using electr city which the City Coun-
ell may hereafter require to be intro
duced and used on that street.
4th This ordinance shall be in force
from ir; passage.
EXPLANATION.
From the draft of an ordinance, pre-
scented on the preceding pages, it will be
seen that we ask to run certain Of our
Hollywood cars from First and Main
Streets down Main to E ghteenth Street,
thence. up Eighteenth Street to Broad
Street to connect with our Oakwood line.
AS to these, our plan of operation, to
give the best public service, would be as
follows: To run our cars from Hollywood
so that alternately one would proceed to
, Cakwood by the present Broad Street
route, and the other by way Of Main
Street from First Street.
We also desire to construct double
tracks down Eighth Street from Broad
to Main Street, and on Eighteenth from
Broad to Main Street so as to run GER
tain of our Broad Street cars from Broad
Street down E ghth Street to Main, from
thence down Main Street to Eighteenth
and up Eighteenth Street to Broad Street,
and thence eastwardly on Broad to CHM
. borazo. Our plan of operation as to our
Broad Street system would then be as
follows: To run alternate cars of our
Broad Street system from Eighth Street
on the route just described, and to con-
tinue to run the other cars on the pres
cnt Broad Street route.
On the other hand. the Passenger and
Power Company can run its Main St-eet
cars either from Ninth and Broad or
flcm Seventh and Broad Streets, as it
may choose, over Our tracks to Laurel,
ana il will have the same right as to ITS
cars or the Laurel Street line, on the
Church Hill line, and even on the Man
chester line. There is nothing in the
ordinance OF the Power and Passenger
Company that specifies which of its cars
may run over oln Broad Street tracks
Il authorizes such use by any Of it's cars
nor is there anything in the ordinance of
the, Traction Company limiting such use
The ordinance of the Passenger and Power
Company only designates certain streets
upon which the Passenger and Power
Company may construct or use certain
tracks. The ordinance nowhere recognizes
any separate classes of cars. All the cars
are spoken of as cars of the Passenger
and Power Company. The signs or desig-
nations on the cars are put on them only
for the purpose OF giving Information to
the public, and not because of any legal
distinction between them. for there is none.
They are all cars Of the Passenger and
Power Company, and can be run by that
Company over any Street as to which
their ordinance applies. Hence the cars
of their Chura;' He'll and other routes
W,uld maze as much right to run over
our Broad Street tracks as their Main
Stree cas- wnlli.' Fave. 1t VII not be
deniai that they propose to run their
Laurel Street cars a We'll as their Main
Street cars over our tracks. And they
would undoubtedly exercise the right as
to their Church Hill cars. BY exercising
this right as to the Church Hill cars they
would have a chance to compete with us
as to our Church Hill travel. They could,
and undoubtedly would. bring sdents
of that part of the city UP on Broad
Street whose travel we would get if their
Church Hill cars could not run on our
Broad Street tracks. They would bring
persons for purposes of shopping in the
day. and of attending places Of amuse-
ment at night They would, undoubtedly,
for half of each year run many of their
Church Hill cars over our Broad Street
route in an effort to get those cars out
to the Reservoir Park and the Casino by
as short a route as possible. By us ng
our tracks. instead of going up Clay Street
they would save on each trip four squares
or a quarter of a mile Hence, by the
use Of our Broad Street tracks they would
have an opportunity to enter into a bet
ter competition with us as to our extreme
western travel and our eastern travel. as
well as the short travel on Broad Street,
and, by their Laurel Street line they
would, by using our Broad Street travel,
enter into another competition with us
as to the travel from the western portion
OF the city
They would travel on Broad Street
through the shopping district Of the city;
they would also increase their receipts
from travel after dark, class Of travel
OF which they receive very little on their
Main Street Inc now.
1t is evident from the above that the
Passenger and Power Company would be
greatly benefited by the use of our tracks.
On the other hand, while we would. with
our Hollywood cars, use seventeen squares
of their tracks on Main Street. yet with
our Broad Street cars we would only use
nine of those seventeen squares. In other
words, there is but one Of our lines by
which we can use seventeen squares OF
lhn:: racks, While they can use seven
teen squares of our tracks by all their
lines. Is it not evident then that if they
will. give to the public as good service |
as we do that they viii get the greater
advantage by the proposed use of each
others tracks? If they will not give as
good service as we do and shall give,
then surely no one will be to blame ex
cert themselves, and the public should
NOT be made to lose the opportunity of
cod service which we will gve- In the |
lsl; of these facts can it be truthfully |
said that we are asking for more than |
ne will give2 We submit that no man, |
who will study The above facts, can fairly |
object to our petition on any such ground. |
TRACTION COMPANY,
BY E. L. Beniss,
President !;
BNrne Norman Ford Aaron London, I'M |