El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-16
ANOTHER
PROJECT
For an Electric Railway
Ready For Immediate
Action.
OHIO CAPITALISTS
Are Looking Over the Local
Field With the Firm In
tention Of Build
ing a Road.

The prospect that Ell Paso will have
. line Of electric cars in operation in
less than year is brighter than ever.
The statement was made this morning
by Fred E. Smith of Akron, Ohio,
that IN the event that the franchises
now granted by the city conncil are
not taken by another company, he 1
ready to take up the coutract and sea
the project through.
| Mr.. Smith is vice president of the
Second national bank of Akron, and
is extensively interested in street
railroads in large number OF cities
throughou the country. He is accc M
panied by Francis SeiberlinP. also of
Akron, who is interested In street
railway interests, aud at this time
car enterprises.
Mr.. Smith when seen this morning
stated that he had been informed that
an option on the citizens franchise
had been given to "a party of eastern
capitalists. The option WAS for ninety
days. Sixty days have already expired,
aud the eastern promoters have not
think that he would be able to get an
option on the franchise within
month.
eff arrangements eau be sstisfactor-
lily made between myself and the citi-
zens holding the franchise, l can safe
ly promise that El Paso will have
line OF electric street cars in operate
within twelve months" said Mr. Smith.
"The project which 1 have In mind
| will cost between two and three hUn-
dred Thousand dollars. l conte m plate
the construction of about twelve or
fifteen miles of surface railroad lines
in Et Paso. The overhead system will
other ways more desirable.
I'VE have had our eyes ON E! Paso
for some time. 1, and the people back
OF the scheme, believe that Ell Paso is
the most progr essive city today in the
southwest. We have judged by its
progress in the past 1 am as con fident
as am of anything that the next ten
So' "AAA SSO q SCCotcT pTCRTGSS.
By the census of 1910 am almost posi-
tive that Ell Paso will have a popula.
tion of fifty Thousand.
'When man invests money In q
town that Is what he wants to know
about it. 1 am satisfied concerning Ell
Paso's future"
W Stanton is attending to the
business of the Akron capitalists and
will have charge If their business
here. He has been looking up the
franchises here today for them, and
looking over the city ordinances.
Mr.. Smith and Mr.. Seiberling have
b.en in consultation over the matter
withthe men interested in the citizsns'
franchise today. Mr.. Smith stated this
morning that 1t was that franchise
which be desired. The old french-
ise," he said, "under which this mule
car line Is run, would not be of auy
value to US. All that they have Is their
liae OF tracks and we do not want the
streets which they have"
he spoke of the smelter and seemed
to believe that the electric line would
r ln'there. He also thought that under
the circumstances certain concessions
would be granite and estate real given
the company to come In to the city with
their electric cars.
Although only here for one day since
yesterday, Mr.. Smith has grasped the
salient features of Ell Paso's future
greatness at once and already entered
into the spirit Of the city.
When asked concerning the erection
Of a power plant fer the operation of
the line, Mr.. Smith stated that the
company would erect such a plant,
but he said that if possible it would
be better to take the power from the
electric plant already here. By such
ethod, said he, the cost of operating
the plant would be reduced, and both
AtL