The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-05-22
COUNCILMAN HoWEs VIEWS.
salt &c Citv. NIav p. 1soo.

Salt Lake City, May p, 1900.
Editor of Salt Lake Herald:
The controversy being carried on in
your paper for and against the proposed
Salt Lake Valley railway franchise pre-
sents a clashing of assertions and state
ments not always common. Those who
are opposing the same base their reasons
for so doing upon two principal propo-
sitiOns. The first and most important
objection against the said franchise is
the allowing of First West street to be
occupied by il. They claim that they
would offer no ObjecuOn if it were only
a street car line. They insist, however,
that II does not have any relationship 10
more nor less than the driving wedge for
a future steam railroad. The principal
argument produced by them in support
OF such an assertion is that the Salt
Lake a Ogden railroad obtained its fran
chlse OF steam power by the same Kind
OF deception. Ii they would go to the
city ordinances. however, they would
md by examination that the original
and first franchise granted to said rail-
road conferred upon it just such kind
OF power, viz, steam.
The second argument is that there are
number OF powerful railroad corpora
tons headed for Salt Lake, and any per-
son of sound sense can readily see that
they are back of the whole thing. Other
equally misleading. The promoters and
advocates OF this interurban street rail-
road, in cOntradistinCtiOn to the above
assertions, state the Salt Lake Valley
railroad has a relation to the common
street car lines in that the cars running,
upon its completion, viii stop upon any
point on streets occupied by 1t and per-
nit passengers to board said cars at
their convenience. The word interurban
shows a longer scope of usefulness in
that II connects cities and towns together
IOr distance or some thlrty-SiX miles
! We already have a common street car
which performs this same kind of service
between this city, intermediate hamlets
and the town OF Murray, that might be
called interurban. Those who believe in
the good that Will result from the build
ing of this street railroad do not believe
or take any stock in the assertion
grounded on the suspicion, that the Bur
lngton or some other steam railroad Is
I behind the franchise The fact that the
capitalists behind this business venture
have already established a number OF
lnterurban electric railroads connecting
cities in the east, and are making such
/ lines pay handsome dividends, ought TO
be evidence sufficient to satisfy any fair
minded person that such is not the truth.
The next important ground taken by
the same DIRECTORS is that it will cut
| in two that valuable public park, the
| Warm Springs property. l take the
words cutting in two" TO mean TO biSeCt
some object into almost equal halves.
using this "cut in two" clause have done
so with eXaggeratiOn- They claim that
| they cannot see how this simple geo
| metrical problem is to be solved in any
other way than has appeared to their
excited imagination A majority Of the
city cOunciimen went over the ground
of the Warm Springs property in COM
pany with the manager and engineer of
the Salt Lake Valley railroad and point
ed out to them where they were willing
TO vote TO have the railroad cross said
property. That point or crossing was
placed at the eastern side OF said lot on
J the graveled side of the Warm Springs
mountain Both the officers readily
| agreed to so have it and the franchise
so provides. Verify, is this not a case
| OF trying to make people believe mat
black is white? I claim, Mr.. EDITOR,
| that the ma iority of those who signed
! petitions against this franchise were
misled by just such kind of false as
| sertions as the above indicates.
Now, as to party pledge" and the
/ Democratic platform. Did not the ma
] Jority of the qualified voters of this city
/ vote down the Democratic platform
/ Having done SO, does it not make the
same platform of no effect during this
/ administration? You will say that that
! does not excuse the Democratic council
men for voting as they did. Granted.
/ But l will now ask you a question, Mr.
/ Editor, and then will offer my excuse for
/ doing what l have done. Your paper ad-
| vOcates the Union depot franchise and
| public streets, two of which were main
! thOrOughfares without any direct COM
penSatiOn, and directly injuring a large
amount Of property located east and west
| of said streets. How do you excuse your
/ action, then, for violating party
pledgeS2
L viii now give my reasons: realize
4 that under their administration 1t is not
| possible to carry out the Democratic pol
/ icy of city administration. Democratic
/ COuncilmen cannot be expected to do II,
| for it would be impossible. l hold, and
I I believe it to be self-evident, that the
railroads that enter this city are eX-
[ Orbitant in their charges, both in freight
( and passenger traffic This evil exists
locally as well as otherwise. The COM
mon people very seldom travel on &C
count Of it. 1 contend, Mr. Editor, that
I so far as Ogden and this city is con-
/ cerned the electric road running between
/ there and here will cut this evil more
! than in half, and possibly wipe 1t out
{ entirely. This Is a direct beneht TO all
! of the people and is what has knocked
! the Union depot proposition. l could
/ give other reasons, but viii stop at TINS
| for fear of occupying too much OF your
valuable space.
| Now, how am to answer my constit-
! uents? l will use the words of a prOmi-
nent and wealthy citizen on Brigham
/ street, who said: 1--WE opposed the ex-
/ tension of the street car farther east on
| service" So I believe the residents on
/ First West street viii also declare the
/ same thing within six months after the
\ cars are running. When my constitu-
! ents are ready to retire me to private
/ life for anything I may have done or
may do, 1 shall cheerfuliy say amen to It
c. R. HOWE,
Seventeenth Ward Councilman.
/ az