New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1901-03-12

ING CONTROL OF CROSSTOWN
FRANCHISES FOR IT.

Hans s. Beattie. who Surveyor of the Port
in the first Cleveland administration. and later
was Commissioner Of Street Cleaning is bring
ing a suit against the Metropolitan Street Rail-
way Company. of which he the treasurer
until recently claiming 100000 for services to
the company in securing for it the control of
the franchises of several crosstown street rail-
roads His attorney is ex-POlice Commissioner
Andrew D. Parker. and the papers in the suit
are to be served on one of the officials of the
company to-day
About twenty years ago Mr.. Beattie was
Geupty county clerk and was associated as one
of the leaders of the County Democracy with
Hubert O. Thompson. William c. Whitney, John
Keenan, and Gilbert NJ. Spier. Beattie. keenan,
and Spier formed combination with Daniel d.
Conover, an old railroad man, and E. X. Apgar
to get from the Board of Aldermen franchises
for certain crosstown railroads, which were to
be built later The franchises were for the
Fulton Street Wall Street and Cortlandt Street
Ferry Railroad the Chambers Street Cross
town Railroad, the Thirty-fourth Street and
Eleventh Avenue Railroad. and the railroads IN
Twenty-eighth-st and Twenty-ninth-st. Tracks
for the Chambers-st. railroad were laid first and
the other railroads were not constructed until
some years later
In 1887 the Chambers-st railroad was sold to
a Philadelphia syndicate, composed principally
of William l.. Ekins, p. A. Il. Wdener ana
Thomas Dolan. The syndicate soon got controI
of the Broadway Railroad. and then bought the
franchise of the Houston-st. and West-st line
which was made the operating line of new
company, of which Beatte became the treas
urer In 1893 when the Metropolitan Traction
Comnany was organized, Beattie became the
tres sI1rer of that company, the Houston-st. line
having been taken in as one of the railroads
consolidated with the Broadway line.
Mr. Whitney and Thomas F. Ryan, who were
influential in the traction company. wanted
Reattie TO work for the control of other cross
town lines and Beattie undertook the task. with
the promise he now asserts. that he shcula re-
ceiNe adequate compensation TOT ms 49,
The Importance of getting control or the cross
town lines was well understood by the Metro
politan people. particularly as the 1hlrd Avenue
Railroad Company, the metropolitan chIei
rival showed a disposition 10 puS M ~
town lines Some of the franchises Of the cross
towns lines had been sold. and were in the CON
troll of Edward Lauterbach. VINO was suppoSeu
TO he working in the interests of the 1hIrd ave
nue companv Mr.. Beattie, is was understood
was better able than any other man. on account
of his associations with the men who nad op-
tanned the franchises TO secure control OF the
franchises for the Metropolitan
or the lines IN Twenty eighth-st., twenty
ninth-st and Thirty -fourth-st., and turning the
franchises over TO the Metropolitan Street Rail
way Company. the successor of the Metropol-
itan Traction Company. He was proceeding to
get for the Metropolitan the control of the line
in Fulton-st when he asked that the terms or
his agreement with the Metropolitan be COM
plied with. In December he resigned his place
as treasurer of the company, because he would
not agree TO any offers of compensation that
were made Negotiations were entered into
looking toward a settlement with Mr.. Beatte.
but they came to nothing, and Mr.. Beatue de-
.l,-. - D. II