The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-04-01
A HEARING IN CRAWFORD

|
 On the Petition for Permission to Lo cate Turnouts and Switches at Shor
 Beach.
 The Branford board of selectmen ol
 Saturday held a hearing on the peti
 tions of the Branford Electric Railwa,
 company for permission to locate tw'
 sidings at Short Beach, one on Beacl
 street and the other at Pages Cove
 and also for permission to locate {
 turnout on Kirkham street, near Elm
 Engineer A. William Sperry represent. ing the company, explained the propos
 ed changes and was questioned by At.
 torney Sidney F. Clark, of Hartford
 MT. Sperry endeavored to show to the trap rock quarries, would build nothing
 objectionable at Pages Cove. He might
 he said. build house and live in it.
 but there would be no storage or build
 ings or help. The siding was asked for
 so that the company could comply with
 the contract made with the Tide Wa
 ter Trap Rock company at the time the I railroad came through its land, viz, that said company should convey the product of the quarry from the quarry to deep water at Pages Cove.
 MT. Clark asked if the switch would not accommodate thesrailway company just as much if placed 300 feet east, MT. Sperry replied that 1t would please them better if it was placed 300 feet west, put that he would amend the ap- plication owing to remonstrances and place it 300 feet east of where asked for over on the east side of the creek. Chairman Rice, of the board of select men, said that he and others had called on MT, Young on Friday and that he had agreed to make the changes.
 remonstrance signed by summer residents of Short Beach who live in Hartford, New Britain, Meriden and other places was presented petitioning the selectmen to withhold the permis- sion for building the switches and turn outs asked for.
 David Corey, formerly president of the New Haven Street Railway com pany, gave brief history of the beach and incidentally touched upon the va rious moves made by MT Johnson since his purchase of Rose Hill quarry.
 Bishop Goodsell followed MT. Corey, and made a plea that the beautiful beach be left unmolested. He said that his summer residence, which he had occupied seventeen years and where he tr 1, ,JJ moved somewhat from the public thor oughfare. He was deeply interested for his neighbors. He said he had no dis position to interfere with the proper working of the railroad, although he had been slow to believe that it would help Short Beach, because much of the charm of that place lay in it's being miles away from everywhere. He then went on to dilate upon the beauty and the orderliness of the place, making it one of the finest resorts on the coast. Nothing objectionable had ever found a lodging place at Short Beach. Wid- ows had invested their all in property. men as well as business men found the resort charming and de- lightful. All this would be hopelessly
  crate there.
 Cullen B. Foote voiced the sentiment 0f the others. He said he had invested | his money in property at Short Beach | and that appreciation of property was on the wane and that depreciatl ton had | already begun by quarry rumors, and hat business men in New Haven who had contemplated building at Short Beach were already backing out.
 One remonstrance which was present. d asked that five-cent fare be estab- ished to East Haven green, and Repre- Averill, of Branford, appeared Q advocate this.
 Engineer Sperry said he, with oth- ITS had seen MT. Young and he had agreed to extend the road as far as would consume the time now used at he present terminal, viz, three or four minutes, which would be from 1,500 to 800 feet or near the house of Mrs. samuel Beach. MT. Sperry said the could not do more this year, IS it would entail an expense of $5,000 er year to extend the power house. It meant another car power, motorman nd conductor, but, said he, the eXten- ion will come in time.
 Referring to reduction in fare, MT. perry said the Branford road had cen very expensive road to build, hat one mile had cost as much as any ' wo miles of city roads, and he did not hink the fare would be reduced at resent.
 The hearing, which occupied two . ours was pleasant, and everybody l ,ho had occasion to say anything { poke very highly of the railroad and S promoter, A. M. Young.