The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-11
FIXED ON A ROUTE
$. AND l.. COMMITTEE CONSIDERED
STREET FRANCHISE.
REPORT TO COUNCIL.
WILL BE MADE AS TO a ROUTE AND
ITS DISPOSITION.

All the Members of the Committee
Gathered to Consider the Question.
Would Not Give Out the Details OF
Their COncIusiOn-WilI Recom-
mend the Auctioning of the Fran
chise for an Agreed-UpOn Route
to the Highest Bidder-Minimum
Price of Something Like $4,000
Was Decided UpOn-objectiOns of
the City Engineer Were Not En-
dorsed by the Committee in All In
stnnces.
The question OF street railway fran
chises was considered by the Streets
and Lanes Committee of the city
Council yesterday afternoon. Chairman
Watson, Aldermen Dixon, Jones. Can
~ and Horrigan. all the members OF
the committee, were present.
Nearly two hours were spent by the
committee in the consideration of the
question. After concluding their DELHI
erations, the aldermen decided that
they would maintain the strictest Sc
crecy relative to all that had transpir-
ed, as they did not desire to anticipate
their report to the Council.
All the five petitions were considered
in detail. The petitioners were the Sa-
vannah, Thunderbolt and Isle of Hope
Railway, the Savannah Transit Com
pany, D. B. Lester. ]. S. Collins and E.
A. Richards. The petition of each OF
these has appeared in the Morning
News. No two ask for exactly the
same concessions.
The report of the city engineer, made
to the Mayor, upon the report submit
ted some time ago by the Streets and
Lanes Committee, was taken up. The
city engineer had found number of
objections to the report, in that he
regarded some of the streets not alto
gether adaptable for railways. 1t was
learned that the committee did not
concur in all the objections offered by
the city engineer, and that his report
was not followed closely in the recon-
mendation that was agreed upon for
submission to Council.
If the recommendation of the COM
mittee is followed, Council will act up
on the petitions by offering route for
a street railway system to whichever
of the petitioners may bid the highest
for it, 1t was agreed by the commit
tee to determine the question as to
who should have the franchise in this
manner. The aldermen consider that
the franchise is valuable to any indi-
vidual or company that may accept it
and construct a street railway system,
and they want the city to be recon-
pensed. 1t is understood that they
set no mean valuation upon the fran
chise, and there has been a very COM
Portable minimum price established by
the report. Just how much this may be
could not be ascertained, but it is be-
lieved to be something like $4,000.
A complete route, regarded as avail
able for a railway, will be recommend
ed. This route is not that asked by
any one of the petitioners, but is one
that was carefully considered by the
committee and that has been fixed
upon as of the greatest advantage to
the city. 1t is also said that it will
be entirely adequate to the needs of
any company that may construct and
operate a system. 1t will embrace
Bay street, but the successful holder
must secure condemnation.
This route, if the report Is adopted,
will be offered to the highest bidder.
The plan for the sale of one or two
streets. which all the petitioners want,
was not adopted. That had been to sell
that street or streets, and present the
successful bidder with a franchise for
others regarded as available. 1t was
considered a better plan to determine
upon a route and sell that outright,
The petitions have been pending be-
fore Council for a long while. While
il is true that only one of the petition
ers has shown any very great solicitude
about his petition or any especial desire
for immediate action upon the part of
Council, there is no reason to believe
that all do not want that for which
they ask. either to form a company and
carry out a plan of construction or to
sell to some company after a franchise
Is secured. Some evidence of good
faith in the way of security will prob
ably be required of the successful bid
der.