The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-03-18
STREET RAILWAYS.

At dinner held at the Wellesley
Club, Boston, the Hon. Charles Francis
Adams who in 1897 was a member of
a commission which went to Europe
to investigate street railways and their
relations to municipalities, stated that
elapsed, an entirely new problem has
been presented. Mr.. Adams remarks
are very well worthy of quotation, as
they bear upon questions which are
becoming vital here. Mr.. Adams said:
The astonishing development of
electricity as a motor power has, our
conditions entirely changed, and today
we ma railways in operation on our
highways which differ only from the
prescriptive railroads in the use of
electricity instead of steam. AS re-
spects speed ana weight of vehicle
there is now no distinction between the
Two.
THE development of the new sys-
TEN, therefore, simply presents to the
community this issue: Whether it's
streets can be auapteu 10 the JOINT use
of two forms of traffic of a wholly
different character, that drawn by
horses and that propelled by electric
| ity.
The time is approaching when the
problem will compicate itself to such
a degree that a solution must be found
| IN some other direction than that of
| the common use of the thoroughfare.
! This point has already been reached in
! all great cities, where separation of
| the traffic is being effected by carrying
| the electric railroad overhead or un-
derground.
"rhe electric railroad of the future is
clearly destined to be something very
different from that which now exists.
1t is to be hardly in any respect the old
street railway. 1t is to be more in the
nature of a vicinal or neighborhood
railroad, and as such must be provided
| for. Unquestionably this vicinal rail-
road will supplement the railroad sys-
| TEN. 1t will carry freight and mails,
as well as passengers, and it will run
| it's vehicles, especially in the country
districts, by train and not in single
cars.
Under these circumstances, the
| communities which are now authoriz-
ing railroads in ordinary streets are
pursuing a policy which hardly admits
of justification. They are paying no
attention to future inevitable develop
ment, but are rapidly getting them
selves into position from which they
can be eXtricated only by violent effort
and at great expense.
Inc true course Is TO lace the prop
lem squarely and at once. A franchise
should never hereafter be granted to
street railway company to run over a
highway, where a private right of way
for it can be secured. Where the pub
lie convenience requires that the road
should run through settled neighbor-
hoods, it should be granted franchise
only through wide streets, or, when
granted, provision should be immedi-
ately made for the necessary widening
of the highway, at the sole cost of that
railway company. Finally, in the large
cities, the traffic should be separated
at the earliest possible moment, as is
now being done in Boston, and as will
soon have to- be done in other cities"
In view of the fact that there is a
fifty years franchise now being asked
for, these remarks of great citizen,
and the descendent of great citizens of
the Republic, are well worthy of consid-
GRAFTON. Especially are they worthy of
consideration when we know that lob
bying to get the franchise bill through
is being strongly resorted to. There
is no stone left unturned to get the
tramways franchise bill through.
Whether advice such as Charles
Francis Adams gives will be listened
to, or even considered, by our legisla-
tors is more than any one can say. The
fact that it is good advice, that it is
sound and is the result of deep thought
and careful study is quite sufficient to
put it out of the consideration of some
of our wiseacres. The more accurate
and we'll thought out the statement,
the less likely is it to be listened to.
We are a young community but we
already are suffering from the very
things pointed out. We have granted
franchises upon our streets and we
now find our streets too narrow. Take
Fort street as an instance. With it's
tram car line running down the center
it is positively dangerous at some pc
RODS of the day. Mr.. Adams view
is that a franchise should only be
granted through wide streets, or where
the streets are not wide they should
be widened at the expense of the COM
pany. Mr.. Adams knows of what he
talks, for if any city has narrow streets
in the old part of it, it is Boston.
We are not justified in tying up those
who will come after us to any villain
Gus system of street traffic which may
be in use in our benighted days. Mr..
Adams in his remarks is dealing with
improvements and the constantly adj
vancing modern methods of transit.
We, in Honolulu, are dealing with an
tequated methods and it is gravely
proposed that we should chain our
children for half a century to come to
something that is now acknowledged to
be utterly bad, to a thing which has
been tried and found wanting.
If common sense can have sway for
short time, it will relegate to the
limbo of forgetfulness any bill which
advocates any such charter as the
Tramway Company asks for.